# Rupa Marya

Rupa Marya is a doctor, activist, musician and writer based in San Francisco. She is a professor of medicine at the UCSF School of Medicine and co-author of the book Inflamed: Deep Medicine and the Anatomy of Injustice (with Raj Patel). She is currently suspended from teaching and banned from the UCSF campus after challenging the presence of an Israeli medical student at the school on social media.

## Early life

Marya was born in California to immigrant Indian parents. Her childhood was spent in the US, France, and India. She attended the University of California San Diego, earning degrees in theater and molecular biology, before attending medical school at Georgetown University. It was during her residency at UCSF that she began writing and performing music.

## Activism

Marya has said her sense of justice was awakened in childhood as she witnessed class differences in India, and learned about colonization and genocide perpetrated against Native Americans in the United States. She is involved in numerous organizations working at the intersection of social justice and health, including the Do No Harm Coalition and Deep Medicine Circle. She was recognized in 2021 with the Women Leaders in Medicine Award by the American Medical Student Association. She was a reviewer of the American Medical Association's Organizational Strategic Plan to Embed Racial Justice and Advance Health Equity. In 2019, Marya was among the physicians appointed by Governor Newsom to the Healthy California for All Commission.
Marya has been vocal on social media as well as in her capacity as a medical professional regarding violations of Palestinian human rights. After Dr. Avromi Kanal sent an email to hospital staff arguing against a cease-fire resolution, Marya publicly described this email as an "expression of anti-Arab hate" that prompted doctors of South Asian and North African descent "to say they do not feel safe in his presence."

### Medical student controversy

   * Rupa Marya, MD @DrRupaMarya
   Med students at UCSF are concerned that a first year student from Israel is in their class. They're asking if he participated in the genocide of Palestinians in the IDF before matriculating into medical school in CA. How do we address this in our professional ranks?
Marya was suspended from her role after challenging the presence of a first-year Israeli medical student at UCSF. Marya faced backlash in the past for criticizing the impact of Zionism on health care, having described it as an "impediment to health equity" and a "supremacist, racist ideology". Senator Scott Wiener and UCSF publicly labeled these posts as antisemitic, and UCSF suspended Marya due to "the targeting of students on social media based on their national origin". Marya said that she was suspended because of her "support for the liberation of Palestinians who are suffering genocide", and maintained she was the victim of a targeted harassment campaign by pro-Israel groups.
The university later reinstated her clinical care responsibilities while maintaining her ban from campus and the hospital.

## Music

Marya is the composer and front-woman of the band Rupa & the April Fishes and was a lead plaintiff in the lawsuit that brought the song "Happy Birthday to You" back to the public domain.
Rupa & the April Fishes' debut album, "Extraordinary Rendition", reflects on the societal impact of the September 11 attacks, while her subsequent album, "Este Mundo," draws from her interactions with undocumented immigrants facing severe health challenges. In "Este Mundo," Rupa's lyrics explore themes of longing, loss, and love, maintaining a thoughtful and intimate perspective. Her music incorporates influences from jazz, tango, klezmer, Latin American, and Balkan music.