International Conference of Classical Hematology

Dr. Abdulhakim Al-Rawas is a Senior Consultant in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital and President of the Omani Society of Hematology. A founding leader in regional hematology organizations, he trained at Queen’s University and SickKids, Toronto. He is deeply involved in undergraduate and postgraduate medical education in Oman and has authored 33 peer-reviewed publications in pediatric hematology and oncology.

Dr. Abdullah Al Zayed is a consultant hematologist and is the former head of the inherited blood disorders center at Qatif Central Hospital, He is the founder and first program director of hematology fellowship at Qatif Health Network. He championed the sickle cell disease pathway in the eastern health cluster for adult patients. He was trained in Ireland and gained the MRCPI & Hematology fellowship by RCPI. He is the hematology service leader & the manager of the hematology program in the Eastern cluster of the Ministry of Health- Hematology Development program project.

Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Mashdali is a hematology fellow at the National Center for Cancer Care and Research (NCCCR), Qatar. He holds MRCP and Arab and Qatari Board certifications in Internal Medicine from Hamad Medical Corporation. His clinical interests include malignant and benign hematology. He has a strong research portfolio with approximately 100 publications and abstracts, and has presented at major international conferences, including ASH, EHA, and SOHO.

Dr. Afaf Al Battah is a Consultant Hematologist who graduated with an MBBS from the University of Jordan. She completed her internship and Internal Medicine residency at Hamad General Hospital in 2006, followed by a fellowship in Clinical Hematology at NCCCR. Dr. Al Battah has a special clinical interest in lymphoma and lymphoid malignancies and is dedicated to delivering high-quality, patient-centered hematology care.

Professor Ahmad M. Tarawah is a pediatric hematologist and oncologist based in Madinah, Saudi Arabia. He serves as a consultant at King Salman Medical City and chairs the Madinah Hereditary Blood Disorders Society. Holding a medical degree from King Abdulaziz University (1990), he completed pediatric training in Edinburgh and earned his Arab Board certification in 1997. He further specialized in pediatric hematology/oncology at King Faisal Specialist Hospital, obtaining a fellowship in 2001. Professor Tarawah has authored over 140 publications, contributed to national treatment guidelines, and founded multiple hematology societies and charitable organizations. His work focuses on hemophilia, sickle cell anemia, and bleeding disorders.

Ali T. Taher, MD, PhD, FRCP is Professor of Medicine at the American University of Beirut (AUB), Director of the Naef K. Basile Cancer Institute, and Associate Vice President for Academic Centers and External Affairs. He is an internationally recognized leader in thalassemia and iron metabolism, with major contributions to prevention and clinical care in Lebanon and beyond. Dr. Taher has authored more than 540 peer-reviewed publications (h-index 84; over 32,000 citations) and has led landmark international clinical trials, including a Phase 3 study of oral mitapivat published in The Lancet. His achievements have been recognized with numerous prestigious awards, including the National Cedar Medal of Lebanon, the Sultan Bin Khalifa International Thalassemia Award, and the EHA Education and Mentoring Award. He currently chairs the EHA Scientific Working Group on Red Cells and Iron and serves on scientific committees of the American Society of Hematology (ASH).

Dr. Asma Al Olama is the President of the Emirates Society of Haematology and a Consultant Hematologist at Dubai Hospital. She has been actively involved in the field of hematology, particularly in the UAE, and has contributed to various initiatives and best practices in the area. Additionally, she serves as the Program Director of the Adult Hematology Fellowship program at Dubai Health.

Dr. Awni Alshurafa is a Hematology specialist at the National Center for Cancer Care & Research (NCCCR). He graduated from medical school with a Bachelor of Medicine from the Islamic University of Gaza in Palestine. Subsequently, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Hematology Fellowship training at Hamad Medical Corporation in Qatar. He is certified by the Arab Board in Internal Medicine and obtained certification from the European Hematology Association (EHA) in 2023. Dr. Awni is actively engaged in research and has several publications including blood journals and international conferences like EHA and ASH.

Biree Andemariam, M.D. is Professor of Medicine and the American Red Cross Endowed Chair in Transfusion Medicine at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. In addition to being an internationally recognized clinician, educator, and advocate, she is a physician scientist in the Division of Hematology/Oncology, Founding Director of the New England Sickle Cell Institute (NESCI), and Director of the Connecticut Bleeding Disorders Center. Dr. Andemariam has been lead principal investigator of 5 global SCD clinical trials and has extensive experience in clinical trial design, endpoint development, recruitment, and implementation. She also expertise in working with executive leadership, regulatory, and investor teams. During the COVID-19 global crisis, she mobilized and chaired an international committee of experts in the development and worldwide dissemination of guidelines on managing patients with SCD during the pandemic. Dr. Andemariam is the past Chief Medical Officer of the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America, Inc. During her tenure at the SCDAA, she was awarded the Chairman’s Award three times (2019, 2020, 2022) for her outstanding and dedicated board service centered around national programmatic development, disease education/awareness, and legislative advocacy. She is a member of the 2023 Lancet Commission, a global group of experts selected to develop and publish a set of recommendations to achieve greater political commitment, investment, and partnerships to improve the lives of patients with sickle cell disease globally by 2040.

Prof. David Kuter is Distinguished Physician at Massachusetts General Hospital and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. A former Chief of Hematology at MGH, he is a global leader in thrombopoietin biology and immune thrombocytopenia. A Rhodes Scholar, he has authored over 350 publications, delivered 700+ international lectures, and received numerous prestigious teaching and research awards in hematology.

Dr. Drew Provan is Emeritus Reader in Autoimmune Haematology at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry. He originally studied molecular genetics before training in medicine, and later undertook research at the Dana–Farber Cancer Institute in Boston as an MRC Travelling Fellow. Dr Provan is a leading authority in immunohaematology, with a major focus on immune thrombocytopenia, neutropenia and haemolytic anaemia. He helped establish the UK ITP Registry and is a senior author of the International Consensus Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of ITP in adults and children. He has published extensively in the field and is author of several well-known medical texts, including Molecular Haematology, the Oxford Handbook of Clinical Haematology, and the ABC of Clinical Haematology.

Dr. Flora Peyvandi is Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Milan and Director of the Angelo Bianchi Bonomi Hemophilia and Thrombosis Center at Milan Policlinic Hospital, Italy. Her research focuses on coagulation disorders, microvascular dysfunction, and innovative diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. She has held leading roles in international scientific societies, including President of the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis, and currently serves as an advisor to the European Medicines Agency and the Italian Ministry of Health.

Dr. Gerry Dolan is a consultant haematologist and haemophilia centre director at St Thomas’ Comprehensive Care Centre, London, UK, and former centre director at Nottingham University Hospitals, Nottingham, UK. He is former chairman of the UK Haemophilia Centre Directors and president of the British Society for Haemostasis & Thrombosis. He has been an active participant in collaborative European initiatives in haemophilia and has chaired initiatives such as the ADVANCE group and the European Haemophilia Therapy Standardisation Board. His interests include novel agents in the treatment of haemophilia, gene therapy and clinical outcomes.

Dr. Hadeel Saleh Mohammad is a Consultant in Pediatric Hematology, Oncology, Hemostasis, and Thrombosis at NBK Specialized Children’s Hospital, Kuwait. She completed the Kuwaiti Board in Pediatrics and fellowships in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and Hemostasis and Thrombosis at McMaster University, Canada. She has published and presented research on bleeding disorders and currently serves as President of the Kuwait Hematology Association.

Dr. Hani Yousif Osman graduated from the Faculty of the Medicine University of Khartoum Sudan. He moved to the United Kingdom where he completed his training in internal medicine and obtained his MRCP (UK) degree, Fellowship from the Royal college of pathologists and CCT. He completed his high specialist training in hematology at the University of Cardiff hospital UK. His research focuses on acute myeloid leukemia novel therapy, He has extensive hematology consultant experience in the UK, Saudia Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Dr. Osman was involved and the principle investigator for many clinical trials and he has over 30 publications.

Hanny Al-Samkari, M.D. is a classical hematologist and leading international clinical investigator in hemostasis, platelet disorders, and hemolytic anemias. His focus is on the development of novel therapeutics in hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia, immune thrombocytopenia, chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia and hemolytic anemia. He serves as global principal investigator for many ongoing studies in these areas.

Dr. Honar Cherif is Professor of Hematology with extensive academic and clinical experience. He completed hematology training at Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, and earned his PhD focusing on infectious complications in hematologic malignancies. His research interests include infectious complications, vaccination, thrombocytopenia, myelodysplastic syndromes, and acute leukemias. He served as Head of Hematology at Uppsala University Hospital and Associate Professor at Uppsala University. Currently, he is Chairman of Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation at Hamad Medical Corporation.

Dr. Jaffer Abduljabbar Altooq is Chief Resident at the Hereditary Blood Disorder Centre, Salmaniya Medical Complex, Bahrain. He leads the Sickle Cell Disease team and serves on the SCD management board and MOH transfusion committee. With extensive experience in hematology and oncology, he coordinates training programs and has published research on sickle cell disease. He also volunteers as Deputy Chairman of the Bahrain Sickle Cell Society and with local charitable organizations.

Prof. Khaled Musallam MD PhD is currently the Group Chief Research Officer at Burjeel Holdings in Abu Dhabi, UAE where he founded the clinical research function and operations across the Group’s large hospital network. He is also Deputy CEO and Chief of Cell & Gene Therapy and Hematology, Director of the Thalassemia & Sickle Cell Center, and Founding Director of the Center for Research on Rare Blood Disorder (CR-RBD) at Burjeel Cancer Institute located in the Group’s flagship hospital, Burjeel Medical City. He is also Adjunct Professor at Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi and Adjunct Professor at Weill Cornel Medicine in New York. He has authored over 230 articles on hemoglobin disorders with practice-changing papers in leading international peer-reviewed journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, Nature, Blood, among others. His h-index is 65. He is also editor of the Thalassaemia International Federation management guidelines. Prof. Musallam was the recipient of the 2025 European Haematology Association Clinical Excellence Award.

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Dr Lan-Lan Smith is the founding Editor-in-Chief of The Lancet Haematology, launching the journal in 2014. She earned her PhD from Cancer Research UK/University College London, UK, in acute myeloid leukaemia genetics and held post-doctoral research posts in the Haemato-Oncology Section at the Institute of Cancer Research, UK, and in the Department of Haematology-Oncology at King's College London, London, UK, before joining The Lancet group as a Senior Editor at The Lancet Oncology in 2011.

Dr. Cappellini has been active in the fields of thalassaemia, haemoglobinopathies, and the heme biosynthetic pathway for over 40 years. She focused on the phenotypic expression of thalassaemia major and intermedia and evaluated the genotype-phenotype relationship, taking into account the co-inheritance of modifier genes. She identified the mechanisms underlying the thrombotic risks in thalassaemia. She studies in vitro molecules capable of inducing fetal hemoglobin in view of therapeutic application. She is involved in gene therapy development for thalassemia.

Prof. Prof. Mohamed A. Yassin is a Senior Consultant Hematologist at the National Center for Cancer Care and Research, and Professor of Hematology at Qatar University. His key interests include myeloproliferative neoplasms, thalassemia, and sickle cell disease. He has led numerous international collaborations and clinical trials, focusing on cancer biomarkers and therapeutics, with research partnerships in France and Italy. Prof. Yassin remains deeply committed to advancing hematologic research in Qatar and beyond.

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Dr. Mona Al Rasheed is a consultant and head of clinical haematology unit adan hospital MOH kuwait. She is also the Head of examinations committee for clinical hematology fellowship KIMS , she is a Graduate of faculty of medicine kuwait university , done her Internship in internal medicine university of Toronto and has a Fellowship in clinical hematology McMaster university as well as a Number of publications in itp / ttp/ pnh and other benign hematology.

Dr. Mozah Obaid Almarshoodi is a Consultant in Benign Hematology and the Acting Head of Medical Department at Sheikh Khalifa Hospital Fujairah, specializing in blood disorders, including thrombosis, bleeding disorders, and hemoglobinopathies. She completed her Consultative Hematology Fellowship at the University of Toronto and is skilled in patient care, education, and clinical research. Fluent in Arabic and English, Dr. Almarshoodi is dedicated to improving hematology care and mentoring future medical professionals in the UAE.

Dr. Muna Altarshi is a Senior Consultant at the Royal Hospital, Muscat. She earned her MD from Sultan Qaboos University and completed Internal Medicine and Hematology training at McGill University, obtaining FRCPC and American Board certifications. She completed a Bone Marrow Transplant fellowship at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University of Toronto. Her practice focuses on lymphoma, plasma cell myeloma, and autologous stem cell transplantation. She is Associate Program Director at the Oman Medical Specialty Board and Treasurer of the Omani Society of Hematology.

Dr Namrata is a distinguished pediatrician, medical writer, and visionary leader dedicated to transforming healthcare for children. As Founder & CEO of Turacoz Group, she bridges medical knowledge and effective communication, simplifying complex concepts for diverse audiences. A passionate mentor, she fosters growth and collaboration, while also promoting healthy lifestyles for young individuals. Known for her determination, excellence, and compassion, Dr Namrata inspires through her leadership and commitment to positive change.

Professor Salam Alkindi is Professor and Senior Consultant in Hematology at Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, and Director of the Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplant Center. Trained in Ireland and at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, USA, he has published over 140 peer-reviewed articles. His research focuses on sickle cell disease, chronic leukemia, and myeloproliferative disorders. He is Founder and Chairman of the Oman Hereditary Blood Disorders Association.

Prof. Salwa Hindawi is a Consultant in Hematology and Transfusion Medicine and serves as part time consultant with MOH, President and Scientific Officer of the Saudi Society of Transfusion Medicine & Services, Jeddah. She is also President of the Saudi Friends for Thalassemia & Sickle Cell Anemia Society. Dr. Hindawi holds key roles in ISBT, WHO, AABB, CAP, and as member of Editorial board of Vox Sanguinis, contributing globally to blood safety, PBM, hemovigilance, and transfusion medicine standards.

Dr. Shehab Fareed is a Consultant in Hematology at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), Qatar. He completed his MBBS at the University of Gezira, Sudan, followed by residency and hematology fellowship training at HMC. He also received advanced training at the Mayo Clinic and MD Anderson Cancer Center. Board-certified by the Royal College of Physicians and the European Hematology Association, Dr. Fareed is actively involved in clinical care, research, and publications.

Dr. AI-Shaibani completed his clinical fellowship in Allogeneic Transplantation within the Hans Messner Allogenic Transplant Program, Canada as well as additional fellowship training in both the Leukemia and Lymphoma Programs at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. In 2018, Dr. Al-Shaibani completed the Master Teacher Program at the University of Toronto. Dr. Al-Shaibani is appointed as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine, University of Toronto.