Rupa Marya is a doctor, activist, musician and writer based in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. She was a professor of medicine at the

UCSF School of Medicine The UCSF School of Medicine is a multisite medical school of the University of California, San Francisco, with a historical campus located at the base of Mount Sutro on the Parnassus Heights campus in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1864 b ...

, until fired for what the university defined as antisemitism. She co-authored the 2021 book '' Inflamed: Deep Medicine and the Anatomy of Injustice'' (with

Raj Patel Rajeev "Raj" Patel (born 1972) is a British academic, journalist, activist and writer who has lived and worked in Zimbabwe, South Africa, and the United States for extended periods. He has been referred to as "the rock star of social justice w ...

Early life and education

Marya was born in California to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n immigrant parents. Her childhood was spent in the United States, France, and India. She was raised in the Sikh religious tradition. She attended the

University of California San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Es ...

, earning degrees in theater and

molecular biology Molecular biology is a branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecule, molecular basis of biological activity in and between Cell (biology), cells, including biomolecule, biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactio ...

, before attending

Georgetown University School of Medicine Georgetown University School of Medicine, a medical school opened in 1851, is one of Georgetown University's five graduate schools, and is the most applied-to medical school in the nation with a matriculation rate of 1.40%. It is located on Res ...

, receiving her MD in 2002. It was during her

medical residency Residency or postgraduate training is a stage of graduate medical education. It refers to a qualified physician (one who holds the degree of MD, DO, MBBS/MBChB), veterinarian ( DVM/VMD, BVSc/BVMS), dentist ( DDS or DMD), podiatrist ( DPM), o ...

at UCSF in 2007 that she began writing and performing music.

Career

Marya was recognized in 2021 with the Women Leaders in Medicine Award by the

American Medical Student Association The American Medical Student Association (AMSA), founded in 1950 and based in Washington, D.C., is an independent association of physicians-in-training in the United States. AMSA is a student-governed national organization. They have a membershi ...

. She was a reviewer of the

American Medical Association The American Medical Association (AMA) is an American professional association and lobbying group of physicians and medical students. This medical association was founded in 1847 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Membership was 271,660 ...

's Organizational Strategic Plan to Embed Racial Justice and Advance Health Equity. In 2019, Marya was among the physicians appointed by Governor

Gavin Newsom Gavin Christopher Newsom ( ; born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman serving since 2019 as the 40th governor of California. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served from 2011 to 201 ...

to the Healthy California for All Commission.

Medical student controversy and firing

In September 2024, Marya was suspended from her roles by UCSF after she sent out a social media post that was described by the university as "targeting" of students. Marya had tweeted that medical students at USCF were concerned about the presence on campus of a first-year

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

i medical student because they may have been a member of the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

(IDF) and therefore, could have been involved in

Israeli war crimes Israeli war crimes are violations of international criminal law, including war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of genocide, which Israeli security forces have committed or been accused of committing since the Israeli Declaration o ...

in the

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

.: "Dr. Marya raised concerns about the implications of admitting students who may have recently served in the Israeli Defense Force, which has credibly been accused of human rights violations, war crimes, and genocide in Gaza and the West Bank." Due to

conscription in Israel Since the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948, fixed-term military service has been compulsory in Israel. The draft laws of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) only apply to Jews (males and females), Druze (males only), and Circassians (mal ...

, every Israeli citizen over the age of 18 who is Jewish,

Druze The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...

or Circassian must serve in the Israel Defense Forces, with some exceptions. UCSF publicly labeled her posts as

antisemitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

, and the university suspended Marya for what it called "the targeting of students on social media based on their national origin". Marya said her suspension was because of her "support for the liberation of Palestinians who are suffering genocide", and maintained that she was the victim of a targeted harassment campaign by pro-Israel groups. Marya had previously faced backlash for criticizing the impact of

Zionism Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

on health care, having described it as an "impediment to health equity" and a "supremacist, racist ideology". The university later reinstated Marya's clinical care responsibilities, while maintaining her ban from campus and the UCSF hospital. In May 2025, UCSF fired Marya. The following month, she filed two lawsuits against the university, alleging violations of

freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been r ...

and

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

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. 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."

Music

Marya is the composer and front-woman of the band

Rupa & the April Fishes Rupa and the April Fishes is a global alternative group based in San Francisco, California, fronted by composer, singer and guitarist Rupa Marya. Marya is also an author and physician, who teaches internal medicine at the UCSF School of Medicine ...

and was a lead plaintiff in the lawsuit that brought the song "

Happy Birthday to You "Happy Birthday to You", or simply "Happy Birthday", is a song traditionally sung to celebrate a person's birthday. According to the 1998 ''Guinness World Records'', it is the most recognized song in the English language, followed by "For He' ...

" back to the public domain. Rupa & the April Fishes' debut album, "

Extraordinary Rendition Extraordinary rendition is a euphemism, euphemistically-named policy of state-sponsored abduction in a foreign jurisdiction and transfer to a third state. The best-known use of extraordinary rendition is in a United States-led program during th ...

", reflects on the societal impact of the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

, while her subsequent album, "Este Mundo," draws from her interactions with

undocumented immigrants Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of that country's immigration laws, or the continuous residence in a country without the legal right to do so. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upward, wi ...

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 Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries from a combination of Arge ...

klezmer Klezmer ( or ) is an instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. The essential elements of the tradition include dance tunes, ritual melodies, and virtuosic improvisations played for listening; these wou ...

Latin American Latin Americans (; ) are the citizenship, citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their Latin American diaspora, diasporas are Metroethnicity, ...

, and

Balkan music Balkan music is a type of music found in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe. In its broadest sense, it encompasses a variety of music styles across the countries of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marya, Rupa 21st-century American physicians 21st-century American women physicians American physicians of Indian descent Physicians from San Francisco UCSF School of Medicine faculty American medical writers American health activists American social justice activists American activists for Palestinian solidarity Activists from San Francisco American women activists American activists of Asian descent American women writers of Indian descent American singer-songwriters Georgetown University School of Medicine alumni University of California, San Diego alumni American Sikhs Living people Year of birth missing (living people)