Program Leadership
Dr. Gurbaksh Esch, MD MPH FAAP
Director of the Leadership in Medicine for the Underserved
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Bio
Dr. Gurbaksh Esch, MD MPH FAAP
Dr. Esch is an assistant professor in the C.S. Mott Department of Public Health at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. She is the director of the Leadership in Medicine for the Underserved Certificate Program. She received her medical degree from the College of Human Medicine in 2018 and was a previous "Flintstone". She completed her pediatric residency at Beaumont in Royal Oak (now Corewell Health East). Dr. Esch is an inpatient and outpatient pediatrician at Hurley Medical Center in Flint, MI. After her residency, she completed the 2-year Alice Hamilton Scholar Program (as the inaugural scholar) through MSU CHM, under Dr. Mona Hanna at the Pediatric Public Health Initiative, during which time she completed her master’s in public health, through MSU CHM.
She has received local and national grants to support health equity efforts, through medical education programming on adverse and positive childhood experiences, trauma-informed care, and other equity-based topics. She is very passionate about advocacy, writing published opinion pieces on firearm violence and COVID-19 vaccinations, and supporting medical students and residents in their advocacy efforts. She has served on the board of the Michigan Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics since 2022, currently holding the position of secretary on the board and the position of Chair of the Education Committee and of the Health Equity Workgroup.
Dr. Aisha Harris, MD
Assistant Director of Leadership in Medicine for the Underserved
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Bio
Dr Aisha Harris, MD
Dr. Harris is a board-certified Family Medicine Physician who owns and works at Harris Family Health, a direct primary care clinic in her hometown of Flint, Michigan. She graduated from Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, DC and completed her Family Medicine residency at the University of Illinois in Chicago, IL.
She is a professor at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine where she works as the Assistant Director of Leadership in Medicine for the Underserved and the Assistant Family Medicine Clerkship Director in Flint.
Her community and outreach work she focuses on improving health literacy and access through her BLK FAM DOC platform and helps combat health disparities through health education and advocacy initiatives.
Additionally, she is the chair of the Michigan Academy of Family Physicians advocacy committee and was a 2024 Climate and Health Equity Fellow for the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health."