Michael El Boghdady, MD, St George's University Hospitals, UK
Dr Michael El Boghdady is a specialist registrar in General Surgery in London. He is the Director of Education (DoE) and the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) officer of the Association of Surgeons in Training (ASiT), one of the leading surgical trainee associations in the UK and Ireland, representing surgical trainees from all ten specialties. Dr El Boghdady is the trainee representative at the Royal College of Surgeons of England EDI steering group. He is also passionate about surgical education, and he obtained his MD degree in surgeon's errors and laparoscopic training from the University of Dundee. He is a member of the Faculty of Surgical Trainers of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
Dr El Boghdady has been working on many projects to improve the training environment and eliminate bullying, discrimination, and harassment in surgical training, as well as to provide support strategies for trainees who experienced poor behaviors. Dr El Boghdady created the anti-bullying, discrimination, and harassment guidance. He has special interests in surgical training, trainees’ wellbeing, anti-bullying, equality, and diversity in surgery.
Ashok Kumbamu, PhD, Mayo Clinic, USA
Dr Ashok Kumbamu is an Assistant Professor of Biomedical Ethics at the Mayo Clinic, holding a PhD in Sociology and postdoctoral training in public health from the University of Alberta. His 12-year career at Mayo Clinic encompasses research in the sociology of health and medicine, medical education, bioethics, and the principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Dr Kumbamu has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals and serves as an Associate Editor for the journal Health Communication. His research experience in various socio-political and cultural contexts, including India, the Netherlands, Singapore, Canada, Sweden, and the United States, has fostered his cultural sensitivity and openness to diverse perspectives.
Russell Seth Martins, MD, JFK University Medical Center & Center for Discovery and Innovation, USA
Russell Seth Martins, MD, is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Thoracic Surgery at JFK University Medical Center and the Center for Discovery and Innovation at the Hackensack Meridian Health Network, USA. With a robust research background, Dr Martins has published numerous peer-reviewed articles, presented at international conferences, and has been awarded the prestigious J. Maxwell Chamberlain Memorial Award in Thoracic Surgery at the 60th Annual Meeting of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (January 2024) in San Antonio, Texas, USA. Dr Martins' areas of interest include clinical thoracic surgery, healthcare sustainability, diversity, equity, and inclusion in medicine.
