Altaf Saadi, MD

Altaf Saadi, MD MSc is an Associate Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School and Associate Director of the MGH Asylum Clinic, a clinic providing medical and psychological evaluations for U.S. asylum-seekers and survivors of torture. Her research uses community-engaged methods and examines the social drivers of health, focusing on forcibly displaced persons, immigrants (including those in detention), and justice-involved people. She also investigates the lasting brain health impacts of multi-level trauma across the lifespan--spanning physical injuries like traumatic brain injury, psychological trauma, and violence at the community, institutional, and state levels. Her contributions to the field have earned her recognition as a 2020 STAT Wunderkind; a 2021 National Minority Quality Forum "40 Under 40 Leader in Health"; and the prestigious 2023 Bernard Lown Award for Social Responsibility, a national award for health justice leadership.

Dr. Saadi completed her undergraduate studies at Yale College and earned her medical degree from Harvard Medical School, where she graduated cum laude and received the Dean's Community Service Award for her volunteer work with the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center. She then completed her residency in neurology at the Harvard Mass General Brigham Residency program, also serving as Chief Resident. Her research training includes a fellowship with the National Clinician Scholars Program at UCLA, where she received a master's degree in health policy and management at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.

She is committed to action-oriented, community-engaged and policy-relevant research to ensure that everyone, regardless of their background, can achieve their full potential for brain health and well-being across the life span.