Dr. Raana Akbar, MD, did her F.Sc from Gordon College, Rawalpindi in 1969 with distinction and earned the National Talent Scholar. Subsequently she did her MBBS from King Edward Medical College, Lahore in 1975. During her stay at King Edward Medical College she remained very active in many organisations and committees and was elected the Women Representative of the Student Union unanimously each year from 1969 to1974, responsible for getting women students the right to vote and representation in the Student Union at par with the men students.
After graduation Dr. Raana joined the department of Internal Medicine as House Physician at Mayo Hospital, Lahore (1975-1976) and then Junior Resident & Senior Resident, Kings County Hospital, Down State Medical College Centre, Brooklyn, New York (1977-1979), Fellowship in Paediatric Infections Disease, New York Medical College, New York (1981-1982) and then Fellowship in Allergy and Immunology, Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Wayne State University Hospitals, Detroit, Michigan (1982-1984). Subsequently Dr. Raana gained the State of New York License in 1981, State of Michigan License in 1982 and State of Florida License in 1987. Assistant Clinical Professor at the Department of Paediatrics, College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University, Lansing and Fellow of the American Academy of Paediatrics, she has also been the Diplomat of the American Board pf Paediatrics in May 1984, Diplomat of the American Board of Allergy and Immunology in October 1987.
Dr. Raana Akbar is member of Michigan Allergy Society, The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, American College of Allergy and Immunology, American Medical Association, Michigan State Medical Society (Recipient of the Community service Award by the Michigan State Medical Society 2004 also recipient of the National Leadership Award by the Michigan State Medical Society 2003), Saginaw County Medical Society, Association of Pakistani Physicians of North America, King Edward Medical College Alumni Association, Life Member of APPNA and also Life Member of KEMCAANA.
Apart from the many other Professional and Civic appointments and Honours Dr. Raana has been involved with much needed charitable work both here in United States and in Pakistan. She has been responsible for financing non-formal primary schools in the rural areas of Pakistan for the last seven years. Closely involved in the initial funding and financing of the rural health program APPNA Sehat, which takes care of 150,000-250,000 people at any good time, for the last 17 years, in various regions of Pakistan. She raised $100,000 for Earthquake Relief in Pakistan from the local community in 2005.
Currently Dr. Raana is member and acting secretary Shura Council, Islamic Centre of Saginaw, Chairperson Fundraising Committee, chairperson Constitution and Bylaws Committee, Chairperson Mosque Expansion Committee and teacher Sunday school, Islamic Centre of Saginaw. She is also the Co-Chair, Publication Committee, association of Pakistani Physicians of North America. Recipient of Leadership and Life Time Achievement Award and also credited to her name are numerous articles printed in the Pakistan American Press on issues sensitive to contemporary problems. Award.
In a private practice as a Board Certified Allergist, in Saginaw, Michigan, since 1984, Dr. Raana Akbar is mother of two wonderful girls: Amna 27, a lawyer in New York City, who works for legal services of Queens, particularly in gender issues in the Asian community, and Zainab 25, who has started Law school at the University of Minneapolis. She also has a son, Ahmed who is 18, and attends the Haverford College in Pennsylvania as a freshman. Her husband, Dr. Waheed, is an Orthopedic Surgeon and is an activist in his own right.
