Dr. Zeeshan Ahmed, Medicine

What is your current position?

I am an Assistant Professor of Medicine – Tenure Track and Core Member at the Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research; and Department of Medicine – Division of General Internal Medicine, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School; Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences (RBHS).

As part of the Rutgers family, I am also an academic member of the Rutgers Microbiology and Molecular Genetics; Center for Cancer Health Equity, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey; and Rutgers Human Genetics Institute of New Jersey. Furthermore, I am an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the UConn School of Medicine.

Why did you choose this career?

Due to my love and passion for serving and saving humanity.

Could you describe your scientific work in a short way to non-professionals?

I focus on dealing with unprecedented challenges in data science and on providing a better understanding of biology to revolutionize the field of precision medicine. My research is underpinned by the skills and resource development to build expertise in sequence-based genomic data analysis, clinical variant interpretation, and evidence-based diagnostic and prediction model development and validation. My goal is to advance medicine with personalized and genetic driven treatments.

What is your biggest challenge?

“Change” is the biggest challenge. In most of the cases, it is difficult to convince people to adopt advancements, even when they are for their own and others’ best.

What do you love most about your job?

Everything, e.g., ideating, investigating, reading, writing, programming, modeling, mentoring, collaborating, teaching, presenting, and travelling.

What is - in your experience - the difference between working in Germany and in the U.S.?

Both countries are heavily contributing towards the betterment of life and science. While Germany has a long history of scientific achievements, the U.S. has excelled in the development of the modern era of science and technology. Both places are dear to me, however, talking of differences: In my opinion, Germany offers a more balanced work and family life, while in the U.S. the lifestyle is different, as the pace of work involves high competition. Diversity, passion, hard work, and talent are expected for the achievement of top-quality results in no time.

Did you meet other JMU alumni in your scientific life?

Whenever there was an opportunity, I did and I am looking forward to meeting other JMU Alumni in the future as well.