The Girl Who Taught Herself to Fly

Originally from Penang, Malaysia, Kwan Kew Lai received a full scholarship from Wellesley College. She is a Harvard Medical Faculty Physician. In 2005, she left academia to dedicate time to humanitarian work; in HIV/AIDS in Africa, and she provides disaster relief all over the world, such as during the Ebola outbreak, the Syrian Rohingya refugee crises, and the COVID-19 pandemic in New York and the Navajo Nation. Her debut, Lest We Forget: A Doctor's Experience with Life and Death During the Ebola Outbreak, chronicles her time in Liberia and Sierra Leone caring for Ebola patients. Into Africa, Out of Academia: A Doctor's Memoir came out October, 2020. Visit: kwankewlai.com