Al-Maadheed named visiting professor

Professor David Lomas, president of the University College London (UCL) School of Life & Medical Sciences, has appointed Dr Mohamed bin Ghanim al-Ali al-Maadheed visiting professor until 2022.Dr al-Maadheed, who currently acts as an adviser to the personal representative of His Highness the Emir, is widely considered a leader in the fields of humanitarianism, sports medicine and anti-doping, Qatar Red Crescent (QRC) has said in a statement.He is actively engaged in humanitarian and social work, such as disaster response, rehabilitation and empowerment, and strongly promotes human rights, healthcare and humanitarian advocacy, the statement notes.Dr al-Maadheed has been involved in humanitarian work through Qatar Red Crescent since 2001 and is currently the chairman QRC. He holds an MA in Epidemiology & Health Planning and a PhD in Strategic Health Care Management from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.He has held several leadership roles, such as vice-president of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies for Asia, board member of the Qatar International Development Fund and Qatar National Fund for Social Development, vice-chairman of the Executive Committee of the Supreme Council of Health, member of the National Human Rights Committee and member of the World Economic Forum for the Mena region, the statement points out.Dr al-Maadheed is the founder of Qatar’s first national sports medicine centre in 1992 and was instrumental in transforming the vision for a comprehensive sports medicine facility into a ‘state-of-the-art’ orthopaedic and sports medicine hospital, Aspetar), which was accredited as a FIFA Medicine Centre of Excellence in 2009 and expanded its reach nationally through the National Sports Medicine Programme.He is currently chairman of the Advisory Scientific Board of Aspetar, which he led as director-general from 2006 to 2012.During 2005-2008, Dr al-Maadheed founded and chaired the Qatar National Anti-Doping Commission. As a leading healthcare figure in Qatar, he is chairman of the Executive Committee for a Healthy Population, tasked with the development of Qatar National Health Strategy 2011-2016. Now, he is director-general of Naufar, an addiction treatment and rehabilitation centre.He speaks frequently internationally on different humanitarian issues and has published works on humanitarian diplomacy.