INTERNATIONAL SPEAKERS
Alphabetically ordered
Dr. Abdullah Al Zayed
Consultant Internist and Hematologist
Qatif Health Network, Qatif, Saudi Arabia
Ms. Alexandra Heumber Perry
Chief Executive Officer, Rare Diseases International, Geneva, Switzerland
Prof. Ali Taher
Associate VP for Academic Centers, Development, and External Affairs, Director for Naef K. Basile Cancer Institute, Professor of Internal Medicine - Hematology Oncology, and Founding Director of Fellowship and Residents Research Program, Faculty of Medicine, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
Mrs. Amelia Beatty
Board of Directors, Foundation for Angelman Syndrome Therapeutics (FAST), Austin, Texas, USA
Dr. Anwar Baban
Consultant Clinical Genetics and Genomics, Rare Diseases and Medical Genetics Units, Bambino Gesu Children's Hospital & Research Institute, Rome, Italy
Dr. Arturo Saavedra
Dean of Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine and Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA
Mrs. Asmaa Al-Ismailia
Head of the Family Support Group for Rare Diseases in Sultanate of Oman, Muscat, Oman
Dr. Bahaa Jalal
Director, Center for the Disabled, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt
Director, Help Center for the Middle East and North Africa, Kuwait, Kuwait
Prof. Brahim Tabarki Melaiki
Consultant Pediatric Neurology, Prince Sultan Military Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Adjunct Professor Pediatric Neurology, AlFaisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Mr. Cagdas Canbolat
Patient Advocate at Galactosialidosis Network and Board Member of International Society of Mannosidosis & Related Diseases, (ISMRD), London, UK
Dr. Cristina Skrypnyk
Consultant Medical Geneticist, Genetics & Inherited Disorders, Al Jawhara Center for Molecular Medicine, Assistant Professor of Molecular Medicine, Arabian Gulf University & University Medical Clinics,
Chair, Rare Disease Campaign & Care for Rare Support Group, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain
Mrs. Duaa AbuRizik
CEO of Life and Health Insurance in Gulf Insurance Group and Foster Mother of Child with Developmental Delay and a Genetic Mutation in PRRT2 Gene, Kuwait
Mrs. Ellen Koekoeckx
Global Advisor, Foundation for Angelman Syndrome Therapeutics (FAST), Leuven, Belgium
Dr. Ellie Carrell
Assistant Professor, Center for Inherited Myology Research, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA
Ms. Hadeel Iraq
Nutrition and Obesity Care Specialist, Family and Weight Management Clinic, Mavis Medix Clinic, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Mrs. Hanaa El-Sadat
Chairwoman of Yasmin Elsamra Foundation, DEBRA Egypt, and Member of the Executive Board Committee of DEBRA International, Cairo, Egypt
Prof. Hatoon Ezzat
Advisor to the Vice Minister and the Director of Blood Disorder Administration, Saudi Minstry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Professor of Hematology and BMT, University of British Columbia, Canada and University of Dar Al Uloom, Saudi Arabia
Dr. Hind Alsharhan
Assistant Professor, Medical and Biochemical Geneticist, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, Kuwait City, Kuwait
Dr. Karolina Podolska
Internal Physician, Accredited Duchenne Centers Program Manager, and Coordinator of Center for Adults with DMD, General University Hospital in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
Ms. Khalsa Al-Kharusi
Genetic counsellor, Genetics and Developmental Medicine Clinic, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman
Prof. Maha Zaki
Professor, Clinical Genetics Department,
Human Genetics & Genome Research Institute, National Research Centre
Professor, Genetics Department, Armed Forces College of Medicine, Cairo, Egypt
Mr. Majid Jafar
Co-Founder, Loulou Foundation, London, UK
Dr. Maryem Ismail
Consultant Pediatric Metabolic and Genetics, Misurata Medical Center
Associated Professor, Misurata University, Misurata, Libya
Dr. Michael Kiefer
Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy and Investigator in the Center for Inherited Myology Research, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA
Prof. Mohamed Yassin
Head of Hematology Department, Senior Consultant Hematology and BMT, and Program Director of Hematology Fellowship Program, Hamad Medical Corporation
Professor of Hematology, College of Medicine, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar
Prof. Nicholas Johnson
Director of the Center for Inherited Myology Research (CIMR), Professor, and Vice Chair of Research in Neurology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA
Ms. Nicoletta Madia
Community Manager, World Duchenne Organization, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Prof. Osama Aldirbashi
Senior Consultant Clinical Scientist, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Hamad Medical Corporation
Clinical Professor, College of Health Sciences, Qatar University
Professor Adjunct, College of Health & Life Sciences, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar
Dr. Pascale Karam
Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics and Inborn Errors of Metabolism, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics; and Head of Inborn Errors of Metabolism Program, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon
Dr. Rasha El-Sherif
Assistant professor of Neurology, Newgiza University, Chair of Myo-Care Foundation, and Director of Neuromuscular Registry, Cairo, Egypt
Dr. Reem Al-Sulaiman
Acting Chairman of Medical Genetics Department, Sr. Consultant Genetic Counseling (ABGC Board), Lead of Genetic Counseling Directory, Assistant Chair of Rare Disease and Research Committee, and Vice President of Qatar Network of Medical Genetics, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
Dr. Rola Ba-Abbad
Senior Consultant Ophthalmologist, Ocular Genetics, Electrophysiology of Vision & Medical Retina, King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Mrs. Safaa Abu Shabab
Computer Information Technology Engineer and Mother of Child with Congenital Insensitivity to Pain with Anhidrosis (CIPA), Istanbul, Turkey
Prof. Salam Alkindi
Professor, Department of Hematology, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman
Dr. Samuel Carrell
Assistant Professor of Neurology and the Associate Director of the Center for Inherited Muscle Research (CIMR), Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA
Mr. Svein Olaf Olsen
President of the International Huntington Association, Søgne, Norway
Founder and Owner of Anzyz Technologies AS, Kristiansand, Norway
Prof. Tawfeg Ben-Omran
Division Chief, Genetic & Genomic Medicine, Sidra Medicine
Senior Consultant, Medical Genetic Department, Hamad Medical Corporation
Professor, Weill Cornell Medical College, Doha, Qatar
Prof. Uğur Özbek
Chair, RAREBOOST Project
Director, Rare and Undiagnosed Disease Platform
Orphanet Country Coordinator, Izmir BioMedicine and Genome Center, Izmir, Turkey
Dr. Zahra Alsahlawi
Consultant Pediatric Inborn Errors of Metabolism and Clinical Genetics and Deputy Chief of Medical Staff, Salmaniya Medical Complex, Ministry of Health
Assistant Professor, Pediatric Department, Arabian Gulf University, Manama, Bahrain
Prof. Zuhair Al-Hassnan
Consultant, Department of Medical Genomics, Centre for Genomic Medicine, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center
Professor of Genetics, College of Medicine, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia