Pakistani psychiatrist Dr Ayesha I. Mian has become the first Pakistani and South Asian elected president of the International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions (IACAPAP).
She currently serves as Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Synapse, Pakistan Neuroscience Institute, where she leads initiatives in clinical care, education, research and mental health advocacy.
According to a press release, her election reflects growing international recognition of expertise emerging from low- and middle-income countries in the field of child and adolescent mental health.
An alumna of Aga Khan University (AKU), Dr Mian previously served on the faculty of the University of Texas and Baylor College of Medicine. After returning to Pakistan in 2013, she joined AKU, where she served as Founding Dean of Student Experience and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry. She also established Pakistan’s first Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship training programme.
Dr Mian has received numerous honors for her leadership, mentorship and contributions to psychiatry, including the Jeanne Spurlock Award for Diversity and Culture from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), as well as the Laughlin Fellowship, the AACAP Presidential Award and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the University of Missouri.
