Abraar Karan

Abraar Karan is an American global health physician and writer. He is a resident at the Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts. He was active in the COVID-19 epidemic response in Massachusetts[1] and involved nationally through his contributions to lay press media platforms. He is a columnist[2] at the British Medical Journal, a contributor[3] at the National Public Radio, and regularly writes in the lay press.

Abraar Karan
NationalityAmerican
Alma materYale University (BA)

University of California Los Angeles (MD)

Harvard University (MPH)

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (DTM&H)
AwardsNMQF 40 Under 40 (2020)

STAT Wunderkind (2018)

Medtech Boston 40 Under 40 (2018)

Harvard Business School New Venture Competition (2018)
Scientific career
FieldsGlobal health
InstitutionsBrigham and Women's Hospital Harvard Medical School

Early life and education

Karan spent his early life in the suburbs of Los Angeles. He graduated as Valedictorian of Calabasas High School,[4] and attended college at Yale University, where he graduated with distinction in Political Science.

During college, Karan worked in the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, Uganda, and India on public health research focused on the links between poverty, structural violence, and health.[4][5] He studied under a number of writers while at Yale, including former New York Times Executive Editor, Jill Abramson.

Upon graduation, Karan was awarded a Yale Parker Huang Fellowship, which supported a year of research in Hyderabad and New Delhi, India, exploring the Stockholm Syndrome among female sex workers, as well as sex trafficking victims in red light districts.[6][7][8] Along with Dr. Nathan Hansen, Karan proposed the term “Sonagachi Syndrome”[9] to describe the psychological dependency that victims of sex trafficking at times display to their captors,[10] named after Sonagachi, India's largest red light district.

Medical and public health training

Karan earned his doctorate in medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, where he served as Class President, delivering his medical school graduation speech[11] alongside then Surgeon General Vivek Murthy.[12] During medical school, Karan worked at the United States CDC in Mozambique and at the Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand. He was selected as a 2016 medical fellow at the Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Medical Ethics.[13][14]

He went on to earn an MPH in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. During graduate school, with his college roommate Andrew Rothaus, Karan co-founded Hour72 insect repellent,[15][5] for which the pair won the Harvard Business School's New Venture Competition,[16][17][18] and were finalists in the Harvard President's Challenge.[19]

Karan trained in internal medicine at the Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and was selected to join the Hiatt Residency in Global Health Equity under Dr. Howard Hiatt and Dr. Paul Farmer. Karan earned his Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (DTM&H) from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in 2019.

Journalism and writing

Karan is the co-editor of the book, Protecting the Health of the Poor: Social Movements in the Global South,[20] released in 2015, which he worked on with ethicist Dr. Thomas Pogge. Karan went on to work as the editor on two global health works with the American Medical Association's Journal of Ethics. In 2016-17, Karan led the theme issue on international healthcare systems,[21] and in 2019-20 on pandemic response.[22]

Karan has written about neocolonialism in global health, and has been critical of the current global health enterprise.[23][24] Karan has been a columnist at the British Medical Journal since January 2019.[2] Karan became a contributor to NPR during COVID-19, helping with NPR's weekly COVID-19 FAQs.[3] He has also spoken on NPR All Things Considered[25][26][27][28] with Ari Shapiro, and NPR Weekend Edition.[29]

COVID-19 response

Karan was active in the Massachusetts COVID-19 epidemic response as a medical fellow working with Commissioner Monica Bharel in the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.[1] Karan was a member of the Crisis Standard of Care Committee, and also worked on the allocation of scarce resources in the state response, including ventilators and Remdesivir.[1]

Prior to the first COVID-19 surge, Karan wrote about the need for doctors to discuss code status with their high-risk patients in advance to plan for end-of-life care given high rates of ventilator deaths.[30] He was a proponent of the Black Lives Matters protests as being key to bringing attention toward the racial inequities in COVID-19 outcomes in the US.[31][32][33][34] Karan wrote in the Washington Post[35] that central isolation options were a key part of breaking chains of disease transmission after he noted that many of his patients were unable to safely isolate. He was also vocal about how to help the public manage personal risks during state re-openings.[36][37][38] He opined against the early xenophobia against Asians;[39] in favor of a diverse range of expert voices in pandemic response;[40] and warned that stigma could obstruct the success of contact tracing efforts.[41]

Along with Dr. Ranu Dhillon and Sri Srikrishna, Karan wrote about the need for better masks at a population level early in the epidemic.[42][43] Karan and Dhillon also penned op-eds warning against the reopening of professional sports given high levels of community transmission of COVID-19 at the time;[44] the need for smarter, targeted lockdowns in high-transmission counties;[45] the opportunity to use rapid antigen tests for epidemic control;[46] and the need for stronger public health outbreak investigations and contact tracing to understand why COVID-19 transmission was ongoing despite implemented control measures.[47] Karan warned about the potential for President Trump's COVID-19 case to be used to downplay the virus.[48] He wrote in his column in the British Medical Journal that physicians needed to take a stance in the 2020 United States election because "there is no talking about politics without talking about health."[49] Karan was critical[50] of the Great Barrington Declaration and debated against one of its authors, Dr. Martin Kulldorff, on Democracy Now.[51] He was featured on the Zach Lowe ESPN podcast regarding Covid19 and the risk of spread in the NBA.[52] He was quoted in a CNN interview with Sanjay Gupta that if all Americans wore N95 equivalent masks for four weeks, "This would stop the epidemic".[53]

Awards
  • 50 Experts to Follow During a Pandemic (2020)[54]
  • 40 Under 40 NMQF Leader in Health (2020)[55]
  • STAT News Wunderkind (2018)[56]
  • Medtech Boston 40 Under 40 Healthcare Innovator (2018)[57]
  • Harvard Business School New Venture Competition (2018)[17]

References
  1. "Brigham Resident Contributes to Statewide COVID-19 Response". Brigham Bulletin. 2020-07-09. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  2. "Abraar Karan Archives". The BMJ. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  3. "NPR Search : Abraar Karan". npr.org. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  4. June 14, The Acorn Staff | on; 2018 (2018-06-14). "Calabasas grad already making impact on world health scene". The Acorn. Retrieved 2020-07-19.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. Boston, 677 Huntington Avenue; Ma 02115 +1495‑1000 (2020-05-29). "A Better Insect Repellent". Harvard Public Health Magazine. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  6. "The Surprising Wishes Of India's Sex Workers". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  7. "From Delhi Slums to Los Angeles Wards: Lessons from a Year Working Against Sex Trafficking | sgim.org". sgim.org. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  8. Karan, Abraar; Writer, ContributorGlobal health physician Guest (2017-01-13). "Women In India's Cultural Sex Trade Need Healthcare". HuffPost. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  9. Karan, Abraar; Hansen, Nathan (2018-02-06). "Does the Stockholm Syndrome affect female sex workers? The case for a "Sonagachi Syndrome"". BMC International Health and Human Rights. 18 (1): 10. doi:10.1186/s12914-018-0148-4. ISSN 1472-698X. PMC 5802051. PMID 29409491.
  10. "Stockholm Syndrome in the Pimp-Victim Relationship". New York Times.
  11. "UCLA Medical School Graduation Speech 2016 - YouTube". youtube.com. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  12. "Happy families celebrate as new UCLA physicians take Hippocratic Oath". UCLA. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  13. "Fellows By Year | FASPE". Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  14. April 21, The Acorn Staff | on; 2016 (2016-04-21). "Local alumni chosen to study in European ethics program". The Acorn. Retrieved 2020-07-23.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. Belli, Brita (2018-05-04). "Former Yale roommates win $75K grand prize at Harvard to combat disease". YaleNews. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  16. Boston, 677 Huntington Avenue; Ma 02115 +1495‑1000 (2018-04-25). "Three-day mosquito repellent takes top prize at biz school competition". News. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  17. "Harvard Business School Names Winners of 21st New Venture Competition at Finale - News - Harvard Business School". hbs.edu. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  18. Riemer, Emily (2018-06-28). "New mosquito repellent developed in Boston offers near-perfect protection for days". WCVB. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  19. "Finalists Named in Annual President's Innovation Challenge". Harvard Innovation Labs. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  20. Protecting the Health of the Poor.
  21. Karan, Abraar (2016-07-01). "Building Ethical Global Health Care Systems". AMA Journal of Ethics. 18 (7): 661–664. doi:10.1001/journalofethics.2016.18.7.fred1-1607. ISSN 2376-6980.
  22. "Culture, Context, and Epidemic Containment". AMA Journal of Ethics. 22 (1): 1–65. 2020-01-01. ISSN 2376-6980.
  23. "Opinion: It's Time To End The Colonial Mindset In Global Health". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  24. "OPINION: The Ghosts Of Colonialism Are Haunting The World's Response To The Pandemic". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  25. "Physician Helps Listeners Make Choices". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  26. "Global Health Expert Answers The Most Common Coronavirus Questions". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  27. "More Tips On How To Travel Safely This Summer". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  28. "What Happened Today: Questions About The Relief Bill And The Latest Medical News". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  29. "Treating COVID-19: What We Know Now". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  30. "If You Get Critically Ill With COVID-19, How Far Should Doctors Go To Keep You Alive?". wbur.org. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  31. "Racism is a Public Health Issue, says Doctor". CBC News. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
  32. Diamond, Dan. "Suddenly, Public Health Officials Say Social Justice Matters More Than Social Distance". POLITICO. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  33. "The Health 202: Americans were told to 'stay at home.' Now some experts say anti-racism protests are okay". Washington Post.
  34. Karan, Abraar; Katz, Ingrid (2020-06-09). "There is no stopping covid-19 without stopping racism". BMJ. 369: m2244. doi:10.1136/bmj.m2244. ISSN 1756-1833. PMID 32518097. S2CID 219542161.
  35. "Perspective | If you get covid-19, leaving your house may be the best way to protect your family". Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  36. "How To Approach The Risks Of Socializing During A Pandemic". Science Friday. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  37. "This chart can help you weigh coronavirus risks this summer". PBS NewsHour. 2020-06-09. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  38. "Should I Go On a Domestic Vacation During the Pandemic?". vice.com. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  39. "Abraar Karan: Coronavirus—containing the parallel epidemics of xenophobia and misinformation". The BMJ. 2020-01-31. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  40. "Abraar Karan: Covid-19—on trust, experts, and the brilliance of everyday people". The BMJ. 2020-03-26. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  41. "Stigma is making the COVID-19 pandemic more invisible - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  42. Dhillon, Ranu S.; Karan, Abraar; Beier, David; Sullivan, Andrew; Chowell, Gerardo; Chowell, Diego; Srikrishna, Devabhaktuni (2020-05-01). "A Plan to Safely Reopen the U.S. Despite Inadequate Testing". Harvard Business Review. ISSN 0017-8012. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  43. Dhillon, Ranu S.; Karan, Abraar; Beier, David; Srikrishna, Devabhaktuni (2020-06-18). "We Need Better Masks". Harvard Business Review. ISSN 0017-8012. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  44. Karan, Abraar; Dhillon, Ranu. "Perspective | Sports can't restart safely right now". Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  45. Dhillon, Ranu S.; Karan, Abraar (2020-08-12). "The U.S. Needs Smarter Lockdowns. Now". Harvard Business Review. ISSN 0017-8012. Retrieved 2020-08-21.
  46. Dhillon, Ranu S.; Karan, Abraar; Srikrishna, Sri. "Perspective | We could control the coronavirus by winter if we start using rapid tests". Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-08-21.
  47. Dhillon, Ranu S.; Karan, Abraar. "Perspective | We can't stop covid-19 if we don't know where and why it's spreading". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  48. Karan, Abraar. "Perspective | Trump's case should not change how we think about covid-19". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  49. "Abraar Karan: Politics and public health in America—taking a stand for what is right". The BMJ. 2020-10-09. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  50. "Twitter thread". Twitter. Retrieved 2020-10-16.
  51. "Herd Immunity: Is It a More Compassionate Approach or Will It Lead to Death or Illness for Millions?". Democracy Now!. Retrieved 2020-10-16.
  52. "ESPN Lowe Podcast".
  53. Enriquez, Keri. "The face mask that could end the pandemic". CNN. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  54. Editors, Elemental (2020-09-18). "50 Experts to Trust in a Pandemic". Medium. Retrieved 2020-10-10.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  55. "Abraar Karan, MD, MPH, DTM&H". The National Minority Quality Forum. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  56. "Meet the 2018 STAT Wunderkinds". STAT. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  57. "Announcing the 2018 MedTech Boston 40 Under 40 Healthcare Innovators!". MedTech Boston. 2018-09-18. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
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