Dr. Adrian Furman – MD, FAAP
Dr. Furman identifies as an Alaska Native pediatrician from Bristol Bay. He was raised in his mother’s ancestral village of Egegik and was a commercial fisherman by trade. Adrian spent two years in Molokai, Hawaii, in elementary school, then completed his secondary education in Wasilla. He attended Stanford University, where he was active in the Native American community and was a supporter of the Black Student Union, El Centro Chicano and the Muslim Student Awareness Network. Adrian was also involved in a study abroad focused on public health projects in townships near Cape Town, South Africa.
Dr. Furman attended Vanderbilt Medical School, in Nashville, TN, at which he was able to contribute to health fairs for refugees, trainee clinics for uninsured and undocumented children, and medical missions to Guatemala and Nicaragua. He anticipated returning to Anchorage on completion of his training and chose to attend a residency focused on primary care and training in social determinants of health for urban underserved populations. Since completion of residency, Dr. Furman has worked in healthcare Centers in Los Angeles and an emergency room affiliated with Boston Children’s Hospital. He was following his wife, Grace Shih, MD, who also joined the Anchorage medical community as an ophthalmologist.
Dr. Furman was raised in a discrimination-free household and takes pride in providing evidence-based care for infants, children, adolescents and their families of all races, ethnicities, faiths, gender identities, and sexual orientations. In the process of his training and early practice, he has provided care for families from Armenia, Brazil, China, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Iraq, Iran, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Nigeria, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Russia, South Korea, Sudan, Uganda, Vietnam and several countries in West Africa. Dr. Furman has found particular meaning in providing care for children of families displaced by foreign conflict, including those from Afghanistan, Latin America, Syria, and the Ukraine.
In his spare time, Dr. Furman enjoys taking his two daughters and dog, Bella, on nature walks. Adrian personally enjoys team sports, hiking, road and trail running, and subsistence fishing