Lihadh Al-Gazali facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lihadh Al-Gazali
Receiving the 2008 L'Oréal-UNESCO award
Born	November 1950 Amarah, Iraq
Education	Iraqi University, Baghdad College of Medical Sciences (B.Med., B.Surg., 1973)
Known for	Identifying inherited disorders in Arab populations
Awards	L'Oréal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science
Scientific career
Fields	Clinical genetics
Institutions	Department of Paediatrics of United Arab Emirates University

Lihadh Al-Gazali is a super smart professor who studies clinical genetics and paediatrics. This means she helps kids with health problems that are passed down in families. She loves finding new inherited health conditions, especially in Arab communities. She looks at these conditions closely, both in people and by studying their tiny building blocks (molecules).

Lihadh Al-Gazali was born in November 1950 in Amarah, Iraq. She grew up in Baghdad. Her mom was an educator, and her dad was an army general.

About Lihadh Al-Gazali

Lihadh Al-Gazali is an award-winning professor of Clinical Genetics and Paediatrics. She has written over 280 important papers in top international science magazines.

In March 2006, a famous medical magazine called The Lancet wrote about her. They highlighted her amazing work in clinical genetics and research in the Middle East. In 2008, she won the UNESCO-L’OREAL award for Africa and Arab States. She earned this award for finding new inherited diseases.

She also received the Takreem Award in 2014 for her scientific and technological achievements. This award honors great Arab achievers from all over the world [1]. In the USA, she became an honorary member of the Alpha-Omega-Alpha Medical Society Honor Society. This special honor is given only to doctors or scientists who have made huge contributions to medicine [2].

Her Education and Career

Professor Al-Gazali earned her medical degree (MBCHB) from Baghdad University in the early 1970s. She first trained to be a paediatrician, a doctor who treats children. Then, she moved to the UK (Edinburgh and Leeds) to become an expert in the new field of genetics.

She is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland. She is also a Fellow of the Royal College of Paediatrics & Child Health in the UK. Professor Al-Gazali taught at the College of Medicine and Health Sciences at UAE University for 30 years. She retired in 2020. During her time there, she started the very first Genetic Service and Research center in the UAE. She helped it grow to an international level, leaving a huge impact in the field.

Important Discoveries and Awards

Al-Gazali has made big contributions to understanding clinical genetics. She has added a lot of information about genetic disorders. This is especially true for those found in the UAE and the Arab world. Her main research focused on understanding the clinical and molecular basis of autosomal recessive disorders. These are specific types of inherited conditions, especially common in Arab populations.

Besides the global awards mentioned earlier, she also won the Abu Dhabi Award in 2015. This was for her work in genetic services and research in the UAE [3]. In 2019, she received the Mohammed Bin Rashid Medal for scientific distinction [4]. She has also won several other awards, including the Sheikh Hamdan Award for Medical Sciences. This award is given to important medical people in the UAE [5].

Inspiring Young Women

As a female pioneer in her field, Professor Al-Gazali is a great role model. She inspires young Arab women who want to work in medicine and science. She has taught and inspired many leading female geneticists in the region today.

Her work has even been featured in secondary school science books. The famous Nature Journal invited her to join other top scientists to promote equality for women in science [6]. She was also featured in the Canadian Museum for Science and Technology. Posters from this museum are now used in classrooms worldwide. They encourage women to study and work in science and technology fields [7].

Al-Gazali is also involved in other scientific activities, both locally and internationally. She helped start the Center for Arab Genomic Studies. She was also a member of its executive committee. She has served on many international committees. These include the EU-GCC STI Program for Cooperation in Science, Technology and Innovation. She was also on the Scientific Board of UNESCO's International Basic Sciences Program. She has been on the editorial boards of several international science magazines.

Personal Life

Professor Al-Gazali is married to Dr. Wessam Shather. They have two daughters and one son.

See also

In Spanish: Lihadh Al-Gazali para niños