Asal Shirazi
Speaking to a house of Commons Committee
Asal Chaharsough-Shirazi BEM is a British author, medical physiologist, educator, health advocate and humanitarian whose work brings together scientific understanding with the powerful perspective of lived experience.
After developing multiple serious autoimmune conditions, Asal turned profound personal adversity into a mission: to make the realities of chronic and autoimmune disease better understood by healthcare professionals, patients and the wider public.
She is a published author and the Founder and CEO of the Autoimmune Support & Awareness Foundation (ASA Foundation), where she has dedicated herself to improving awareness, education and earlier recognition of autoimmune disease. Her educational work has reached nursing students, healthcare professionals, postgraduate audiences and leaders across the pharmaceutical and research sectors.
Asal's writing occupies an unusual space between science and lived experience. Drawing on her background in medical physiology, her work in health education and her own experience as a patient, she translates complex aspects of chronic illness into writing that is accessible, compassionate and clinically informed. Her educational books have also supported the learning of nursing students and healthcare professionals.
Her work extends beyond publishing. She is the creator of ASAL – Autoimmune Symptom Awareness and Learning, a digital health platform designed to help people better understand and record symptoms, recognise patterns and have more informed conversations with healthcare professionals. She is also an entrepreneur and founder of the award-winning Jeunvie skincare and wellbeing brand.
In 2019, Asal was awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) by Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in recognition of her contribution to health and humanitarian causes.
Despite living with significant chronic illness herself, Asal continues to write, teach and advocate for people whose illnesses are frequently invisible, misunderstood or diagnosed too late.
At the heart of her work is a simple conviction: knowledge can change the course of a person's life.
Through her writing, education and advocacy, Asal seeks to bridge the distance between knowing the name of a disease and truly understanding the person living with it—giving patients a stronger voice, professionals a deeper perspective, and families greater knowledge, validation and hope."
Asal Shirazi
Asal Chaharsough-Shirazi BEM is a British author, medical physiologist, educator, health advocate and humanitarian whose work brings together scientific understanding with the powerful perspective of lived experience.
After developing multiple serious autoimmune conditions, Asal turned profound personal adversity into a mission: to make the realities of chronic and autoimmune disease better understood by healthcare professionals, patients and the wider public.
She is a published author and the Founder and CEO of the Autoimmune Support & Awareness Foundation (ASA Foundation), where she has dedicated herself to improving awareness, education and earlier recognition of autoimmune disease. Her educational work has reached nursing students, healthcare professionals, postgraduate audiences and leaders across the pharmaceutical and research sectors.
Asal's writing occupies an unusual space between science and lived experience. Drawing on her background in medical physiology, her work in health education and her own experience as a patient, she translates complex aspects of chronic illness into writing that is accessible, compassionate and clinically informed. Her educational books have also supported the learning of nursing students and healthcare professionals.
Her work extends beyond publishing. She is the creator of ASAL – Autoimmune Symptom Awareness and Learning, a digital health platform designed to help people better understand and record symptoms, recognise patterns and have more informed conversations with healthcare professionals. She is also an entrepreneur and founder of the award-winning Jeunvie skincare and wellbeing brand.
In 2019, Asal was awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) by Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in recognition of her contribution to health and humanitarian causes.
Despite living with significant chronic illness herself, Asal continues to write, teach and advocate for people whose illnesses are frequently invisible, misunderstood or diagnosed too late.
At the heart of her work is a simple conviction: knowledge can change the course of a person's life.
Through her writing, education and advocacy, Asal seeks to bridge the distance between knowing the name of a disease and truly understanding the person living with it—giving patients a stronger voice, professionals a deeper perspective, and families greater knowledge, validation and hope."