Lihadh Al-Gazali

Lihadh Al-Gazali (born November 1950 in Amarah) is an Iraqi geneticist and paediatrician. She is a professor in clinical genetics and paediatrics. Her main area of interest is identifying new inherited disorders in Arab populations clinically and at the molecular level. Al-Gazali was raised in Baghdad. Her mother was an educationalist and her father a judge in the Iraqi armed forces.

Biography Lihadh Al-Gazali is a professor of Clinical Genetics and Paediatrics, with her pioneering work published in over 280 papers in international journals (PUBMED). Having been profiled in the Lancet in March 2006 for her contribution to Clinical Genetics and research in the Middle East, she was also the 2008 UNESCO-L’OREAL award Laureate for Africa and Arab States for the identification of new inherited diseases. In addition, she was the 2014 Laureate for Takreem Awards in the Scientific and Technological Achievement category which is conferred on distinguished Arab achievers from all over the world. In the USA she was made an honorary member of the Alpha-Omega-Alpha Medical Society Honor Society - conferred only on physicians or scientists who have made distinguished contributions to medicine.

Having obtained her medical degree (MBCHB) from Baghdad University in the early seventies and initially training in Paediatrics, she then moved to the UK (Edinburgh & Leeds) to specialise further in the pioneering field of Genetics. Al-Gazali is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health in the UK. She taught in the College of Medicine and Health Sciences at UAE University for 30 years before retiring in 2020. During this time, she established the first Genetic Service and Research in the UAE, developing it to international levels.

Al-Gazali has made significant contributions to the understanding of Clinical Genetics, adding an enormous amount of data and information regarding genetic disorders - particularly those specific to the UAE and Arab world. Her primary research focus was on the Delineation of the Clinical and Molecular Basis of Autosomal Recessive Disorders, particularly those found in Arab populations. In addition to the global awards mentioned above, she was also the recipient of the Abu Dhabi Award in 2015 for her contribution to genetic service and research in the UAE. In addition, she received the Mohammed Bin Rashid Medal for scientific distinction in 2019 and is the recipient of several other awards including Sheikh Hamdan Award for Medical Sciences which is given to distinguished medical personalities in the UAE.

As a female pioneer in the field, Professor Al-Gazali is active as a prominent role model for young Arab women wanting to enter the field of medicine and science. Having inspired and taught many of the leading female geneticists in the region today, she has also been featured in secondary school science books (8) and was invited by the prestigious Nature Journal to join other world-leading scientists in promoting equality in science for women. In addition, she was featured in the Canadian Museum for Science and Technology, whose posters are now used in classrooms all over the world to encourage women to study and work in these fields.

Al-Gazali is also active in other scientific activities locally and internationally. She is a founding member and past executive committee member of the Center for Arab Genomic Studies. She served on numerous international committees, such as the EU-GCC STI Program for Cooperation in Science, Technology and Innovation, the Scientific Board of the International Basic Sciences Program of UNESCO, and several editorial boards of international scientific journals.

Personal life Professor Al-Gazali is married to Dr.Wessam Shather and has two daughters and a son.

Selected publications