Seha, the Abu Dhabi Health Services Company, has honoured four researchers for their outstanding work and commitment to the progress of medicine at the first annual Seha Research Conference.

More than 800 health professionals are attending the event, where some of the leading speakers in medical research have been discussing the latest clinical findings, methods and techniques, and their application in the Middle East.

Seha is hosting the conference to highlight the importance of continuing medical research and discovering new ways of improving and advancing its processes.

All Seha hospitals – Tawam, Sheikh Khalifa Medical City, AL Ain, Al Mafarq, AL Rahba Hospital, Corniche Hospital and AL Garbia Hospitals – are involved in organizing the event, and each has speakers and delegates.

The conference is supported and organised with the help of Tawam Hospital, a premier 477-bed tertiary care facility in Al Ain and one of the largest hospitals in the UAE, renowned for providing outstanding medical services across the GCC. Tawam is owned and operated by Seha.

The prestigious awards were presented to the individuals who had made significant contributions in their own field.

Zahraa M. Al Alyahyaei, from the fertility clinic, IVF unit of Tawam Hospital, Al Ain, was awarded the best allied health prize, and Dr Saifeddin Alsalameh, of the department of medicine, division of rheumatology and clinical immunology, Mafraq Hospital, Abu Dhabi was presented with the best applied research award.

The award for best medical research went to Dr Jaishen Rajah, a consultant paediatrician at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City, who was commended for his work on vitamin D deficiency among the UAE population.

In recognition of his dedication and contribution to medical research, the lifetime achievement award was presented to Dr Yousef Abdulrazaq, a professor of paediatrics and neonatology – department of pediatrics, at the faculty of medicine, UAE University – Al Ain.

Dr Abdulrazaq is a dedicated clinician and researcher and an authority in nutritional and enzyme deficiency diseases, a statement said.

He has been the chief editor of Emirates Medical Journal for many years, and is one of the founders of the faculty of medicine and health sciences, UAE University.

"This first day has been an amazing experience for us all and has illustrated very well that all medical practitioners have a common goal, and should enjoy common ethics and common resources,” said Dr Ali Abdulkareem Al Obaidli, chief clinical officer of Seha.

“That's where this sharing of knowledge plays such a vital role, and why medical research is of such global value,” he added.

"Our speakers and delegates have outlined time and again that discovery and development are crucial to our profession and to our patients and we all hope that the UAE will be able to play its part in that research. The winners of the awards we have seen here today are an inspiration,” Dr Al Obaidli concluded. – TradeArabia News Service