
Research/Clinical Interests: Medical anthropology, substance abuse in pregnancy, advocacy, global health (Middle East and South Asia), refugee and im/migrant populations, high-risk pregnancy.
Education/Training
Year |
Institution | Degree | Field of Study |
---|---|---|---|
2017 | University of California, San Francisco | Residency | Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences |
2013 | Boston University | MD | Member of the Seven-Year Accelerated Liberal Arts/Medical Education Program (SMED) |
2010 | Boston University | BA | Medical science; minors in Anthropology and Philosophy |
Research & Professional Experience
Year | |
---|---|
2012-2013 | Boston University School of Medicine, Department of Surgery. Participated in an ethnographic study focusing on the lived experiences of women newly diagnosed with breast cancer at a safety-net hospital. |
2010 | American Near East Refugee Association (ANERA; Beirut, Lebanon). Assessed the efficacy of the Creative Health Campaign (CHC), which focused on preventative health education in Palestinian refugee camps throughout Lebanon. |
2010 | Amel Association (Beirut, Lebanon) and Lebanese American University School of Medicine (Byblos, Lebanon). This research project involved assessing the perceptions of community leaders of reproductive health care services for low-income Lebanese women in two areas of Beirut, Lebanon. |
2010-2013 | Boston University Advocacy Training Program (BUATP). Participated in training, research, and teaching in the BUATP throughout my four years in medical school |
2008-2009 | Boston University School of Medicine, Department of Microbiology. Participated in research investigating the interaction of HSV1 and HSV2 with cell receptors in vaginal tissue. |
2007 | Project facilitator at the Women's Center, Meheba Refugee Settlement (Zambia). Participated in peer health education and community development surrounding issues of sexual health and gender-based violence among refugee populations in northern Zambia. |
Achievements & Recognition
Year | Major Honors |
---|---|
2015 | First place, oral presentation at the Joint District ACOG Meeting (September 2015) |
2015 | Finalist for Qulligan Scholars Program |
2013 | Subject of article: "An Unconventional OB/GYN: New MED grad brings back lessons in global health from Lebanon" |
2013 | Graduated cum laude - Boston University (MD) |
2013 | Recipient of the Massachusetts Medical Society Scholars Award |
2013 | Recipient of Dean Eleanor Tyler Memorial Award, given to the outstanding fourth-year medical student who fulfilled his/her premedical requirements through the Seven-Year Liberal Arts-Medical Education Program |
2012 | Member of the Arnold P. Gold Humanism Honor Society |
2010 | Graduated summa cum laude - Boston University (BA) |
2010 | Member of Phi Beta Kappa |
2006-2009 | Member of the Martin Luther King Jr. Scholars at Boston University |
Presentations
Premkumar A. Self-reported racial/ethnic classification and rates of preterm birth among women with chronic hypertension in pregnancy. Oral presentation at: Joint District Meeting, American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology: Denver, CO. September, 2015.
Premkumar A. Substance use, risk, and creation of the maternal-fetal subject. Oral grand grounds. University of California San Francisco: San Francisco, CA. November 2015.
Premkumar A. The pregnant addict: a moral history of substance use in America. Oral presentation. Substance Use Disorders Symposium at the University of California, San Francisco: San Francisco, CA. January 2016.
Premkumar A. “The opposite of a history”: what substance use in pregnancy can lend to an ethics of accompaniment." Oral Presentation. 6th Biennial National Conference for Clinician-Scholars in the Social Sciences & Humanities. Philadelphia, PA. April 2015.
Premkumar A. “The opposite of a history”: what substance use in pregnancy can lend to a critical clinical anthropology of addiction." Oral Presentation. Society for Applied Anthropology. March 2015
Premkumar A. “The opposite of a history”: what substance use in pregnancy can lend to a critical clinical anthropology of addiction." Oral Presentation. Drug Use Research Group (DURG) at San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH). March 2015
Premkumar A, Salem K, Akhtar S, Deeb ME, Messersmith LJ (2011, March). Reproduction in Poverty: How Community Leaders Describe the Female Body in Two Low-Income Suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon. Poster presented at: American Medical Student Association Annual Convention; Washington D.C.
Premkumar A, Salem K, Akhtar S, Deeb ME, Messersmith LJ (2011, March). Health and the Politics of Representation: How Community Leaders Describe Reproductive Health in Two Low-Income Suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon. Poster presented at: American Medical Student Association Annual Convention; Washington D.C.
Premkumar A, Raad K, Haidar MH (2013, April). The social history revisited: Advocacy and care of vulnerable populations. Paper presentation at: 5th Biennial Physician Scholars Conference: San Francisco, CA.
Publications
Premkumar A. ‘The opposite of a history’: what substance use in pregnancy can lend to an ethics of accompaniment. Medicine Anthropology Theory 2015;2(2):28-53 (http://www.medanthrotheory.org/read/5349/the-opposite-of-a-history)
Premkumar A, Raad K, & Haidar MH. Global health in the era of biolegitimacy: Global health and medical education in the care of Palestinian and Syrian refugees in Beirut, Lebanon. Anthropology & Medicine 2016;23(1):114-29 (DOI: 10.1080/13648470.2015.1135785)
Premkumar A. “The Local as Global.” In Reflection in Global Health: An Anthology, editors Thuy Bui, Jessica Evert, Virginia McCarthy, Ishan Asokan, Ambar Mehta, Kathleen Miller, Carmelle Tsai, Shawn Wen. San Francisco, CA: Global Health Collaboration Press, 2016. pp. 124-5
Premkumar A, Haddad DN, Dworkis DA. Empowering medical students to design and execute advocacy projects. Acad Med. 2013 Jul;88(7):910. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0b013e3182952be0. PMID: 23799435.
Premkumar A. 2013. Representation and Witnessing: In Response to Brian McKenna's "Medical Education Under Siege" and 'The Clash of Medical Civilizations." Anthropology News
Premkumar A, Barker A, DeLoureiro A, Sarathy L, & Dworkis DA. 2013. A Call from Below: Why Deeper Education in Health and Human Rights is Crucial for Medical Students. Health and Human Rights: An International Journal
Premkumar A, Salem K, Akhtar S, Deeb ME, Messersmith LJ. Sectarianism and the problem of overpopulation: political representations of reproduction in two low-income neighbourhoods of Beirut, Lebanon. Cult Health Sex. 2012;14(10):1139-52. doi: 10.1080/13691058.2012.721137. Epub 2012 Sep 17. PMID: 22978599.
Premkumar A. 2012. Our message is unequivocal: the stake of physician advocacy in reproductive health. Aceso 1(1): 26-29