Pioneers in Medicine conference starts on the First of December in Riyadh

The Pioneers in Medicine conference, a collaboration effort by King Faisal Prize and Alfaisal University, is set to open on December 1st with the participation of nearly 30 pioneers from the international and local medical pioneers.

Organized under the patronage of HRH Prince Khalid Al-Faisal, Chairman of King Faisal Prize Board and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Alfaisal University, the conference will be hosted at Alfaisal University on December 1stand 2nd; as part of the 40th anniversary celebrations of King Faisal Prize.

Announcing the details of the event at a press conference, King Faisal Prize and Alfaisal University stated that the conference will be open to members of the public to register , and is accredited by the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (SCHS) with Continuing Medical Education (CME) hours. At the end of the conference, the Minister of Health Dr. Tawfiq Alrabeah ,will honour the participating medical pioneers for their efforts in developing the medical field, and for their services in the field of health care.

During the two-day event, the pioneers will discuss the major challenges and opportunities in the  medical field through six sessions, focused on the specialties of Oncology, Cardiology, Fetal Medicine & Surgery, ENT, Genetics, and Family & Community Medicine.

Prof. Patrick Walsh, University Distinguished Service Professor of Urology at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions and King Faisal Prize 2007 laureate in Medicine, will address the Oncology session, speaking on the topic, ‘The Impact of Surgical Innovation in Reducing Death and Suffering from Prostate Cancer’.  

During the session, Dr. Mohammed Abomelha, Consultant Urologist and Founding Chairman of Saudi Urological Association, will speak on the topic, ‘History of Urology in Saudi Arabia’; while Prof. Abdul Rahman Jazieh, Chairman of the Department of Oncology at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, will share ideas based on the topic, ‘Immune Therapy era in cancer management’. Dr. Shouki Bazarbashi, Chairman of Research Ethics Committee at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, will address the topic, ‘Cancer Registry and Pattern in Saudi Arabia’. The session will be moderated by Dr. Amani AlKofide, Chairman of Pediatric Hematology at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre.

The session on Cardiology will be addressed by Prof. Ulrich Sigwart, Professor Emeritus at University of Geneva and Professor of Medicine at the University of Düsseldorf. Prof. Sigwart, the King Faisal Prize 2004 Medicine Laureate, will speak on the topic, ‘Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease from the Inside: A Fantastic Voyage!’

The session will also be addressed by Prof. Mohammed Al-Fagih, Medical Superintendent of Dallah Healthcare Company, who will shed light on the ‘History of Cardiac Surgery in Saudi Arabia’. Prof. Mohammed Fouda, Director of King Fahad Cardiac Centre and Professor of the Department of Cardiac Sciences at the College of Medicine, King Khalid University Hospital, will offer ‘Updates on Cardiac Surgery’, while Dr. Muayed Al Zaibag, Chairman of King Abdulaziz Cardiac Center, will provide ‘Updates on Interventional Cardiology’. The session will be moderated by Dr. Howaida Al-Qthemi, senior cardiac surgeon at the Prince Sultan Cardiac Centre.

The session on Fetal Medicine & Surgery will start with Prof. James Bussel, Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medical College and laureate of 2012 King Faisal Prize  in Medicine, who will speak on the topic Minimal Invasive fetal management with Alloimmune Thrombocytopenia.

During the session, Prof. Mohamed Seraj, a Senior Consultant of Anaesthesiology, will speak on the ‘History of Anaesthesia in Saudi Arabia’; while Dr. Wesam Kurdi, Head of Maternal Fetal Medicine at the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center (KFSHRC), will offer ‘Fetal Medicine Updates’.Saud Alshanafey, Professor of Surgery at Alfaisal University, and Head of Pediatric Surgery in the Department of Surgery, KFSHRC, will speak on the topic, ‘Fetal Diagnosis and Therapy Program: Dream to Reality’. The session will be moderated by Dr. Assia Al Rawaf, Deputy Director of Pediatric Surgery Department at the Prince Sultan Military Medical City.

The last session of the day, focused on ENT, will be addressed by Prof. Siraj Zakzouk, Senior ENT Consultant at Al-Habib Medical Center, Riyadh, on the topic, ‘The History and the Development of ENT Department’. Dr. Naif Hudaif Alotaibi, Fellow of the University Hospitals of Geneva and Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology at Alfaisal University, will speak on ‘Innovations in Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery’, while Dr. Khalid Taibah, Professorof Surgery at Alfaisal University, will share thoughts based on the topic, ‘Past , Present and future of Oto-Rhino-laryngology ,Head & Neck Surgery’. The session will be moderated by Dr. Faisal Almuslat, Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

The second day of the conference will begin with a session on Genetics, during which Prof. Joris Veltman, Director of the Institute of Genetic Medicine at Newcastle University and the laureate of the 2016  King Faisal Prize in Medicine in , will speak on the topic, ‘De novo mutations in genetic disease’. 

The session, moderated by Dr. Zuhair Rahbeeni, Consultant of Pediatrics and Medical Genetics at King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre (KFSHRC), will also be addressed by Dr. Nadia Awni Sakati, Distinguished Senior Consultant at KFSHRC, on the topic, ‘My journey in Genetics over the last 50 years’. On the occasion, Dr. Zuhair Alhassnan, Professor of Genetics at Alfaisal University and Consultant at the Department of Medical Genetics at KFSHRC, will deliver a lecture on, ‘A Journey Along the Coast of Medical Genetics’.

The final session of the second day on Family and Community Medicine will be addressed by four pioneers. Dr. Abdulkareem AlMakadma, Chairman of Clinical Medicine, Clerkship Director, Internship Director and the Director of the Affiliated Hospitals’ Relations at Alfaisal University, will speak on the topic, ‘Struggle to Give Them Their Space: Adolescents and Their Health Needs’, while H.E. Prof. Hussein Al Gezairy, Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Region, will share extensive experiences based on the topic, ‘Healthcare Over 50 years of Giving in Saudi Arabia’.

Professor Zohair Sebai, Chairman of the Saudi Society for Family and Community Medicine, will address the session on the topic, ‘History of Community Medicine in Saudi Arabia’; and Dr. Abdullah Alkhenizan, Chairman of the Department of Family Medicine and Polyclinics at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center (KFSHRC), and Professor of Family Medicine, Alfaisal University, will deliver a lecture on the topic, ‘Family Medicine Role and Impact’. The session will be moderated by Dr. Salim AlMalik, and Dr. Abdulaziz Alnasser, Consultant, Family Medicine and Polyclinics, KFSHRC.

King Faisal Prize has been playing a crucial role in recognising outstanding research in the field of Medicine over the last 40 years. The ‘Pioneers in Medicine’ conference reflects the keen efforts of the King Faisal Prize to enhance the channels of dissemination, transfer and localisation of knowledge and improve the quality of life around the world by creating outstanding platforms that can serve the medical field.