Renowned Hematologist Mojtaba Akhtari, MD, Reflects on a New Era in Treating Blood Cancers

The nationally recognized hematologist-oncologist Mojtaba Akhtari, MD, was born and reared in Tehran, Iran. “In my early years, I had a couple of cousins who were medical students. When I visited them in their homes, I was fascinated with the images in their medical text books. I would flip the pages from physiology to anatomy. That was my first introduction to medicine,” said Dr. Akhtari.

During his formative years, a personal medical drama added to his medical interest. “My mother became very ill. We took her from doctor to doctor, but nobody could determine what was wrong.

She had lost strength in her legs as well as bowel and bladder control. Finally, a neurosurgeon by the name of Aliomohammadi diagnosed her with transverse myelitis and admitted her into the hospital,” revealed Dr. Akhtari. “She was treated as an inpatient for about 3 months. She survived, had occupational therapy, and went on to live a normal life.”

He continued: “The way this neurosurgeon treated my mother along with his compassionate and professional bedside manner had a great effect on me. As a young man, I wanted to be someone like him, a person who made a difference in sick people’s lives. I would describe him as ‘the good doctor.’”

Introduction to Oncology