Amidst the bustle of the health-care world, where long hours and demanding schedules are the norm, many Arizona doctors split their clinical duties with other passions. From making movies and writing novels to running for Congress and starting skincare companies, these hard-working healers are not content practicing one specialty.
By Sydnee Wilson | Photography by Mirelle Inglefield
Dr. Zuhdi Jasser
Valley internist Dr. Zuhdi Jasser remembers the exact moment when his vision for a new, moderate version of American Islam achieved form.
“In 2004 at Patriot Square in Phoenix, before anyone really knew locally or nationally who I was, I brought together reform-minded Muslim leaders from our newly formed American Islamic Forum for Democracy, along with the Arizona Interfaith Movement and a broader coalition of activists, for the first-of-its-kind rally in Arizona,” Jasser says. It was the first and only Muslim-led rally against Islamist-inspired terrorism in the U.S., according to Jasser, a clinician who treats a full caseload of patients out of Jasser Center for Comprehensive Care in Phoenix.
Jasser’s vision for an “ideological counter-jihad” emphasizes principles such as human rights and gender equality, and condemns the religious extremism that led to events like the terrorist attacks in New York City on September 11, 2001. Jasser says the aftermath of 9/11 inspired him to become the voice for the movement. “I felt a unique calling and obligation to contribute to the local, national and international body politic that was confronting Islamism,” says the former U.S. Navy officer, who has accused Muslim groups like the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Islamic Society of North America of fomenting “Islamist” sentiment – i.e. the mixing of politics and religion.
With his unique CV and political outlook, the Ohio native and son of Syrian immigrants has become something of a go-to guest pundit on Fox News and CNN to hold forth on the topic of religious extremism. His media fame, in turn, led to an appointment to serve on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) in 2012.
Naturally, the physician also has his critics. Accused by some fellow Muslim Americans of demonizing Islam, Jasser was the subject of a petition demanding McConnell vacate the appointment. The petition amassed 1,800 signatures.
Following the publication of his book A Battle for the Soul of Islam in 2012, Jasser’s media engine slowed down a bit, but it stands to rev up anew with his recently announced candidacy for Congress. One of three Republicans vying to oust U.S. Representative Greg Stanton from Arizona’s 4th District, Jasser hopes his singular profile as a moderate Republican Muslim connects with the district’s blend of Tempe academics, Mesa families and Ahwatukee suburbanites.
“Just as a primary care physician takes on the struggles of the system for every patient, I do see that as my role for the body politic of my future constituents and my country,” Jasser says. “I don’t want my life to end without feeling that I tried to leave a legacy for a better America – not only at the patient’s bedside, but in the halls of Congress.”
Learn more about Jasser’s political aspirations at zforaz.com
Dr. Chip Thomas
When North Carolina native Dr. Chip Thomas relocated to the beautiful high-desert mesas and valleys of the Navajo Nation in 1987, he had no idea he’d be there for decades. The now-retired physician worked at the Inscription House Health Center as a family doctor for more than three decades, concluding his tenure in August 2023. Though he isn’t Navajo, his gradual acceptance into the community and his care philosophy are the reasons he stayed at this small clinic in northeastern Arizona.
“I started my medical career in 1987 believing that health care is a right, not a privilege,” Thomas says. “That feeling hasn’t changed. I stayed in the Indian Health Service for 36 years because it was one of the few examples in the country, when I started, that provided universal access to health care.”
As one of its two permanent physicians, Thomas performed an integral service for the Navajo Nation, known as Diné Bikéyah to its people. But his career in medicine isn’t the only way he serves the community – Thomas is also an artist and activist whose avocations celebrate the Diné.
The physician first experimented with photography when he was in eighth grade, but says he didn’t take it seriously until he moved to Arizona. He began as a documentary photographer, finding inspiration in the works of photographers like W. Eugene Smith and Josef Koudelka. Now, Thomas is a public artist working with large-format storytelling.
His public art, done under the pseudonym “jetsonorama,” includes photographs that are scaled up, printed and pasted to buildings. They feature Diné people and messages related to issues he’s observed in his community, like health disparities and environmental damage. He says his job and location have greatly inspired his artistic activism.
“Part of my activism was taking the time to visit some patients in their homes to better understand their lifestyles and challenges, such as not having running water or electricity despite living in an area that is rich in natural gas, coal, oil, uranium and water in aquifers,” Thomas says. “My activism centered around drawing attention to these issues to help people on Diné Bikéyah achieve economic and health equity with people in the rest of the state of Arizona.”
While art, activism and medicine seem like distinct fields, Thomas has found a meaningful intersection. “I came to see the visual arts and healing arts to be complementary disciplines,” he says. “When I saw patients in the clinic, I was attempting to create an environment of wellness in the individual. By placing images in the community that reflected to the community the beauty they shared with me, I was attempting to create an environment of wellness in the community.”
Find Thomas’ work at jetsonorama.net
Dr. Sandra Cavallo Miller
Dr. Sandra Cavallo Miller spent years as an academic family doctor in Phoenix, caring for patients and preparing many students and residents for successful medical careers. After working in private practice for a decade, she became an integral part of the University of Arizona College of Medicine, serving as a professor and residency director for 26 years.
Upon retiring in 2015, Miller embarked on a new chapter – writing fiction novels. Though the medical field seems diametrically opposed to creative writing, her path to becoming a doctor actually included a background in the literary arts.
“I followed a crooked path to medicine,” Miller says. “My college majors were creative writing and anthropology, with a biology minor. I planned to become a biomedical librarian and happily spend my days with books and journals. Just to say I’d tried, I also applied to medical school. I never expected to be accepted.”
Her acceptance to Rush Medical College in Chicago, Illinois, led to a career in family medicine, a specialty she says was a natural fit.
“Family medicine appealed to me from the beginning,” Miller says. “I had a romantic notion of being the small-town doctor, which was not very realistic, but the basic role fit me. It’s complex and messy, and I like helping people figure it out.”
It also, she says, brought her face-to-face with the tangible challenges of being a woman in the medical field in the 1970s and 1980s, facing stereotyping, sexism and discrimination. These challenges ultimately found expression in her literary efforts, when Miller – fresh off retirement – purposefully steered her writing into the world of women doctors.
She started writing her debut novel, The Color of Rock, in 2015. Published by the University of Nevada Press in 2019, the book follows Dr. Abby Wilmore, a young woman who’s a family physician at the Grand Canyon Clinic. It shows the multifaceted lives of doctors both in and out of the clinic and includes a touch of romance, mystery and adventure. Miller has four other published novels and one on the way, all of which take place in Arizona.
The novels not only fill the empty spots on the bookshelf for women in medicine, but also medical fiction in general. “I love showing that doctors are human, how they think and feel, how they respond to conflict, both personal and professional,” Miller says. “They’re not perfect, not by a long shot, because no one is. I also enjoy exploring the tensions and rewards of working with good and bad colleagues, patients and students. The stories are playful, with plenty of humor, adventure and romance to keep the pages turning, because we read novels for enjoyment more than education.”
Find Miller’s novels at skepticalword.com
Anthony “Tony” Nuara
Board-certified dermatologist Dr. Anthony “Tony” Nuara started formulating bespoke skin and hair products for his patients in 2016. His expertise and ability to create skincare concoctions has taken these products from his office to the bathroom shelves of not only his patients, but consumers across the world.
Nuara’s first product was inspired by his skin cancer patients. “Our very first product, Spectrum, was born in 2016 when I was tired of writing a list of vitamins for my skin cancer patients to take daily and decided to just have them combined into one convenient capsule,” the 2023 PHOENIX Top Doctor says.
Nuara’s commercial skincare line evolved from that single mega-supplement to topical and oral products – known as “compounded medications” – that treat a variety of issues, from hair loss and wrinkles to acne and dry skin. Compounded medications are designed by physicians and custom-made by a pharmacist to meet unique patient needs, according to Nuara. He learned the art of medication design while earning his Ph.D. in molecular microbiology and immunology at St. Louis University, where he also later graduated from medical school. A North Phoenix native, he returned to the Valley in 2012 and launched Foundation Skincare in 2018.
Being a doctor and entrepreneur – doctorpreneur? – isn’t easy, but he’s able to balance patient care and his business with support from his wife and brand managers. “[The company] freed me to design topical products and supplements that first filled a need for my own patients and then bring them to other dermatologists and patients outside of my practice,” Nuara says. “It is always gratifying when another doctor messages me that our product has improved their hair or been tolerable where others’ were not.”
Since Nuara’s products are non-prescription, they aren’t covered by insurance, but he’s made affordability a priority, he says. The skincare range emphasizes creams and lotions, such as hyaluronic acid lotion and night renewal cream, priced at $45 each. Additionally, both the skincare and hair loss lines feature oral supplements priced at $65.
“We try to be all-inclusive for products suited to all skin types and genders,” he says.
Shop Nuara’s products at foundationskincare.com
Dr. Chris McDaniel
What does Dr. Chris McDaniel do? A better question: What doesn’t McDaniel do? He’s a chiropractic physician, owner of McDaniel Family Chiropractic, filmmaker, author and music producer. He’s always making adjustments and corrections, be it a human spine, screenplay, song or poem.
Despite his many passions and callings, the Kentucky native says he wanted to be a chiropractor due to two transformational experiences. One was the chiropractic care he received following a car accident when he was a child. The other was exposure to medical rotations in college, which made him realize he wanted to offer holistic care without the high-stakes intensity of traditional medical specialties – a choice that gave him time to indulge his love of the creative arts.
Describing a childhood in which he “always had a VHS Camcorder in my hand,” McDaniel says creation is in his blood. “I told my mom I wanted to do the whole artist thing, and she said, ‘You can always do the artist thing on the side while focusing on something to pay the bills.’ She was right.”
McDaniel has produced three films, including Queens of Country (2012), shot entirely in Arizona with an impressive cast that included Lizzy Caplan, Ron Livingston, Joe Lo Truglio, Matt Walsh and Maynard James Keenan. He also helped develop an indie record label in 2006 called Dreamy Draw Music and authored two self-published children’s books: The Adventures of Dusty Popsallot and Dottie Digsallot and Her Dinosaur Discoveries.
This year, he’s releasing a book of poetry and a new film he wrote and directed called Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. It’s a music documentary that celebrates the sounds of classic 1980s films and includes stars like Kevin Bacon, Jon Cryer and Barry Bostwick.
There’s method to McDaniel’s mad bursts of creativity: Each year or so, he chooses a major project to focus on. Most years, those projects are films, but following Queens of Country, he also pivoted to children’s books.
“I’m constantly inspired, like all artists, by the world around us. Someone I meet on a plane, a last-minute trip to Disneyland, the way the sunrise looks on the walls in Malta, or even the goofy giggles emanating from both of my daughters,” McDaniel says. “It’s limitless, really. If you allow the beauty of a simple gesture to move you, you will forever be able to fuel your own creativity.”
McDaniel has office hours three days a week, so one thing that’s not limitless is his time. “I am motivated by FOMO,” McDaniel says. “Always have been. I not only fear missing out myself, I fear that others are missing out on something bouncing around in my head that I feel is worthy of sharing.”
Learn more about McDaniel’s myriad pursuits at mcspine.com
