On November 14, three distinguished AUB professors were awarded the esteemed 2021 King Hussein Award for Cancer Research during an award ceremony held by the King Hussein Cancer Foundation in Amman, Jordan. The ceremony was held under the patronage of King Abdullah II and Queen Rania Al Abdullah, and in the presence of Prince Talal bin Muhammad and Princess Ghida Talal.
Established in 2020, the King Hussein Award for Cancer Research promotes and celebrates cancer research efforts across the Arab world. The award recognizes leading Arab researchers who are making outstanding contributions in cancer research and aims to advance cutting-edge research across the region, filling the gaps in the understanding of cancer in the Arab world and ultimately empowering life-saving treatment.
The winners of the award included Dr. Margret Shirinian, assistant professor of experimental pathology, immunology, and microbiology, in the Promising Researcher Grant category; Dr. Raya Saab, associate professor of pediatrics and adolescent medicine, in the Established Investigator track; and Dr. Nagi El Saghir, professor of clinical medicine, in the category of Lifetime Achievement for a Regional Doctor.
Dr. El Saghir has spearheaded major improvements in breast cancer screening and early detection, treatment, and outcome of patients with breast cancer, with innovative research focused on breast cancer gene (BRCA) mutations in Lebanon and Arab countries. When asked about this well-deserved recognition, Dr. Saghir said, “It was a great honor and pride to win and receive this award. I am very grateful to Queen Rania Al-Abdallah, Princess Ghida Talal, and all King Hussein Cancer Research Award reviewers and committees for this beautiful recognition of my research, lifetime achievements and impact on cancer research and cancer control, particularly breast cancer, in the Arab world and worldwide. I am very grateful and proud of my clinical and research teams at AUBMC, and all my colleagues in Lebanon, Arab countries, as well as my co-investigators and oncology researchers worldwide."
Dr. Saab, who has contributed over the years to better understanding and treatment of childhood cancers in several ways, said of this well-earned achievement, “The KHCC research awards highlighting the importance of cancer research and empowering researchers in the Arab world is highly admirable and laudable. They come at a time when the continuity of research efforts have been threatened in the face of the pandemic effects and regional fiscal concerns. Bringing regional quality cancer research to the spotlight as pioneered by the KHCC awards empowers young and established investigators alike, and hopefully will drive further prioritizing research in the region, to lead discovery science in the progress against cancer."
Dr. Shirinian, whose research focuses on malignant and highly aggressive tumors in children, added, “I am very thankful to HRH Princess Ghida Talal and the King Hussein Cancer Research Committee who encouraged basic cancer research through this award in the Arab world and the region. It is through this research that we can achieve incremental and sometimes spectacular advances in our understanding of the molecular basis of cancer and long for impactful changes at the clinical level."
This achievement is another fitting testament that the American University of Beirut and its medical center continue to be at the forefront of worldwide universities and that they are home to outstanding physicians and scholars who collaborate across the full spectrum of cancer research to provide cutting-edge and innovative research and the highest standards of patient care.