Age: 19
For most youth, medical decision making falls entirely to their parents. That was the case for Laiba Nasir as she navigated a chronic illness. But her lack of power (and choice) didn’t sit right with her.
“I had no clue what was going on, and that was pretty scary,” she recalls. “I wanted to help manage myself — it was really important for me to be involved.”
Nasir believes that youth should be informed of their own decision-making power in health care.
In 2022, she founded the Medically Autonomous Youth Society to provide education and resources to her peers. She recently launched MAYTECH (Medically Autonomous Youth Technology), a startup that uses medical research-supported AI to easily interpret lab results. Her research, advocacy and leadership continue as she pursues her degree in Community Rehabilitation and Disability Studies at the University of Calgary.
