Dubai: At a glittering felicitation ceremony, Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance, presented the 8th Hamdan Medical Awards to 20 eminent individuals for their pathbreaking work and pioneering research in the fields of medicine and health care that were instrumental in saving thousands of life worldwide.
The awards were presented in conjunction with the 8th international Conference for Medical Sciences. The awards for the year 2013-2014 have gone to pioneers in the field of drug discovery, cell therapy and targeted therapy among other fields. The awards marked the opening ceremony of the conference that will be held until December 17.
Commending the efforts of international scientists, Minister of Health Abdul Rahman Al Owais said: “Perhaps honouring the excellent figures who have had a significant imprint on easing people’s pain and suffering … is one of the most important fields in which the Award has had leadership worldwide.”
Congratulating all the winners of the honours in all categories, Dr Najeeb Al Khaja, Secretary-General of the Awards, said: “The boundaries of nations were not an obstacle to the spread of new deadly diseases like Ebola and Corona[virus] and, before these, bird and swine flu, in addition to many chronic and prevailing diseases such as Aids, Tuberculosis and cancers, which need strenuous efforts to find more effective treatments for them.”
Both Al Owais and Dr Al Khaja expressed their gratitude to Shaikh Hamdan for extending his patronage to such a noble and lofty cause.
Of the 20 Awards recipients, 16 were international medical scientists and professors, while four were eminent Emiratis.
The international recipients of the Awards include pioneering scientists who have discovered new drugs to treat deadly diseases like cancer, HIV/Aids, vaccinology experts who have developed vaccines for diseases such as poliomyelitis, rubella and the like, medical volunteers who have dedicated their lives to saving the human race, as also institutions such as charity foundations and universities for funding outstanding research in medical research and health care.
The four Emiratis on whom the Awards were conferred are late businessman Abdul Salam Al Rafie who dedicated his life and pledged massive financial support to the cause of medical research and public health, Dr Abdul Aziz Al Jaziri, Head of the Physician and Organ Transplant Committee of the Dubai Health Authority, Dr Jameela Al Suwaidi, Consultant in Radiation Medicine, and Dr Elham Mohammad Al Amiri, Adjunct Assistant Professor at the College of Medicine in Sharjah and a consultant paediatrician at Al Qasimi Hospital, Sharjah
