A/Prof Baqar grew up in Alice Springs, Northern Territory (NT). She was ranked in the top twenty students in the NT for her academic achievements in Year 12. She went on to receive the NT Government Higher Education Scholarship to study medicine at Monash University. Graduating in 2003, she undertook her physician training at Austin Health. She was one of five finalists in Australia and New Zealand for the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) President’s Award for Physician Trainee of the Year (2009) for displaying excellence as a physician trainee.   

She undertook her endocrine specialist training at Austin and Western Health. She went on to receive the prestigious National Heart Foundation Health Professional Scholarship as well as the University of Melbourne Faculty Research Scholarship: The Sheppard M Lowe Scholarship to undertake her PhD studies examining the effects of salt on diabetes and cardiovascular health outcomes which was conferred in 2021.    

She has presented her research at national and international meetings, and has contributed to peer-reviewed publications and clinical guidelines, including the Australian Diabetes Society’s Management of people with diabetes who choose to fast during Ramadan.

She was a finalist for the Young Investigator Award at the 2017 Australian Diabetes Society Annual Scientific Meeting for research arising from her PhD. Earlier, in 2013, she was a finalist at the RACP Future Directions in Health Congress for the Wiley-Blackwell Award for Clinical Excellence, where she presented a clinical case titled “Where is that cortisol coming from”, later published.  

She has contributed to several successful grant applications including funding from the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation and the Estate GWA Griffiths Award for “Improving the transition of care for people with Diabetes”. 

She remains actively involved in research as a principal investigator and supervisor of PhD candidates, and also mentors basic physician trainees through the RACP.

Additionally she has completed an MBA at Melbourne Business School and co-edited a book “Leadership Pearls in Healthcare”.

A/Prof Baqar is currently Clinical Director at Preston Medical Specialists and Director of Endocrinology at Austin Health. She welcomes referrals in all areas of endocrinology and is fluent in Urdu and Hindi.