Hailing from the small city of Terre Haute, Ind., Layla Ahmadi has joined the AAMC Office of Government Relations (OGR) as the inaugural spring government relations health policy intern.
Ahmadi graduated from DePauw University with a joint degree in biochemistry and global health with a minor in biology. At DePauw, she developed a strong passion for patient advocacy and providing culturally competent medical care for underserved communities. Upon graduating, she moved to the Washington, D.C., area to become a Postbaccalaureate Intramural Research fellow at the National Institutes of Health, where she conducted cancer immunotherapy and T-cell development research for two years. Fueled by her long-standing dream of becoming a physician, Ahmadi sought to deepen her understanding of health care systems and community-based care strategies that will directly impact her future patients by pursuing a master of public health at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health.
Intersecting her interests in clinical medicine, biomedical science, and public health, Ahmadi will craft reports, conduct legislative analysis, and examine pressing health policy issues facing AAMC members. Her work at the AAMC will help support the missions of academic medicine and will include topics such as artificial intelligence (AI) in health care and its implications for health care efficiency and patient safety, initiatives to protect health care workers from violence and intimidation, and health care infrastructure in rural communities.
Ahmadi will be attending medical school in the fall of 2024. She hopes to continue working in health policy as a medical student and physician through patient advocacy, conducting research, and potentially taking on leadership roles in a health care-related professional organization or public office.