Symposium Chairs
WIN Consortium
Prof. Wafik El-Deiry, MD PhD FACP
Chair, WIN Consortium; American Cancer Society Research Professor; Director, Legorreta Cancer Center; Associate Dean, Oncologic Sciences, Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University (RI, USA)
| Wafik El-Deiry, MD, PhD, FACP is Chair of the Worldwide Innovation Network (WIN) Consortium, American Cancer Society Research Professor, Director of Legorreta Cancer Center at Brown University, and Associate Dean for Oncologic Sciences at Warren Alpert Medical School. He is a practicing physician-scientist, and translational-oncology investigator focused on cell death, drug resistance, new drugs, and precision oncology. He was Deputy Director at Fox Chase Cancer Center until 2018. From 2010 through 2014 he was Chief of Hematology-Oncology at Penn State. He was tenured Professor of Medicine, Genetics, and Pharmacology at University of Pennsylvania and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator from 1995-2004. He earned MD/PhD degrees from University of Miami and completed internal medicine residency and medical oncology fellowship at Johns Hopkins. El-Deiry discovered p21(WAF1) as p53 target gene, and cell cycle inhibitor that explained mammalian DNA-damage response. He discovered TRAIL receptor DR5, its regulation by p53, and discovered ONC201/TIC10 as cancer therapeutic. ONC201/TIC10 has clinical efficacy in H3K27M-mutated diffuse midline-gliomas and other tumors. He is a member of the Interurban Clinical Club (President 2013-2014), American Society for Clinical Investigation (1999-) and Association of American Physicians (2008-). He won the Michael Brown Award from U. Penn (1998), the Elizabeth and John Cox Award from Georgetown (2005), and 2009 Kuwait Prize for “Cancer Diseases.” He received teaching and mentoring awards from Penn State College of Medicine. He served as Chair of NIH Study Section (MCT2; 2018-2019), member of Conquer Cancer Foundation Review Board (ASCO; 2015-2018), ASCO’s Annual Program Committee (Tumor Biology Track Leader, 2017), and member of ACS Council for Extramural Grants (2015-2018). El-Deiry has >500 publications, 6 edited-books, H-index=127, >100,000 citations in Google Scholar. He founded three companies, received Inventor of Year Award from Brown University in 2022, 2023. He is among 2023 top Molecular Biology Scientists in US (#81; https://research.com/scientists-rankings/molecular-biology/us). |
Prof. Razelle Kurzrock, MD
Chief Medical Officer / Equal Opportunities and Diversity Officer, WIN Consortium; Professor of Medicine, Associate Director, Clinical Research; Chair of Precision Oncology, MCW Cancer Center and Linda T. and John A. Mellowes Center for Genomic Sciences and Precision Medicine; Founding Director, Michels Rare Cancers Research Laboratories, Froedtert and Medical College of Wisconsin (WI, USA)
| Razelle Kurzrock, MD is a world-renowned physician-scientist leader in precision medicine as well as in the development of novel therapeutics in the field of oncology. She is recognized for founding, developing and chairing one of the largest Phase 1 clinical trial departments globally while at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center; the central theme of the department was a personalized medicine strategy. She is also one of the pioneering trialists of the WINTHER precision medicine trial focusing, for the first time, on transcriptomics in addition to genomics. This trial was the signature study of the WIN international consortium (Nature Medicine). During her time at the University of California San Diego Health, Dr. Kurzrock’s charge was leading the Center for Personalized Cancer Therapy as well as the Experimental Therapeutics program, and she also founded a Rare Tumor Clinic focused on precision medicine. The signature study of the center was the IPREDICT study (Nature Medicine, 2019; Genome Medicine, 2021) that gave, for the first time, individualized matched combination therapies to patients with lethal malignancies, hence resulting in improved outcomes. Dr. Kurzrock has almost 950 publications on Pubmed, an H-index of 142, and has been named to the list of most cited scientists worldwide (Web of Science) and to the list of the 25 most important voices in Precision Medicine globally. She has four children and three dogs and lives with her husband Dr Philip Cohen, in San Diego, California. Dr. Kurzrock is Professor of Medicine, Associate Director, Clinical Research, Linda T. and John A. Mellowes Endowed Chair of Precision Oncology, MCW Cancer Center and Linda T. and John A. Mellowes Center for Genomic Sciences and Precision Medicine, Founding Director, Michels Rare Cancers Research Laboratories, Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin, Adjunct Professor, University of Nebraska, USA. Dr Kurzrock is WIN’s Chief Medical Officer, Executive Committee, Equal Opportunity and Diversity Officer. |
Burjeel Holdings
Prof. Humaid Al-Shamsi, MD FACP FRCP(Lon) FRCP(Ca)
Director of Oncology Services, Burjeel Holdings; Professor, Gulf Medical University; President, Emirates Oncology Society (UAE)
| Prof. Humaid Obaid Al-Shamsi is the Director of Oncology Services at Burjeel Holding UAE and Burjeel Oncology GCC, President of the Emirates Oncology Society, Lead of the Gulf Cancer Society, Professor of Oncology at the Gulf Medical University, Ajman, UAE, and an adjunct Professor of Oncology at the College of Medicine at the University of Sharjah. He is the first Emirati to be promoted to professor of oncology in the UAE. He is also the Chairman for Colorectal Cancer in the MENA region, appointed by the prestigious National Comprehensive Cancer Network®. He is the Chairman of the Oncology and Hematology Fellowship Training Program for the National Institute for Health Specialties in the UAE. He is the only member of the GCC in the WIN Consortium, which is comprised of organizations representing all stakeholders in personalized cancer medicine globally. He is board-certified in both internal medicine and oncology from the UK, USA(ABIM), and Canada (FRCPC). He was also awarded the FRCP (London) in 2023. He is the only physician in the UAE with a subspecialty fellowship certification and training in gastrointestinal oncology and the first Emirati to train and complete a clinical post-doctoral fellowship in palliative care. He was an assistant professor at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center between 2014 and 2017. He has published more than 120 peer-reviewed articles in JAMA Oncology, Lancet Oncology, The Oncologist, BMC Cancer, and many others. His area of expertise includes precision oncology and cancer care in the UAE. In 2022, he published the first book about cancer research in the UAE and also the first book about cancer in the Arab World, both of which were launched at Dubai Expo 2020. |
Prof. Khaled Musallam, MD PhD
Group Chief Research Officer, Burjeel Holdings; Adj. Professor, Khalifa University (UAE)
| Dr. Khaled Musallam is currently the Group Chief Research Officer for Burjeel Holdings (VPS Healthcare) based at Burjeel Medical City in Abu Dhabi, UAE. He founded the clinical research function and operations across the Group’s >10 JCI accredited hospitals and leads various real-world evidence studies and clinical trials as principal investigator at the Center for Research on Rare Blood Disorders (CR-RBD), for which he is Founding Director. He is also Adjunct Clinical Professor at the College of Medicine and Health Sciences at Khalifa University of Science and Technology and an external member of the Abu Dhabi Health Research and Technology Committee at the Department of Health in Abu Dhabi, UAE where he supports decisions on clinical trials and grant application approvals. Dr. Musallam received his medical degree from the American University of Beirut in Lebanon and his PhD from the Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands. He completed hematology/oncology research fellowships at the American University of Beirut Medical Center and the University of Milan. He is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. Dr. Musallam has a globally renowned research portfolio. He collaborated with numerous investigators and research groups from the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and the US where he led large multinational projects investigating hematological disorders. He has authored several book chapters and international management guidelines (e.g., Thalassaemia International Federation) and over 200 articles in leading international peer-reviewed journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, JAMA, Circulation, Blood, among others. His h-index is 56. Dr. Musallam was ranked as World Expert and named among the top 0.1% scholars by EXPERTSCAPE since 2019 and is recognized among the top 2% scholars worldwide for ‘Cardiovascular System & Hematology, Immunology, Clinical Medicine’ in the “Updated science-wide author databases of standardized citation indicators” by Stanford University. In addition to his academic activities, Dr. Musallam has senior level pharmaceutical industry experience in Switzerland where he led large, multicenter clinical trials and US/EU regulatory submissions for leading hematology/oncology and rare disease products. He is also founder of an independent global cluster of agencies that offer healthcare consultancy and medical communication services for pharmaceutical companies throughout the life cycle of innovative medicines. |
Scientific and Organizing Committee
WIN Consortium
Catherine Besson
Director Operational Team, WIN Consortium (France)
| Ms. Catherine Bresson is a graduate of Amiens Business School (France). She worked as an audit manager for PriceWaterhouseCoopers until 1995, at which point she joined Disney’s Consumer Products division for Europe, Middle East and Africa. Ms. Bresson’s roles with Disney included Controller for Disney Consumer Products Emerging Markets, and Controller and Senior Manager for Disney’s Pan-European licensing activities. She has had the opportunity to work in France, England, and Spain. Ms. Bresson lost her child aged 10 from cancer and decided to join the battle against cancer with the Institut Gustave Roussy Capital Campaign fundraising team. She was then appointed Director, Operational Team of the WIN Consortium. Her role in WIN has covered multiple aspects including management of members, fundraising and grant application, trial / project management, manuscript editing, governance meeting organization, symposium organization, legal and human resources supervision, accounting and financial supervision, GDPR / GCP compliance supervision. |
Dr. Vladimir Lazar
Chief Scientific and Operating Officer, WIN Consortium (France)
| Dr. Vladimir Lazar obtained his MD (1989) at the University of Timisoara (Romania), with First Class and Certificate of Merit. He became a Specialist in Medical Clinical Biology and obtained his PhD in Molecular Biology (1997) from the University René Descartes in Paris, with the highest degree and the Prize of University. He was the Head of Gustave Roussy’s Genomic Center and Integrated Biology Platform (2002-2015). Dr Lazar is specialized in clinical biology, molecular biology, molecular pathology and has a broad training, education and postgraduate degrees in biotechnology (first in class) and project management. He is author of 8 patents and author-co-author of more than 100 publications. He is the Founder of the WIN Consortium and is the Chief Scientific and Operating officer. |
Burjeel Holdings
Prof. Abdel Rahmen Omer
Group Medical Director, Burjeel Holdings (UAE)
| Prof. Abdel Rahman Ahmed Omer is the Group Medical Director at Burjeel Holdings. A renowned general and colorectal surgeon, and an internationally renowned speaker and lecturer in medical management, motivation, surgery and ESG (Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance), and an advisor for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. He held the position of Chief Executive Officer at Burjeel Hospital, Abu Dhabi, from 2021 to 2023. Additionally, he serves as the Director of Burjeel Academics, Development & Training Unit, contributing to strategic planning and leading in clinical governance, while actively participating in all aspects of ESG activities. Prof. Omer’s impressive professional affiliations include being a Fellow of several internationally recognized organizations, such as the Royal Colleges of Surgeons, the American College of Surgeons, and the American Society of Medical Directors. He is also a member of esteemed institutions like Chatham House and the Atlantic Council. Prof. Omer’s academic journey saw him pursue medicine at both the University of Khartoum and University College London (UCL) in the United Kingdom. He received surgical training at UCL, Oxford and Cambridge Higher surgical program and Cleaveland Clinic Colorectal Fellowship. His academic accomplishments include, obtaining a Master’s degree in Surgical Sciences from the University of London (UK) and a PhD in Medical Management from Hartford University (USA). He has also earned certifications in AI in Health from Taipei University (Thailand) and Corporate Governance from the Wharton School’s Aresty Institute of Executive Education at the University of Pennsylvania (USA). He is a keen researcher with interest in mesothelial cells and tissue healing with a number of publications and books chapters. |
Dr. Amro El-Saddik
Director of Oncology Excellence, Burjeel Holdings (UAE)
| Dr. Amro El Saddik is currently the Oncology Excellence Lead at Burjeel Holdings. His role is to lead the team developing Burjeel Medical City as a world-class state of the art oncology and hematology facility. IHe is also responsible for bringing high quality oncology biosimilars and generics to be locally manufactured, aiming to help Healthcare Authorities and Regulators to provide value-based healthcare while keeping room for innovation. Before Joining Burjeel Holdings, he was the Oncology Senior Medical Manager for the Gulf States at Pfizer. Prior to that he was the Global Medical Manager for Cell and Gene Therapy at GSK responsible for the Middle East and North Africa since June 2016. Before joining the pharmaceutical industry, he was a Lecturer of Hematology and Clinical Pathology at the Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Egypt. He has also worked as a Visiting Research Fellow at the St George Hospital (Chon’s Lab), University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. During this period, he performed the practical part of his MD Thesis. |
Dr. Ibrahim Abu-Gheida, MD
Clinical Director of Radiation Oncology; Chief Medical Officer, Burjeel Medical City (UAE)
| Dr. Ibrahim Abu-Gheida is the clinical director of the department of radiation oncology at Burjeel Medical City, for which he has also been recently appointed as Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Abu-Gheida is also the chairman of the first Emirates Oncology Society Radiation Oncology Working group formulated in 2023. He also serves as a regional Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) committee representative for the Middle East and Africa. Dr. Abu-Gheida completed his undergraduate training where he earned a Bachelor of Science with honors degree from the American University of Beirut. Following this, Dr. Abu-Gheida completed his Medical School training at the American University of Beirut Medical Center. He continued and joined the Department of Internal Medicine at the American University of Beirut. He then did his training in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the American University of Beirut Medical Center, where he also served as the chief resident. During his Training, Dr. Abu-Gheida completed a Harvard-affiliated NIH-funded research program as well. After his residency, Dr. Ibrahim went to Cleveland Clinic / Ohio, where he was appointed as an Advanced Clinical Radiation Oncology Fellow. Dr. Abu-Gheida later joined the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center where he sub-specialized in treating breast, gastrointestinal, and genitourinary cancers. Dr. Abu Gheida played an instrumental role in establishing and heading the radiation oncology facility and department at Burjeel Medical City. He has chaired and co-chaired multiple international oncology conferences. He has more than 40 peer-reviewed papers in prestigious medical journals including the American Society of Radiation Oncology official journal – the International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology and Physics, Nature, Journal of Clinical Oncology, and several others. He is also the primary author and editor of several book chapters published in prestigious books. |
Kafeel Abdul Azeem
Head of Events and Marketing, Burjeel Holdings (UAE)
Mr. Kafeel Abdul Azeem heads events and marketing activities at Burjeel Holdings. He is seasoned in effective external communications and corporate image development in aligmnet with strategic goals. He is also seasoned in managing internal and external events feeding into organizational professional development targets.
Khaled Afify
Chief Executive Officer, MENA Conference (UAE)
| Mr. Khaled Afifi is the Chief Executive Officer of MENA Conference. He is a seasoned professional with a wealth of experience in the healthcare industry. He completed his degree in Egypt and began his career in the government sector before relocating to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in July 1991. For over 10 years, Mr. Afifi worked at King Fahd Military Hospital in Jeddah, where he held various positions and assumed diverse responsibilities, showcasing his versatility and adaptability. In the United Arab Emirates, Mr. Afifi served as the CME/CPD Accreditation Officer at the Health Authority of Abu Dhabi (HAAD) from 2001 to 2011. During this period, he gained extensive expertise by actively participating as a member of numerous HAAD committees, contributing significantly to the advancement of healthcare practices. As the founder and CEO of MENA Conference in 2012, Mr. Afifi has successfully established himself as a leader in the field. With more than 23 years of experience, his expertise spans Training Strategies, Continuing Medical Education and Continuing Professional Development, Healthcare Policy & Regulations, CME/CPD Accreditation, Quality & Healthcare Management across multinational and international organizations in the MENA region and globally. His roles have encompassed Relationship and Product Management, Strategic Alliances, and General Management within highly competitive markets and organizations. Mr. Afifi is known for his strong leadership and exceptional communication skills, which he has demonstrated through effectively managing teams and collaborating with cross-functional groups to bring new products to market. He is driven by results and excels in planning and executing strategies. His proficiency in Product Management and Relationship Management has been evident in the successful launch of new businesses, conferences, and training strategies. Mr. Afifi also possesses an excellent understanding of the conference industry, coupled with extensive experience in the training segment. He also possesses a comprehensive knowledge of business and technology, enabling him to navigate the complexities of the industry. Mr. Afifi holds an MBA in Business Administration with a specialization in Healthcare Management from Delaware University, USA. This educational background has equipped him with a solid foundation in business and healthcare administration, further enhancing his capabilities and expertise. With his remarkable track record and dedication to advancing healthcare practices, Mr. Afifi continues to contribute significantly to the field, driving positive change and innovation. |
Pankaj Paul
Strategy Advisor, Burjeel Holdings (UAE)
Mr. Pankaj Paul is the Strategic Advisor to the Chairman and Founder of Burjeel Holdings, an Abu Dhabi listed healthcare company. He is focused on driving innovation, strategic collaborations and growth initiatives for existing and new markets.
Shamyla Siddique
Director of Research Operations, Burjeel Holdings (UAE)
| Ms. Shamyla Siddique is currently the Director of Research Operations at Burjeel Medical City in Abu Dhabi, UAE. She has an established career in clinical trials spanning over 16 years in the public and private sectors of the UK. As a clinical trialist at one of the largest cancer units in Europe – the Cancer Clinical Trials Unit in Birmingham, Ms. Siddique was pivotal in the establishment of the UK’s National Trials Acceleration Programme for patients with hematological malignancies. Driven by the need to allow access to novel treatments to patients in need of them, she successfully brought the national average for opening academic trials down from 24 to 10 months. She then went on to establish the national IMPACT (UK Transplant Trials Network) program, launching a portfolio of randomized controlled trials in transplantation with over 1,000 patients recruited in a record timeframe. Ms. Siddique designed and managed over 30 investigator-led trials and secured in excess of £50 million of grant funding, including the largest single industry grant award to the University of Birmingham. She has contributed and is a listed author on numerous publications, has taught on various education programs and is a contributor to national policy and guidelines on health research. Ms. Siddique successfully collaborated with several pharmaceutical and biotech companies, springboarding her to lead the Industry Trials Hub at the University of Birmingham. She was then appointed as Associate Director of Clinical Operations, UK and Ireland at Bristol Myers Squibb after which she moved to the UAE to develop the research program at Burjeel Holdings in her passion to bring novel and effective therapies to patients in the region. |