Influential Woman · Healthcare
Hafsa Benzzi
PhD
Research Development Consultant, Telemedicine Company
New York, NY
Her Story
About Hafsa
Hafsa Benzzi is a dermatologist and holds a PhD in clinical research, with a focus on drug development and explainable AI. She began her career in the healthcare space in 2007 after completing medical school in dermatology and a fellowship in the clinical trials unit, where she contributed to new treatments for psoriasis and eczema. She later pursued her PhD in the clinical research program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where she developed an interest in explainable AI, precision medicine, personalized medicine, and genomics to determine optimal patient treatments based on genetic background. Benzzi is a member of the Francophone Association of Dermatologists, the Moroccan Society of Dermatology, the ethics consult at Mount Sinai, and the AI Governance Committee at Mount Sinai. She attributes her success to God and hard work, and she values transparency, honesty, and perseverance in her professional and personal life.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Hafsa
01What do you attribute your success to?
Honestly, God's then hard work.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
It was actually from my father. When he emphasized that perseverance is key to success. And by the way, he's a teacher.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
First of all, to do the work, what they need to do, from A to Z, there is no shortcuts. So, they need to study, they need to get to the bottom of everything, try to answer each question, persevere, but also have strong opinions, about themselves and what they want to do in the future.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think the challenges are the same opportunities in my field, because it's patients' problems, the gaps, the healthcare problems, autoimmune diseases, chronic diseases. we still have these issues, we don't understand well how the immune system works, so we still have problems. These are challenges as well, and also opportunities to work on and try to find new molecules, new treatments for our patients.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Transparency. For me? Honesty. And, again, perseverance. People don't give up.
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