Draft:Vartan Tachdjian

Dr. Vartan Tachdjian was born in a refugee camp in Beirut, Lebanon, as the child of Armenian Genocide survivors from Kayseri, Turkey. While still living in a shack built by his father in the Tiro homeless camp, he graduated Cum Laude from St. Joseph University School of Medicine, with the distinction of the French Medical Faculty Laureate. He completed his residency in Pediatrics at St. Therese Hospital and became Chief of the Pediatric Service at Abou Jaoude Hospital in Lebanon. He went on to found the Byblos Babies Center, a non-profit multi-disciplinary clinic that continues to treat underserved patients to this day.

Escaping civil war in Lebanon, Dr. Tachdjian moved his family to Los Angeles, learned English, and went back to studying for the medical boards. He then completed Fellowships in Child Psychiatry at UCLA, and in Pediatrics at Kern Medical Center in Bakersfield, California. In 1989 he was appointed Medical Director of the Community Health Foundation of Los Angeles, the second largest homeless care clinic in the country. Since 2002, Dr. Tachdjian continues to treat underserved populations at the Community Health Centers of the Central Coast of California. In serving global populations, he served as staff physician for the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games, and since 2001 he continues to consult for the Doctors Without Borders. In 2007 he was inducted into the European Academy of Sciences in Paris, France.

In serving the Armenian community, Dr. Tachdjian has served as Pediatrician of the Tekeyan School in Lebanon, as Educational Committee Advisor for the AGBU Middle East Chapter, and finally as Chairman of the AGBU San Fernando Valley Chapter of California. He was also one of the founders of the Armenian American Medical Society, where he continues to be an active member, having served as Treasurer and Vice-President, and later receiving the lifetime achievement award for service in medicine. Perhaps one of his proudest accomplishments came in 1974, when he brought together Armenians globally, across all medical specialties, backgrounds and affiliations. This was when Dr. Tachdjian co-founded the Armenian Medical World Congress in Lebanon, which celebrated its 11th Congress in Los Angeles in 2013, and will be celebrating its 50th anniversary this summer in Paris. In that same year, he co-founded the Armenian Medical World Association and was awarded the Lebanese Health Ministry’s Medal of Honor for his volunteer work with indigent populations.

In his spare time, Dr. Tachdjian writes medical and cultural articles, including poetry. Some of his work appear in journals and newspapers, and his latest book called “Return to Homelessness” was published in 2023.