Nazia Qazi, MD, an accomplished transplant hepatologist, is director of hepatology at South Shore University Hospital and an associate professor at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. She specializes in fatty liver and alcohol-related liver disease.Her interest in medicine was forged by empathy. I feel people's pain and am determined to help them. It's a driving force in my personality and life, she says. I chose hepatology because that's where the maximum pain and maximum need was. She attended medical school at the University of Kashmir in India. She then came to New York City for a residency at Maimonides Medical Center and a fellowship in advanced transplant hepatology at Mount Sinai Medical Center. Prior to joining Northwell Health in 2021, Dr. Qazi was chief of hepatology at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Washington, DC, for nine years, and worked at Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. She has held academic positions at George Washington University, Howard University, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and MedStar Georgetown University.As a clinician, works to respect each patient's individuality. When you validate a patient's beliefs, opinions and fears, that builds a relationship of trust between doctor and patient, she says. With trust, a patient is more receptive to hearing information about their health and treatment, and it becomes more of a conversation between two equals. Dr. Qazi imparts lessons about patient respect and empathy to the residents she teaches. When you've treated people in this field for many years, you really appreciate the complexity of societal and emotional components influencing each person's life. It takes time to navigate, but it's a very important part of helping patients and changing their trajectory. Her passion for philosophy, poetry and nature keeps Dr. Qazi grounded in her off hours. Additionally, when she's not seeing patients, Dr. Qazi is active with the American College of Physicians (ACP) and American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), chairing meetings, developing policy and lobbying on Capitol Hill. She has won two ACP awards for her leadership and work promoting gender equity, education and advocacy. Her research interests focus on liver cancer and drug-induced liver injury.