Dr. Arja graduated from Guntur Medical College, India, in the year 2002. His passion for medical education motivated him to join Masters in Health Professions Education. He finished the Masters in Health Professions Education by FAIMER, Center for Medical Education in the Context, and Keele University, UK. He graduated with a Master of Sciences in Public Health. He is an ECFMG certified physician and has also cleared USMLE Step 3. The lessons that he learned inspired him to take on a teaching position at a Caribbean Medical School. He came to the Caribbean hoping to instill in students, as others have done before him, the knowledge of medicine and a genuine love for the science of healing. He has been working as a Faculty of Medicine for fifteen years.

He received the Principal Fellowship (PFHEA) from Higher Education Academy/ Advance HE, the UK, which shows an active commitment to and championing all dimensions of the framework by working with students and staff and institutional developments. It also demonstrates successful, strategic leadership to enhance student learning, with a particular, but not necessarily exclusive, focus on enhancing teaching quality in institutional and or international/national settings. PFHEA also consolidates the personal development and evidence of influencing other colleagues’ professional practice in the higher education career. He also received the Fellowship from the International Association of Medical Education in Europe (AMEE). He received a Fellowship (FAcadMEd) from the Academy of Medical Educators (AoME), UK. He also completed the Fellowship program from the International Association of Medical Science Educators (IAMSE).

He holds a key educational leadership role at Avalon University School of Medicine as a Dean of School of Medicine. As the Dean, he is leading the development of the educational program. By driving the Quality Assurance Committee (QAC)and self-study committee, he plays a significant role in the university’s strategic planning, quality assurance, and quality control activities. He is involved in faculty recruitment, promotion, tenure, evaluation, and development.

As an author, he has published over eighty research articles in peer-reviewed journals. He was involved in co-authoring eight textbooks. He is the peer reviewer for medical education journals, including Medical Sciences Educator (Springer publications), USA, and Journal of Medical Education and Curricular Development (SAGE publications), USA. He is also on the panel of expert reviewers for AMEE MEdEdPublish and Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education (JARHE). He is also an editorial board member of the Journal of Advances in Medical Education and Professionalism (JAMP). Currently, he is serving on seven national and international committees.