A beloved mentor and professor of medicine at the American University of Beirut, in Lebanon, Ghada El-Hajj Fuleihan enjoys a reputation that spreads far beyond the Middle East. Among other positions, she is founder and program director of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Collaborating Center for Metabolic Bone Disorders. The only one of its kind in the region, the Center is an outgrowth of a program she founded and directed at American University. She is a member of the WHO Expert Advisory Panel on Nutrition. And she received the 2016 International Excellence in Endocrinology Award, among numerous other awards and honors. As a specialist in both medicine and public health, Dr. El-Hajj Fuleihan is dedicated to promoting excellence in clinical care, research, and education. She is a physician who embraced a career of translating evidence from epidemiologic and clinical studies into practice and public health strategies. With strong clinical skills in metabolic bone disorders, she has spearheaded several major initiatives of profound public health importance. Her work has had a major impact on the global prevention of vitamin D deficiency and osteoporosis. She co-developed and launched a country-specific fracture risk calculator and contributed to the development of national and international osteoporosis guidelines. She has also focused on noncommunicable diseases—the leading cause of mortality in the Middle East and worldwide. In 2012, with NIH funding, she established the Scholars in HeAlth Research Program (SHARP) at American University, which offers a clinical research intensive summer certificate and a master of science degree. Inspired by similar programs at Harvard, it has trained dozens of physicians and public health scientists who are advancing clinical and translational research on these diseases in the region. With purpose, passion, and perseverance, Dr. El-Hajj Fuleihan has improved public health and patient care, built capacity, established new systems, led large programs, and trained countless young doctors and scientists, to whom she is a cherished role model. She holds an MD degree from American University of Beirut and an MPH from the Harvard Chan School.
Boston - October 14, 2017