UCI School of Medicine Recognizes Middle Eastern and North African Heritage Month: Mehdi Abouzari, MD, PhD

In our present moment, new histories are being written through the passionate and innovative care that our colleagues bring to work everyday. It is our honor and privilege to work alongside these men and women and countless others throughout our school – true champions of diversity, equity and inclusion who are leaving an indelible mark on the future of our campus and their respective fields of medicine.

Mehdi Abouzari, MD, PhD, assistant professor and Wellness Officer in the Department of Otolaryngology, has been recognized by colleagues for his mentorship of diverse individuals across the medical education continuum, including undergraduates, medical students, residents, postdoctoral fellows, research coordinators and junior specialists.

“Mentoring is my passion and by championing the diversity of my mentees, my goal is to reduce inequities and inequalities that they face throughout their career,” says Dr. Abouzari.

Dr. Abouzari has dedicated extensive research and practice in pursuit of gender equity in the field of otolaryngology. In 2023, Dr. Abouzari and several colleagues from UCI’s Department of Otolaryngology published an article in Head & Neck that analyzed gender disparities in female authorship and citation among the 100 most-cited articles in the field of head and neck surgery. In addition, he has actively diversified his research team, demonstrating a commitment to working with immigrants who speak English as a second language, as well as female students from medical schools without a home otolaryngology program. These efforts were recognized in 2020 when the UCI Graduate Division awarded Dr. Abouzari the Tom Angell Fellowship Award.

When asked about the impact of his Iranian American identity on his work, he stated, “I have personally experienced how being a minority in terms of language, race and cultural background can impact you by making you feel different with a touch of isolation at times. Trying to fit into the new academic and professional environment required me to enhance my confidence, strengthen my skills and learn to communicate in a professional language that was much different from what I had been accustomed to.”

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