Dr. Syed Bukhari (32)
Cardiac Amyloidosis Fellow, UPMC

Dr. Syed Bukhari was raised in a small, remote village in southwestern Pakistan that has scarce educational and health resources. After homeschooling and attending high school in Quetta, about 70 miles from his home, Bukhari was awarded a scholarship to attend medical school in Lahore, considered the educational hub of the country. From there, he completed a three-year residency in internal medicine at UPMC McKeesport.

In his current role at UPMC, Bukhari is developing a diagnostic model for early detection of an under-recognized fatal disease called transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis, in which abnormal amyloid protein deposits in the heart and can lead to death. Bukhari also is a member of the steering committee for the Community Outreach and Cardiovascular Health initiative that offers health awareness, education and services with an emphasis on underprivileged communities, to prevent cardiovascular disease.

“Going to those clinics and talking to those patients and treating them and the way they were thankful, that really made me proud,” Bukhari says.