About Dr. Vilma Vega

Dr. Vilma Vega, born in Lima, Peru, grew up in Chicago, Illinois. Since the age of seven, she envisioned herself becoming a missionary. In high school, Vilma became interested in a medical career; however, she never forgot the vision to become a missionary. Vilma completed a bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in theology and philosophy from Loyola University of Chicago. She went on to pursue her medical degree from the University of Illinois. Vilma’s passion was to practice Infectious Disease. During her internship at Jackson Memorial Hospital/ University of Miami, she felt a strong calling to care for HIV patients at a time when it was not popular.

After her residency and fellowship in Infectious Disease, Dr. Vega joined the Infectious Disease Associates in Sarasota, Florida in 1995, continuing her efforts to fight the disease that ravaged many. She served as the medical director for the Community AIDS Network Clinic and also as a clinical research director for the Infectious Disease Associates Center for Clinical Studies. She has been involved in HIV clinical research for over 15 years and has served on numerous pharmaceutical advisory boards and speakers bureaus on the subject of HIV. She also served as a preceptor for various Florida University medical graduate programs.

During this time, Dr. Vega never forgot her original vision for humanitarian service on the medical mission field. In 2005, she served on her first mission trip to the Dominican Republic. This transforming experience refueled her vision to touch the lives of others by serving those most in need throughout the world. In 2006, she co-founded Hearts Afire Incorporated, a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to meeting the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of under-resourced people worldwide. Through mission trips, Hearts Afire Inc. has touched the lives of over 50,000 people internationally and transformed the lives of thousands who serve on these trips.

Even though Dr. Vega grew up on the basic foundation of faith and prayer, she found her true calling during this transforming time on the mission field. It is her conviction, not only to help others find their divine purpose in life, but to equip them to help others do the same.

Dr. Vega believes that the majority of physicians and medical students join the healthcare field for their love of medicine and their altruistic desire to love people and help those in need. However, healthcare has changed over the years. Too often, the politics and business of medicine have taken precedent over the art of loving patients. Dr. Vega’s desire to pursue a more altruistic life is leading her to start Transition M.D., which is dedicated to empowering all members of the medical community to embrace their divine calling and reach their full potential, through a deeper understanding of the purity and simplicity of the medical profession.

While reflecting on her personal and professional journey—a life full of family, medicine, and missions—Dr. Vega realized that without balance, the human spirit can lose its luster and extinguish the flame, which was ignited by a divine calling. Consequently, Dr. Vega speaks on the need for a Blueprint to a Balanced Life. In this blueprint, we are taught to achieve balance by taking the greatest commandments to heart: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind….And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matt. 22:37-39, NIV)

Life gets out of control when any one of these three loves is not in balance. One of the aspects of loving ourselves is to pursue the physical health God desires for us. This revelation led to significant changes in Dr. Vega’s own life and health and the development of her own program, Blueprint To A Balanced Life, based on biblical principles and is now teaching others how to achieve this balance as well.