Shining Star of the Month (Feb 2007) 

Sohail Z. Husain, M.D.

Sohail Husain, MD, is Assistant Muhtamim Tarbiyyat Nau-Mobaeen for MKA USA. He is also Taleem/Tarbiyyat Nazim for his local MKA Connecticut Majlis and serves as Tabligh and Public Relations Secretary for the local Jama'at. Professionally, Dr. Husain is an Assistant Professor at Yale University School of Medicine. He immigrated from Nagpur, India to New York City as a young child. Graduating with a BS in Biological Sciences from Binghamton University (NY), in 1994 he then went on to Medical School at Tufts University, in Boston, Massachusetts. After completing his MD in 1998, Dr. Husain did a three year residency in Pediatrics at New York University Medical Center followed by a three year fellowship in Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition at Yale University School of Medicine. Upon completion in 2004, he joined the faculty in the Department of Pediatrics at Yale.

By the grace of God, this Ahmadi Muslim has a number of remarkable achievements. In 1990, as a high school student, he was awarded the Edgar Davis Memorial Scholarship in Medicine. As a college undergraduate student, he was elected member of the Golden Key National Honor Society and graduated with the distinction of Magna Cum Laude. During his later work in research, Dr. Husain was awarded the prestigious American Gastroenterological Association / AstraZeneca Faculty Transition Basic Science Award in 2004, and named "Junior Investigator Scholar" on a Yale Child Health Research Center Grant given to the institution by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Later that year, he was also given a five year career development award for Physician-Scientists from the NIH, called a K08. Notably, he was awarded a prestigious Fellows Travel Award from the North American Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition (NASPGHAN); and in his Department, he won the Best Fellow Abstract Presentation Award. This latter award provided him with the exact amount of required funds that month to fulfill his Connecticut Mosque pledge. More recently in 2006, Dr. Husain was awarded the Children Digestive Health/Nutrition Foundation Young Investigator Award from NASPGHAN.

Dr. Husain's research examines the cellular mechanisms responsible for the development and severity of an inflammatory disease of the pancreas called acute pancreatitis. He has shown (in the proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences /2005) that cellular calcium released from a distinct calcium channel called the ryanodine receptor modulates the early phase of the disease. It is anticipated, Insha'Allah, that this work will help elucidate treatments to ameliorate pancreatitis or prevent the disease in predisposed individuals. Dr. Husain welcomes motivated, hard-working students and post-Docs to consider working with him with a one to two year full time commitment. They may send their CVs to him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

A portion of Dr. Husain's time is spent treating children with gastrointestinal and liver diseases. He is Board-certified in Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition through the American Board of Pediatrics.