Growing up, Farha Ali (DO ‘21) wasn’t certain that she would pursue medicine as an
adult. Surrounded by doctors, including her father and uncle, Ms. Ali’s desire to
explore nonmedical careers wasn’t just because she wanted to veer from the family
path, but also because she had spent much of her life as a patient.
“I was born with arteriovenous malformation, a congenital deformity of the blood vessels in my right ear, for which I had my first reconstruction surgery at age 9.” shared Ms. Ali. Over the next decade, subsequent attempts at reconstruction were made, but unfortunately, she experienced complications, mainly recurrent infections, that resulted in multiple stays in the hospital since most of the blood supply that would deliver the antibiotics had intentionally been removed. She would continue to experience hospitalizations until the age of 19. At that time, between her freshman and sophomore year at the University of Pittsburgh, Ms. Ali made the decision to have the problematic external ear removed via a resection surgery to avoid further progression of the infections. The condition and surgeries did not affect Ms. Ali’s hearing.
Ms. Ali graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a bachelor of science in biology and English. After completing her undergraduate degree, Ms. Ali worked as a Patient Care Technician at UPMC to explore a career in health care. In these roles, Ms. Ali learned how important a collaborative healthcare team is for effective patient care and it was during this time that her decision to pursue a career in medicine was made. After completing her M.S. in Cell & Developmental Biology at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA, Ms. Ali applied and was accepted to Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM). In the interim, she worked for Integral Molecular in University City, doing their search engine optimization and website redesign project.
“My decision to pursue osteopathic medicine was led by my personal experiences with health care and my desire to have a deeper relationship with my patients. I feel that I am a very effective communicator and I enjoy talking with my patients to help them better understand what they are going through,” shared Ms. Ali.
During her time at PCOM, Ms. Ali served as a class representative for her first two years and a group leader for her third and fourth years. Ms. Ali also volunteered her time as a co-leader for the “Medical Students for Masks” initiative, which supplied personal protective equipment for frontline healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her roles included helping design and maintain the website, as well as running the social media platforms for the initiative.
Upon graduation, Ms. Ali will begin her residency in Internal Medicine at ChristianaCare Hospital System in Newark, Delaware. Outside of medicine, Ms. Ali enjoys photography and website design. She also has a very successful Instagram account, documenting her culinary experiences and adventures throughout Philadelphia. Ms. Ali is the daughter of Dr. Mohammed Ali, MD CCHP & Zeba Ali, and is married to Mr. Caleb Angle, an engineer for the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA). She is originally from India and lives in Newark, DE.
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