• Adjunct Assistant Professor of Medicine (Rheumatology)

Dr. Atefi is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Medicine (Rheumatology) at the Perelman School of Medicine, and sees adult patients at the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine. She completed her medical degree in Iran before moving to the United States to pursue a career in immunology. She completed a three-year postdoctoral fellowship in Immunology at the University of Michigan, focusing on inflammation. Following this, she joined the Internal Medicine Residency Program at Michigan State University’s Hurley Medical Center. Her journey continued at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School in Boston, where she completed a research fellowship in lupus and subsequently a fellowship in rheumatology. She has since practiced medicine in Michigan, Massachusetts, and Washington, D.C. (George Washington University) before relocating to Pennsylvania to accept a role as Medical Director at AstraZeneca. Alongside this role, she continues to pursue a longstanding passion for patient care at Penn. Her research has centered on systemic lupus erythematosus, and she is deeply committed to patient advocacy at every level. Outside of work, she enjoys swimming, CrossFit, and keeping her son active (and away from screens).

Education and training

• Medical School: Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences
• Residency: Hurley Medical Center
• Residency: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center