Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation Announces the Winners of the 2025 Medical Awards

Honouring Ceremony on 29 January at Etihad Museum

Dubai, UAE, 24 November 2025:  Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Medical and Educational Sciences has announced the results of the 2025 Medical Awards, in which ten (10) institutions, specialists, and researchers won across various regional and local categories.

His Excellency Dr. Khalifa Al Suwaidi, Executive Director of the Foundation, stated: “We are pleased that the outcomes of the Medical Awards reflect continuous growth in the distinguished efforts to advance services in the medical sector. At the Foundation, we remain committed to highlighting best practices in the health sector through outstanding research and achievements. This year’s cycle included pioneering studies and accomplishments that will represent a valuable contribution to the healthcare field.”

His Excellency Al Suwaidi added: “We congratulate the winners across all categories and look forward to further achievements. We also wish success to those who were not selected in this cycle and extend our appreciation to the judging committees for their efforts in evaluating the submissions, as well as to everyone involved in managing the awards.

The Executive Director also confirmed that the honouring ceremony will be held under the patronage and in the presence of Sheikh Rashid bin Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Supreme President of the Foundation, on 29 January at the Etihad Museum.

Winners

The Arab Award in Genetics under the Arab World Awards category was granted to Prof. Majed bin Abdullah Al Fadhel, Professor of Pediatrics and Genetics at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Chairman of Genetics and Precision Medicine department at King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh, and Deputy Executive Director of King Abdullah International Medical Research Centre (KAIMRC).

The Arab Award for Research in Healthcare was awarded to a study titled “Long-read sequencing enhances the discovery of pathogenic and novel variants in patients with rare diseases”. The research was submitted by a team from Dubai Health Genomic Medicine Center, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine & Health Science, and the Dubai Police's Genome Centre.

The same award was also granted to another study titled “The role of dapagliflozin in relieving cellular stress and inflammation through modulation of the PI3K/AKT pathway in cardiomyocytes, aortic endothelial cells, and stem-cell-derived beta cells.” This study was prepared by a research team from the University of Sharjah, Mayo Clinic – United States of America, United Arab Emirates University, Emirates Health Services, the Armed Forces College of Medicine – Arab Republic of Egypt, and Mansoura University – Arab Republic of Egypt.

Within the United Arab Emirates awards, Hamdan Award for Distinguished Personalities in the Healthcare Sector was presented to Dr. Arif Abdulla Alnooryani, Executive Director and Head of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory and Heart Center – Al Qassimi Hospital, and Dr Wadeia Muhammad Sharif, Director of Medical Education and Research Department– Dubai Health Authority.

The Best Research in the Healthcare Award recognized three studies. Among them was a study titled “Physical activity as a means of preventing eye diseases,” submitted by a research team from Gulf Medical University and Johns Hopkins University. Another winning study, titled “Impact of multicomponent clinical interventions, including optimal medication use and lifestyle improvement, on patients with type 2 diabetes: a randomized clinical trial between two patient groups,” was prepared by a research team from The Life Corner Pharmacies – PureHealth and Seha Clinics – PureHealth. The same award also went to a study titled “Hemostasis techniques in neurosurgery: development of a consensus-based classification and validation using retrospective analysis of neurosurgical operative videos,” submitted by a research team from University College London.

The Innovation in Healthcare Award was granted to the program “Not Even One Day: A Radical Transformation Journey in Access to Autism Services” from Al Jalila Children’s Hospital – Dubai Health.

An additional Innovation in Healthcare Award was also presented to Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi for the UAE’s first comprehensive Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) program for treating Parkinson’s disease and movement disorders, which has completed more than 100 AI-enabled smart implants equipped with advanced brain-sensing technologies that surpass global standards.