Speakers

Dr. Mahmoud Al Masri

Chairman – Department of Surgery (King Hussein Cancer Center )
Amman, Jordan

Dr. Mahmoud Al Masri

Dr. Al Masri is the chairman, Department of Surgery & Surgical Oncology at King Hussein Cancer Center, graduated with MB ChB, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University – Egypt 1974-1980, excellent with honors grades. In 1988, he had the Jordanian Board of General Surgery which followed by a fellowship from the Royal College of Surgeon, Edinburgh/UK (FRCS Ed), 1992 then Fellowship of Surgical Oncology, Glasgow University/UK, 1995. During his career life, Dr. Al Masri has taken over several positions; as a Lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine, Jordan University 1991-1993, then a Lecturer at the University of Glasgow, Department of Surgery at Glasgow Royal infirmary, UK 1993-1995. In 1995 till 2000 he worked as an assistant Professor of Surgery & Surgical Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, and Jordan University.

Dr. Al Masri is a member in the American College of Surgeons, Jordan Surgical Society, Scientific Committee of General Surgery and Subspecialties, Jordan Medical Council. Jordan Oncology Society, Jordan Association against Cancer besides being member in the Jordanian National Chapter of MTCC (Mediterranean Task Force for Cancer Control); a program under the sponsorship of CINBO and he is a support to Syria's national cancer strategy, feasibility studies for the Aleppo and Horns cancer center. His main interests are in Breast disease and G.I Malignancy.

Prof. Dr. Burcu Çelet Özden

Professor of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, FEBS, FEBORAS Istanbul Breast Clinic
American Hospital Istanbul (visiting staff) and Koc University Faculty of Medicine (visiting professor)
Istanbul, Turkey

Prof. Dr. Burcu Çelet Özden

Dr Celet Ozden was born in Istanbul in 1975. She finished her undergrad education and plastic surgery residency in Istanbul University Istanbul Medical Faculty where she remained as faculty and has since worked as an attending. She passed the European Board of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Exam in 2014.

In 2017, she set up Istanbul Breast Clinic where she established a specialized breast plastic surgery practice. She has a special interest in breast and chestwall reconstruction and has been working with several mutidisciplinary breast care teams. She carries an active role in the treatment planning and reconstructive procedures as well as aesthetic and reconstructive revisions in these high turnover referral centers. Over the past 10 years, she has performed over 1800 implant based reconstructions in the immediate setting. As she focused her practice to play a fundamental role in the primary care of the breast cancer patient, she also became the first double board certified Turkish Plastic Surgeon, and among few other colleagues in Europe, by passing the European Breast Board in 2019.

Her research interest has focused on two-stage reconstruction and radiotherapy compatibility, as well as implant sizing and prepectoral breast reconstruction. Her experimental research project on expander volumes and radiotherapy received the national best paper award in 2013. Recently, she has been collaborating internationally on several multicenter research projects on implant safety, use of ADM/meshes as well as prepectoral breast reconstruction.

As a pioneer in immediate DTI and prepectoral breast reconstruction, she is invited as a speaker in many breast meetings. Over the period of the pandemic, she has actively taken a role in organizing several online workshops with the Mentor team, adressing surgeons from different parts of the world, focusing on oncoplastic procedures as well as direct to implant reconstruction. During this period she also participated in the design and launch of the Breast Implant Selection Hub project, the content of which is under constant development. She has been invited as faculty in Mentor’s Surgical Excellence Meetings since 2018 and has participated as a member of 2019 Mentor Scientific Advisory Board. She also carries educational activities with other major implant companies, namely Polytech and Establishment Labs. She does not hold a partner/stockholder position in any of these companies and she has no conflict of interest.

Dr. Emad Shash

MBBCh, MSc, MD

Associate Professor of Medical Oncology
Director, Breast Cancer Comprehensive Center (BCCC) – National Cancer Institute, Cairo University, Egypt
Head of Medical Oncology Department & Breast Cancer Program Director – Shefaa Al-Orman Cancer Hospital, Luxor, Egypt
Cairo, Egypt

Dr. Emad Shash

MBBCh, MSc, MD

Dr. Emad Shash, M.B.B. Ch, MSc, M.D., is an esteemed Medical Oncologist and a leader in the field of breast cancer care and clinical research. He currently serves as the Director of the Breast Comprehensive Cancer Hospital at the National Cancer Institute, Cairo University. Since 2016, Dr. Shash has also been the Head of the Medical Oncology Department and Breast Cancer Program Director at Shiffaa Al Orman Cancer Hospital, Luxor, Egypt.

Dr. Shash earned his medical degree from the Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, in 2004 and specialized in Medical Oncology at the National Cancer Institute, Cairo University, in 2009. Between 2011 and 2015, he was the coordinating research physician and medical lead for the Breast, Gynecologic Oncology, and Genito-Urinary Oncology groups at the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC), based in Brussels, Belgium. During this time, Dr. Shash played a pivotal role in the development, conduct, and publication of EORTC clinical trials (Phases I, II, and III), contributing to budget and resource planning and guiding the scientific strategy of the EORTC groups. His efforts were recognized with an "Excellence in Fundamentals of Clinical Trials Methodology" award.

In addition to his clinical and research contributions, Dr. Shash is deeply committed to cancer education, playing an active role in training medical students, nursing staff, and junior oncologists both regionally and internationally. He is the co-founder of the Egyptian Medical Sciences Foundation and has published numerous well-recognized review and original articles in prestigious national and international journals.

Dr. Shash is a peer reviewer and specialty editor for several leading international scientific journals. He is also an active member of multiple professional societies, including the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO), where he serves as a panel member, the European Association of Cancer Education (EACE), the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), where he contributes to the International Affairs Committee, and the Arab Medical Association against Cancer (AMAAC). His extensive experience and dedication to both clinical care and education make him a respected figure in the global oncology community.

Dr. Mahmoud El-Tamer

Attending Surgeon, Breast Service
Department of Surgery, MSKCC
Professor of Surgery, Weill Cornell Medical College
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Evelyn H. Lauder Breast Center
New York, USA

Dr. Mahmoud El-Tamer

Mahmoud El-Tamer, MD is trained as a breast surgeon with 25 years of experience caring for patients with breast cancer, and works collaboratively with other breast cancer specialists on Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center’s multidisciplinary breast cancer disease management team.

Dr. El-Tamer received his MD from the American University of Beirut in 1981. He completed his residency at the American University of Beirut Medical Center in 1985, followed by four years of surgical oncology and reconstructive surgery at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. After his training, Dr. El-Tamer became interested in joining these two disciplines to provide improved care to breast cancer patients, and has developed a special expertise in this growing field of oncoplastic surgery.

Dr. El-Tamer’s research interests have covered different aspects of breast cancer and quality of care in surgery. He has been the principal or co-principal investigator on research grants from the Avon Breast Cancer Foundation, the United States Veterans’ Administration and the American College of Surgeons. His current research interests are focused on tumor micro-environment post mastectomy radiation in 1–3 positive nodes and breast conservation. Dr. El-Tamer has published “Principals & Techniques in Oncoplastic Breast Cancer Surgery”, a textbook to help other surgeons enhance cosmetic results while performing surgery to treat breast cancer. He is currently collaborating with international oncoplastic surgeons to publish a second edition. Dr. El-Tamer holds the patent to a new agent for sentinel node detection.

Prof. Hamdy A. Azim

MSc , MD

Professor In Medical Oncology, Cairo
University School off Medicine
Cario, Egypt

Prof. Hamdy A. Azim

MSc , MD

Dr Azim is a Professor of Clinical Oncology and a past chairman of the of Oncology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University. He also chairs “Kasr Al Ainy School of Oncology” KASO " the official oncology education society at the Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University. Dr Azim serves as the founding president of Africa and Middle East Cancer Intergroup “AMCI”, which is the first cancer research organization in the region. In addition, he had chaired the steering committee of the NCCN Middle East chapter (2008-2014). Dr Azim was the founder and the first chairman of The Egyptian Breast Cancer Presidential Initiative (2019-2022). Dr Azim is the current president of the Cairo Oncology Center (Cairo Cure), one of the largest ESMO-accredited Private Cancer centers in the Middle East region.

Training:
Post-doctoral fellow, National Cancer Institute, Milan, Italy (1987); Medical Oncology Department, Institute Curie, Paris, France (1989); Medical Oncology Department Aviano Oncology center, Italy (1990) and the Department of Adult Lymphoma an Bone Marrow Transplant, Hôpital Saint-Louis, Paris (1996)

<strongeInternational scientific and educational activities
Dr Azim is a member of numerous societies, including the ASCO, ASH, ESMO, and the European Blood and Marrow Transplantation Society.
Dr Azim was the first to represent the Middle East countries on the ASCO international committee, for a period of 5 years (May 1997-May 2002)
He has been the principal investigator for many multicenter and international clinical trials
His main interests lie in breast cancer, lymphoma/myeloma, target therapy, bone metastases and translation research where he has published more than 90 papers, and he was the chief editor of 2 educational books (ASCO – PANARAB Lymphoma Conference (1999) and the MD Anderson Cancer Centre / Cairo University joint meeting (2006).

Dr Azim served as a referee for the Annals of Oncology Journal, THE BREAST, BMC Cancer, Clinical Breast Cancer, Chemotherapy journal, Advances in Cancer Research & Treatment, Journal of the Egyptian National Cancer Institute, and the Chinese Clinical Oncology Journal

Dr Azim also served as an editorial board member of The Breast Journal, Lymphoma and Myeloma Journal
Dr. Azim sits on several scientific and steering committees and has been invited as an international speaker in more than 400 regional and international conferences in all the Pan-Arab counties, Russia , India, Singapore ,Hong Kong, South Korea, Thailand , Azerbaijan, Iran, Cyprus, France, Spain, Austria, Germany , Switzerland, Turkey, South Africa and US (including major world-wide conferences like International bone marrow transplantation (Denver), international congress on anti-cancer treatment-Paris (ICACT ), ESMO , ESMO breast , San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, and Global Breast Cancer Conference (Seoul ).

Moreover, He also has served as a speaker for the ASCO online educational programme and currently serves as a member of breast cancer medical oncology core faculty in the European School of Oncology (ESO).

Awards
He has been honoured with several awards including Scientist of the Year from the International Biographical Centre, Cambridge, UK (2002), the Best Arab Oncologist from the Lebanese Society of Medical Oncology (LSMO,2004) , The Recognition Award For Significant Contribution To The Oncology Field in the Middle East, from UAE (Dubai -2013), and The Research Award from The Arab Medical Association Against Cancer (2019), in addition to several awards from many Egyptian cancer centers and societies.
Together with international cancer research leaders, and the French former president J. Chiraque,
Dr Azim signed the “Charter of Paris against Cancer” on behalf of the Arab World in February 2000.

Dr. Giacomo Montagna

MD, MPH

Breast Surgical Oncologist; Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
New York, USA

Dr. Giacomo Montagna

MD, MPH

Giacomo Montagna, MD, MPH is a Swiss oncoplastic breast surgeon. His areas of research include oncoplastic surgery, de-escalation of axillary surgery and the treatment of rare breast cancer subtypes. Dr. Montagna has authored and co-authored more than 80 scientific publications and several book chapters and he currently works as an assistant attending in the Breast Service, Dept. of Surgery, at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York. 

Dr. James W Jakub

Professor of Surgery, Mayo Clinic Florida
Florida, USA

Dr. James W Jakub

Dr. Jakub is a high-volume surgical oncologist, with a primary focus on breast cancer and melanoma. He is an early adopter of innovative operative techniques including radioguided breast surgery, immediate lymphatic reconstruction, robotic NSM and others. As co-course director of the Mayo Clinic Radioguided Breast Surgery Course, he has trained over 500 physicians from at least 30 states, Canada, and Australia in this procedure. Dr Jakub is also a leader in disseminating novel techniques such as minimally invasive inguinal lymph node dissection for melanoma. He served as co-moderator for Mayo Clinic's enterprise Breast eTumor board for 9 years and has been recognized for many accomplishments such as Teacher of the Year and Course Director of the Year. He transferred to Mayo Clinic Florida in 2021, after 13 winters in Minnesota, where he previously served as Section Head, Breast and Melanoma Surgery for 8 years and Division Chair, Breast Endocrine, Metabolic and GI Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN for 4 years. Much of his focus has been on treating cancer while trying to minimize side effects and optimize quality of life.

Dr. Meteb Al-Foheidi

MD, FRCPC

President of Saudi Oncology Society, Section Head of Medical Oncology at National Guard Hospital in Jeddah, Breast Medical Oncologist
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Prof. Nagi S. El Saghir

MD, FACP, FASCO

Professor of Clinical Medicine - Hematology Oncology
Director, Breast Center of Excellence, NKBCI
American University of Beirut Medical Center Beirut, Lebanon

Prof. Nagi S. El Saghir

MD, FACP, FASCO

Professor Nagi S. El Saghir, MD, FACP, FASCO, Director of Breast Center of Excellence, NKBCI, American University of Beirut. Graduated from Brussels, trained in New York, Board Certified, Founding President of Lebanese Society of Medical Oncology and Lebanese Breast Cancer Foundation, Past-Chair of ASCO International Committee, ASCO Clinical Practice Guidelines Advisory Group, ESMO Scientific Committee, Panel & Co-Author of ABC International Guidelines, CDK4/6i clinical trials. He has >170 publications and 13,000 citations. Author of ABC of Breast Diseases in Arabic. Received awards including Lebanon President’s Medals of Honor, AUBMC naming “Professor Nagi El Saghir Conference Room”, King Hussein Cancer Research Award, AUB Dean’s Research Excellence Award.

Dr. Jamila Alazhri

Consultant, Oncoplastic Breast Surgeon
Former Head of Breast & Endocrine Surgery Section
King Fahad Specialist Hospital
Dammam, Saudi Arabia

Dr. Jamila Alazhri

Member of The American Society of breast surgeons, The Saudi Society of breast & Endocrine surgeons

Research activity:
*Breast cancer research fellowship at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, New York.
*Multiple puplications in peer reviewed journals related to breast cancer prevention and treatment.
* Frequent oral/poster presentations at national and international conferences, including SSBES, SABCS, ASCO, SSO, ESSO and ASBrS.

Dr. Pedram Razavi

MD, PhD

Assistant Attending, Department of Medicine
Director, Breast Translational Program and Breast Molecular Tumor Board
Director, Liquid Biopsy and Cancer Genomics
MSK Global Biomarker Development Program
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
New York, USA

Dr. Pedram Razavi

MD, PhD

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Dr. Pedram Razavi is a medical oncologist and physician-scientist focusing on precision oncology in breast cancer. He leads MSK’s Breast Molecular Tumor Board and Breast Translational Platform and is the director of Liquid Biopsy and Genomics in the Biomarker Development Program. His research concentrates on integrative clinicogenomics and circulating tumor biomarkers to guide translational breast cancer research; characterize cancer on a systemic and molecular level; and to expand clinical applications of liquid biopsies. He leads several large-scale genomic and liquid biopsy studies on breast cancer evolution, biomarkers of response and resistance to targeted therapies, and outcomes prediction. These efforts have led to the identification of novel mechanisms of resistance to major targeted breast cancer therapy modalities while shedding light on new and potentially druggable genomic drivers of breast cancer.

Dr. Razavi earned his medical degree from Tehran University of Medical Sciences and an MPH and a PhD in cancer epidemiology at the University of Southern California, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at Channing Laboratory in Boston. He completed an internal medicine residency at USC and a medical oncology fellowship at MSK, where he was also a postdoctoral fellow focusing on cancer genomics in the laboratory of Dr. José Baselga. He joined MSK’s faculty in 2016.

Dr. Sana Al-Sukhun

MD., MSc. FASCO

Director, Al Hyatt Oncology Practice,
Chair, MBC RSG Committee of ASCO
Amman, Jordan

Dr. Sana Al-Sukhun

MD., MSc. FASCO

Dr. Al Sukhun is Consultant in Medical Oncology/Hematology, president of Jordanian Society of American Medical Graduates; and immediate past president of the Jordanian Oncology Society- the first woman oncologist elected president of oncology society in the MENA (Middle East &North Africa) region. She is actively involved in numerous professional organizations including ESMO (European Society of Medical Oncology) & ASCO(American Society of Clinical Oncology), where she served on several committees, currently Co-Chair of Metastatic Breast Cancer Resource Stratified Guideline Committee of ASCO, she served as Chair of International Affairs Committee of ASCO, Co-Chair of the Resource Stratified Guideline Advisory Group of ASCO- first Arab woman oncologist to chair both committees, member of the International Education Steering Group of ASCO, member of the Global Policy Committee of ESMO, member of the NCCN(National Cancer Control Network)- Middle East & North Africa (MENA) committee, member of breast cancer core faculty of the European School of Oncology, member EUTROC and many other regional and international societies.

She is the recipient of multiple national and regional awards, most recently decorated by his royal majesty, King Abdulla II on Independence day May 25th 2024 with “Independence Medal for Excellence”, for distinguished service supporting the development of oncology care in Jordan. She was awarded Fellow of ASCO in June 2023, for volunteering service and dedication to improving patient outcomes around the globe- the first Arab oncologist awarded this fellowship. In addition, she was awarded “The Distinguished Woman Physician Leader” award from SIGI under the patronage of HIVOS & Ministry of Affairs in the Netherlands, May 20, 2017; “Arab Medical Association Against Cancer -AMAAC Recognition Award”, for supporting oncology education and cancer awareness in the Arab region, Beirut, April 2014; “Women in Oncology- MENA” for pioneering oncology work in the region, from Emirates Oncology Society, Sep..2020.

Dr. Sana Al Sukhun earned her medical degree from the University of Jordan with honors, and pursued a Master of Science, majoring in cancer biology with distinction from Wayne State University (WSU) in Michigan. She completed her internal medicine residency at Detroit Medical Centre, followed by postdoctoral research at WSU, while pursuing her fellowship in Medical Oncology and hematology at Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute at WSU. She is American board-certified in internal medicine, medical Oncology & hematology. She is the first oncologist in the region to hold those boards with a basic science degree addressing cancer biology (molecular oncology).

Dr. Al-Sukhun served as Director of Breast and Gynecology Service at King Hussein Cancer Centre, and the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Jordan. She has helped establish the National Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines Program in Jordan, contributed to the MENA edition of the NCCN breast cancer guidelines, contributed to the 2014 UICC Review of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Model List of Essential Medicines for Cancer, and participated in reviewing National Cancer Control Plans submitted to WHO. She organized & chaired the first conference on Breast Cancer in Jordan mainly focusing on the concept of "Neoadjuvant therapy" in 2004, introducing the concept in the region, organized and chaired many other national and regional meetings.

Dr. Al Sukhun is mainly interested in translational research particularly tailoring the use of biologic and immune-based therapies according to predictors of response/ resistance to systemic therapy targeting breast, ovarian, pancreatic, and other solid tumors. In addition, she is involved in “global oncology” initiatives, providing free training to young oncologists and researchers in LMICs” Low and middle-income countries” through working with AMAAC and ASCO. Her work focuses on advocating for greater awareness of cancer, its regional impact, and the importance of proper training and research to overcome cancer and improve access to proper health care.

Dr. Yazan Masannat

MBBS, MRCS, FEBS (Breast Surgery), FRCSEd, MD

Consultant Oncoplastic Breast Surgeon, Broomfield Hospital, Essex and the London Clinic, London
Visiting Associate Professor, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge
London, UK

Dr. Yazan Masannat

MBBS, MRCS, FEBS (Breast Surgery), FRCSEd, MD

Yazan Masannat is a Consultant Oncoplastic Breast Surgeon based at Broomfield Hospital in Essex also he works at the London Clinic & 108 Harley Street in London. He has many areas of specialist interest in Breast Cancer Surgery including Oncoplastic Breast Surgery, Breast Reconstruction, and Revision Surgery after breast cancer treatment.

Yazan has more than 70 peer reviewed publications and has been awarded numerous research grants. He is the Simulation Lead at Broomfield Hospital and a visiting Associate Professor at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge. He is also an Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer at Queen Mary’s University of London, the University of Aberdeen/Scotland and an E-Tutor with the University of East Anglia/England.

He is the Meetings Secretary and an elected member of the Board of Trustees of the Association of Breast Surgery, in addition to being an examiner at the European Board of Surgical Oncology and the European Board of Breast Surgery exams (UEMS).

Yazan is the creator of www.iBreastBook.com which is a free online resource with contributions from many of the leading Breast and Plastic surgeons across the world. The iBreastBook Webinar series, which started during the covid pandemic has been a huge international success. As a result, Yazan is regularly invited worldwide to lecture and teach on the different Oncoplastic Breast Surgical Techniques.

Prof. Yazid BELKACEMI

MD, PhD

Head of the Henri Mondor Breast Center and D
Head of the Department of Radiation Oncology, APHP - University Hospital of Henri Mondor
Paris, France

Prof. Yazid BELKACEMI

MD, PhD

Prof Belkacemi is currently Chairman of Department of Radiation Oncology, Head of the Henri Mondor Breast Unit, University Hospital Henri Mondor, Creteil, France and Professor in Radiation Oncology, University of Paris XII.

He gained his Medical degree in 1988 and in 1989 he did a Residency in Radiation Oncology in Paris, France. He did a Master in Pharmaco-Oncology in 1991 and in 1992 he specialised in Radiation Oncology followed by a Master in Radiology from 1993-1994 at the Universities of Paris V, XI, XII and the Institut National des Sciences et Techniques Nucleaires and a PhD as Physical Doctor in 2000 at the University of Paris XI.

Between 1990 and 2002 Prof Belkacemi worked as Radiation Oncologist at the Department of Radiation Oncology, Tenon Hospital, Paris and from 2002 to 2007 at the Department of Radiation Oncology, Anti-cancer center, Oscar Lambret, in Northern France as referent in Breast Cancer. In 2007 he also completed a Master in Medical Management at ESCP-EAP, Paris.

In 2005 he was appointed Associate Professor at the University of Lille II and in 2008 Professor in Radiation Oncology at Creteil Medical School, University of Paris East Cretel (UPEC).

He is Head of Department of Radiation Oncology and Chairman of the Henri Mondor Breast Unit at the Henri Mondor University Hospital, Creteil since since 2011. At the University of Paris East Creteil Pr Belkacemi is nominated as President of the International committee of UPEC since 2018.

Prof Belkacemi is Member of the ESMO Faculty Group of Principles of Clinical Trials and Systemic Therapy. Furthermore, Prof Belkacemi is founding Member of the Association of Radiotherapy and Oncology of the Mediterranean Area (AROME), he was President of AROME from 2006 to 2011 and currently he is Honorary President and Executive Board member, (AROME). He is Member of the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ESTRO), Member of the French Society of Radiation Oncology (SFRO) and Member of the French Society of Breast disease (SFPM). At ASTRO, Pr Belkacemi was nominated as associated editor in the Red Journal during five years.

Prof Belkacemi’s clinical research interests include the management of breast and gynaecologic cancers, hematologic malignancies, rare tumours management and new technologies development in radiation oncology. His biologic research topics are radio-sensitivity markers of tumours and healthy tissues and combinations of targeted therapies and new drugs with ionising radiation. He is author and co-author of 215 publications.

Dr. Yolanda Bryce

Assistant Attending, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
New York, USA

Dr. Yolanda Bryce

Yolanda Bryce, MD, RPVI completed her Medical School training at Loma Linda University School of Medicine in 2009, followed by a Diagnostic Radiology Residency at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 2014, a subspecialty training in Breast Imaging at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in 2015, and a Fellowship in Vascular and Interventional Radiology at Miami Cardiac and Vascular Institute in 2016. She joined the faculty at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in August 2016 where she probes the intersection of her subspecialties, pioneering minimally invasive cryoablation technique to treat locoregional disease in patients that are poor surgical candidates as well as using innovative multidisciplinary approach to treat metastatic breast cancer. She conducts a randomized trial to examine the immune response when pembrolizumab is combined with cryoablation in locally advanced and metastatic triple negative breast cancer. She also specializes in vascular disease in oncologic patients, boarded through the American Board of Vascular Medicine and holding a Registered Physician Vascular Interpretation (RPVI) certification, founding and directing the MSKCC’s Noninvasive Vascular Imaging Center and vascular program.

Dr. Amrita Kumar

Consultant Breast Radiologist & Clinical AI Lead, Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust
Dubai, UAE

Dr. Amrita Kumar

Amrita has been named 2023 Top 60 Influential Women in UK for leading innovation in the use of AI within the NHS. She was appointed as a substantive Consultant Radiologist at Frimley Health in 2013 with a subspecialist interest in breast cancer screening.

She is a nationally recognised and published clinician implementing AI in the UK, working with vendors, academia, across 5 NHS hospital providers in Southeast England covering a population of 6 million, undertaking real-world implementation and prospective AI trials in breast and lung cancer pathways.

She won the 2024 NHS Parliamentary Award for the first of its kind AI working group in UK setting up formal AI implementation and governance frameworks, which has been used as an exemplar across multiple NHS hospitals.

Amrita was appointed as Chair for the National AI & Innovation Special Interest Group at the British Institute of Radiology in 2022 where she advise on AI strategy and implementation within healthcare in UK. She has been appointed as an AI advisor to Royal College of Radiologist & NHS England/Department of Health in 2023 to aid in development of an NHS AI strategy.

Dr. Asif Quadri

Consultant Anatomical Pathologist
National Reference Laboratory
Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi, UAE

Dr. Asif Quadri

Consultant Anatomical Pathologist, National Reference Laboratory (NRL)/ Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi (CCAD), Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor, Dept. of Pathology, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Qualifications: MBChB, MRCS (UK), FRCPath (UK), CCT (UK), PGCert Med Ed. (UK).
Brief overview: Currently Dr Quadri is a Consultant Anatomical Pathologist at CCAD/NRL and is one of the team for breast pathology service in addition to gyn and thoracic pathology. His experience spans more than 15 years as Consultant between UK and UAE.
His previous position was Chief of Anatomical Pathology Service at the regional Cancer Centre Tawam Hospital, UAE (2013-2020) and also lead on Oncological testing development. Dr Quadri was working as a consultant for five years in Birmingham, UK, at the Pan-Birmingham gynae-oncology center – City Hospital, between 2008 and 2013.

He has a keen interest in biomarker testing, panel selection and testing algorithms. He helped establish testing algorithms for lung and breast cancer at Tawam Cancer Centre. He also is a regional expert and trainer for PDL1 biomarker

Dr. Basel Altrabulsi

MD, FCAP, ABMS

Vice Chief of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Institute
Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi, UAE

Dr. Basel Altrabulsi

MD, FCAP, ABMS

Dr. Basel Altrabulsi is the vice chief of pathology and laboratory medicine at Cleveland clinic Abu Dhabi and is the chair of anatomic pathology at CCAD.
Dr. Basel is certified by the American Board of Pathology, combined Clinical and Anatomical Pathology and brings to NRL more than 18 years’ international experience in the field of laboratory medicine and diagnostic pathology.  
Dr. Basel started his internship in pathology at Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, Texas and completed his residency training in 2003. He then completed his Selective Pathology Fellowship, followed by a Clinical Research Training Program, at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. 
He has authored many research publications and is a member of global organizations, such as the International Society of Urological Pathology, the International Society of Breast Pathology, and the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology. Dr. Basel is passionate about research and education and is the Pathology Course Director at Khalifa University, College of Medicine and Health Sciences in Abu Dhabi.

Dr. Frea Ramzi Perdawood

Consultant Oncoplastic & Reconstructive Breast surgeon, Burjeel Medical City (BMC)
Abu Dhabi, UAE

Dr. Frea Ramzi Perdawood

Dr. Frea Perdawood is a double board-certified Oncoplastic and Reconstructive Breast Surgeon.performs all aspects of breast cancer, cosmetic, and implant-based reconstruction surgery. Dr. Frea has more than 28 years of experience as a physician. She completed her academic degree (MD) in Denmark and then obtained the Danish Board in General and Breast Surgery in Copenhagen, Denmark. She obtained the certificate of completion of specialty in breast oncoplastic and reconstructive surgery training from the Danish Breast Surgical Association (DBKS). She later obtained the European Board of Breast Surgery/UEMS, the European Union of Medical Specialists, Bruxelles, Belgium. As a part of her training program, she went for an oncoplastic breast fellowship at the Plastic and Breast Surgical Department, Odense University Hospital (OUH), a tertiary high specialized department, and the Plastic and Breast Surgical Clinic, Rigshospitalet (The Royal Danish Hospital), Copenhagen, Denmark, the largest and highest technical center in Denmark and one of the most highly specialized hospitals in Europe. Since 2014, Dr. Frea has been appointed as a senior consultant Oncoplastic and Reconstructive Breast Surgeon and has performed more than 3,000 breast and axillary operations, including oncoplastic and reconstructive breast surgery, at the Plastic and Reconstructive Breast Surgical Clinic, Zealand University Hospital, one of Denmark’s and Scandinavians largest breast cancer center with highly specialized treatment modalities for all type of breast cancer and breast disease with a huge volume of operative procedures. She attended various technical training programs in breast cosmetic and oncoplastic, breast reconstruction surgery, and correction of post lumpectomy defects at Clínica Universidad de Navarra (CUN) in Spain, an academic medical center in association with ESSO, the European Society of Surgical Oncology. Her areas of expertise include

Breast Screening and Assessment, Breast Health Counseling.
Scarless Breast Surgery (Tumorectomy of All Sizes).
Therapeutic and Cosmetic Breast Reduction, Breast Uplift.
Simple Mastectomy, Skin, and Nipple-sparing Mastectomy.
Reconstruction With Implant and Expander.
Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy With Dual Localization. Axillary Nodal Clearance.
Breast Conservation Surgery With Oncoplastic Techniques, Lateral Mastopexy, V Mastopexy, Round Block, Benelli Mastopexy, Inverted T, and Lollipop Mastopexy).
Microdochectomy, Milk Duct Excision, Nipple Reconstruction.
Drainage of Breast Abscess, Hematoma, and Seroma.
Surgery for a Male Breast Lump, Gynecomastia.
Fat Grafting and Nano Fat Grafting

Dr. Hassan Jaafar

Consultant Medical Oncologist
Burjeel Medical City
Abu Dhabi, UAE

Dr. Hassan Jaafar

Hassan Jaafar currently works at the Department of Oncology, Tawam Hospital. Hassan does research in Clinical Trials, Oncology and Hematology. Their most recent publication is 'A multicenter prospective phase II trial of neoadjuvant epirubicin, cyclophosphamide, and 5-fluorouracil (FEC100) followed by cisplatin–docetaxel with or without trastuzumab in locally advanced breast cancer.'

Dr. Haytham Dimashkieh

MD, FCAP, ABMS

Consultant Anatomic Pathologist and Director of Cytopathology, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi , UAE

Dr. Haytham Dimashkieh

MD, FCAP, ABMS

Dr. Haytham Dimashkieh is an American board-certified Anatomic and Clinical Pathologist and Cytopathologist and a Fellow of the College of American Pathologists. 

A graduate of the American University of Beirut, Lebanon, Dr. Haytham completed his residency in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology at the University of Cincinnati, in Ohio, followed by a Medical and Surgical Pathology fellowship at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, and a Cytopathology fellowship at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas.  

Dr. Haytham practiced for 12 years in South Carolina, US, in both academic and private practice sectors as a Surgical Pathologist and Cytopathologist, His past employers include the Medical University of South Carolina, and the Pathology Associates of Greenville. His academic appointments were as Clinical Associate Professor at the Medical University of South Carolina and at the University of South Carolina, Greenville School of Medicine, where he was involved in medical student, resident and fellow education and training, in addition to presenting at national meetings. 

Dr. Ibrahim H Abu-Gheida

Chief Medical Officer - Burjeel Cancer Institute, Clinical Director , Department of Radiation Oncology, President of the Emirates Oncology Society Radiation Oncology Work Group
Abu Dhabi, UAE

Dr. Ibrahim H Abu-Gheida

Dr. Ibrahim Abu-Gheida is the Chief Medical Officer of Burjeel Cancer Institute and the Clinical Director of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Burjeel Medical City. From 2023 to 2025, he also served as the Chief Medical Officer for Burjeel Medical City. In 2023, Dr. Abu-Gheida founded the first Emirates Oncology Society Radiation Oncology Work Group which he is currently the president of. Additionally, he represents the Middle East and Africa as a regional committee member of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

Dr. Abu-Gheida earned a Bachelor of Science with honors from the American University of Beirut (AUB), where he also completed his medical degree and internal medicine training. He then specialized in Radiation Oncology at AUB Medical Center, serving as Chief Resident. During his training, he also participated in a Harvard-affiliated, NIH-funded research program.

Following his residency, Dr. Abu-Gheida pursued an Advanced Clinical Radiation Oncology Fellowship at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. He then joined the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, where he sub-specialized in breast, gastrointestinal, and genitourinary cancers.

A key figure in establishing and leading the radiation oncology department at Burjeel Medical City, Dr. Abu-Gheida has also chaired and co-chaired multiple international oncology conferences. His research contributions include over 40 peer-reviewed publications in top-tier medical journals such as the International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology and Physics (ASTRO's official journal), Nature, and the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Additionally, he is the primary author and editor of several book chapters published in prestigious medical texts.

Dr. Omar Layth Qassi

FRCPath(UK)

Consultant Breast Pathologist, Burjeel Medical City, Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi, UAE

Dr. Omar Layth Qassi

FRCPath(UK)

Dr. Omar Layth Qassid is a highly accomplished Consultant Anatomic Pathologist and Lead Breast Pathologist at Burjeel Medical City, Abu Dhabi. With over 12 years of expertise in breast pathology, he has served at leading breast screening units across London and the East Midlands. A graduate of Iraq’s prestigious MBChB program in 2005, Dr. Qassid refined his skills through histopathology training at renowned institutions in London, achieving consultant status in 2015.

Throughout his career, Dr. Qassid has held prominent leadership roles, including Clinical Director of Pathology, Hematology, and Oncology, as well as Lead Breast Pathologist in the UK. His work in multidisciplinary care and diagnostic excellence has earned him recognition as a leader in breast pathology.

He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists (FRCPath) and an International Fellow of the American College of Pathologists (iFCAP), currently serving as the Royal College of Pathologists’ International Regional Advisor for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

A dedicated educator and mentor, Dr. Qassid holds an honorary senior lectureship in Cancer Studies in the University of Leicester and has contributed to several publications. His interests in breast and skin pathology, digital pathology, and medical education have driven his efforts to advance diagnostic techniques and training. His innovative contributions to digital pathology, particularly through the ‘iHistopathology’ channel, earned him the prestigious Royal College of Pathologists’ Achievement Award in 2022.

Dr. Qassid’s commitment to excellence and innovation continues to shape the future of pathology, both regionally and globally.

Dr. Tamer Fady Youssef Yacoub

Consultant general surgery
Burjeel Royal hospital
Al Ain, UAE

Dr. Tamer Fady Youssef Yacoub

Tamer FY Yacoub a professor of surgical oncology and reconstructive surgery in Mansoura University with 30 years of experience. A visiting surgeon at Val D' Aurelle centre for Cancer Montpellier France year . I obtained MBBCH degree Mansoura University, 1993. MD general surgery,2003. Diploma Interuniversity’s of Mastology Montpellier University, 2010. Currently, a Scientific councillor for the Manosmed (Mobile University of northern and southern Mediterranean of Mastology) with more than 35 international publications half of them in breast field. Recently, working in Burjeel Royal Hospital in Al ain as Consultant of General Surgery.