Pioneering genetics research in the Arab world

Professor Lihadh Al- Gazali, a pioneer in genetics research in the Arab world, has dedicated her life to identifying and characterizing genetic conditions and abnormalities unique to families in the region. She obtained her MBCHB degree from Baghdad University and specialized in Pediatrics and Genetics at Edinburgh University (Scotland)and Leeds University (England).

Al-Gazali is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health in the United Kingdom. She is an internationally renowned clinician and a leading figure in the area of clinical genetics and dysmorphology in the Middle East.

Throughout her long and distinguished career as a professor and senior consultant in clinical genetics and pediatrics at the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU), Dr Al- Gazali has led public awareness campaigns, collaborated with international research organizations and helped to establish the first gene registry in the UAE.

Her research focus is on delineating the clinical and molecular basis of autosomal recessive disorders, particularly those found in Arab populations. Among her many breakthrough discoveries, two have been where named after her including the Al-Gazali Syndrome.

She launched a clinical genetics service supported by cytogenetic and DNA laboratories, which covers the entire UAE population. It offers counseling, education and support for families affected by genetic diseases. She sits on several international committees, including the EU-GCC STI Program for Cooperation in Science, Technology and Innovation; the Scientific Board of the International Basic Sciences UNESCO Program and the editorial boards of several international journals.

She has published over 200 papers in prestigious international journals and was profiled in the Lancet in March 2006 for her contribution to clinical genetics and research in the Middle East.

Her work has seen her receive many domestic and international awards, including the globally-recognized, L’Oréal - UNESCO Award for Women in Science in 2008, for the identification of inheritable diseases.  She has also received the Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences, for her contribution to medicine in the Middle East and was made an honorary member of the Alpha-Omega-Alpha Medical Society in the USA in 2008. This award is conferred on physicians or scientists who have made a distinguished contribution to medicine and received widespread recognition for their work. She is the 2014 laureate for the Takreem Award in Scientific and Technological Achievement, which is conferred on distinguished Arab researchers who have contributed to development around the globe. Recently, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan honored Professor Lihadh with the Abu Dhabi Award, which is the highest civilian honor in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, for her pioneering work in genetics in the Arab world.