Sezan Mahmud | |
|---|---|
 Sezan Mahmud | |
| Native name | সেজান মাহমুদ |
| Born | Saleh M. M. Rahman Sirajganj, Bangladesh |
| Occupation | Writer, film director, lyricist, columnist, physician by training, professor of public health and medicine |
| Nationality | Bangladeshi-American |
| Alma mater | Sir Salimullah Medical College Harvard University University of Alabama at Birmingham |
| Genres | Magic Realism, documentary, science fiction, science based adventures, children's Literature. |
| Years active | 1984-present |
Saleh M. M. Rahman, better known by his pen name Sezan Mahmud, (Bengali: সেজান মাহমুদ) is a Bangladeshi-born American writer, lyricist, columnist and physician-scientist. He was awarded the Shishu Academy Award in 1988.[1] He works as the Associate Dean for Equity, Inclusion, & Diversity, and Professor of Medical Sciences at the Frank H. Netter School of Medicine, Quinnipiac University.[2]
He received his MBBS degree in medicine from Sir Salimullah Medical College, under Dhaka University in 1992, MPH degree from Harvard University School of Public Health in 1997 and PhD from University of Alabama, Birmingham, School of Public Health in 2001. He has completed his IDF fellowship in Endocrinology at Joslin Diabetes Center, Harvard Medical School. He was tenured full professor of Public Health at Florida A&M University and Clinical Research Professor of Medicine at Florida State University,[3] Professor of Medicine and Interim Assistant Dean at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine.[4]
Dr. Saleh Rahman, AKA Sezan Mahmud, is a renowned medical scientist, educator, public health professional, and a distinguished expert in equity, inclusion, and diversity. His scholarly works focus on health equity, social determinants of health, global health, cancer prevention and control, community-based Participatory research (CBPR), health disparities, and emerging infectious diseases. He is one of the researchers who started looking at Social Determinants of Health, including Zip Code, and coined 'Community Economic Status' to measure socioeconomic and environmental disparities in the late 90s. He continued this line of research on GIS-based access to care and travel impediments and the Distress Community Index (DCI) to measure historical disparities and effects of structural racism.[5] He has received numerous research grants, including a multi-million-dollar National Institute of Health (NIH)-funded P20 Center of Excellence for Cancer Research, Training and Community Service grant. Based on his research, he has developed a CBPR-Social Marketing Intersection Model, Behavioral Theoretical Model for Health Services.[6] He has been interviewed as an expert by numerous national and international media, including NPR (National Public Radio), Smashable.com, Voice of America, ATN Bangla, Ekattor TV, Channel I on the COVID-19 pandemic and Ebola Outbreak.[7] He serves as an editorial board member, reviewer of many peer-reviewed journals, and member of professional organizations such as the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE), International Association of Medical Science Educators (IAMSE), American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), American Public Health Association (APHA), International Diabetes Federation (IDF), European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), American Association for Diabetes Educator (AADE).
Sezan Mahmud published his debut novel "AgniBalak" (অগ্নিবালক) in 2009, well received by eminent writers and critics of contemporary Bengali literature. AgniBalak is translated by Fayeza Hasanat and published by Austin Macauley Publishers in 2020, entitled FIRE BORN. His book on the true, untold stories of Naval Commandos in the Bangladesh liberation war (1971), one of the first books on true stories of Liberation war, Operation Jackpot ("অপারেশন জ্যাকপট", ১৯৯১) was translated into English and published in Amazon Kindle version.[8] His contribution to popularize the history of liberation war of Bangladesh to youngsters is noteworthy. His juvenile novel based on the liberation war ('Moner Ghuri Latai', 1992) was retold in the full-length feature film "Gourob" (গৌরব) directed by nationally awarded film director Harunur Rashid. His writing has been selected and included by Bangladesh Text Book Board[9] since 1996 in the sixth grade along with the most eminent writers of Bengali literature.
