Muhammad Azad, MD completed his home country psychiatry residency at Bangladesh College of Physicians and Surgeons. He also completed all steps of USMLE and obtained ECFMG certification. His psychiatry journey took him across several countries, including Bangladesh, Oman, Malaysia, and the Maldives, where he has made a significant impact in various roles, such as clinician, educator, researcher, innovator, and administrator. As a clinician, he served the people of an island of Maldives during the Covid pandemic and worked as a consultant at the Addu Equatorial Hospital in Maldives where he was part of a multi-professional team that made home visits to islanders who could not access services otherwise. As an educator, he taught many medical and nursing students in Bangladesh and Malaysia. As a researcher, he authored several publications as a first author and one publication on sleep disorder in the American Academy of Sleep Medicine's journal has been cited regularly by many authors. As a recognition of his contributions, he was honored with the Excellent Service Award on six occasions during his eight-year tenure at a public university in Malaysia.
Safiye Bahar Olmez, MD completed her medical school and psychiatry residency in Turkey. She did an observership at the Medical College of Georgia, Augusta U.S. in 2018 after completing her psychiatry residency in Turkey. She also worked as a volunteer counselor at the international student department of the University of Georgia during the time she spent in the U.S. She had been working as an attending psychiatrist in the Kanuni Sultan Suleyman Training and Research Hospital in Istanbul, Turkey before this fellowship training. Her research interests are anxiety disorders in geriatric psychiatry, psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral therapies, and mental health concerns in the refugee population. In her free time, she enjoys exploring new cities and cultures, cooking new recipes, and doing craftwork activities with her daughter.