Newswise — Dr. Javaid I. Sheikh, professor of psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College, has been named dean at Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q). Dr. Sheikh has served as interim dean since January 2009, following the retirement of Dr. Daniel R. Alonso, dean of the Medical College in Qatar from its inception in 2001.
"Since it opened, Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar has graduated 32 medical students, initiated numerous medical research studies, and worked with our partners in Qatar, including Qatar Foundation, to improve the health of the community," says Dr. Antonio M. Gotto Jr., the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medical College. "Dr. Alonso was instrumental in establishing the Medical College in Qatar, and Dr. Sheikh has been invaluable to ensuring its continued success."
Dr. Mohammad Fathy Saoud, president of Qatar Foundation, said: "Weill Cornell was the first to join Qatar Foundation offering a home-based degree program, so we have had a very special relationship from the beginning. On this occasion I would like to commend the work of the founding dean, Dr. Daniel Alonso, for his excellent leadership of the school during the startup phase and the following several years until the first class of students graduated in 2008. I am confident that his successor Dr. Sheikh, given his impressive academic and professional experience, will raise WCMC-Q to new horizons by integrating education with research and clinical excellence."
Under Dr. Sheikh's leadership, WCMC-Q has established a first-rate translational and clinical research infrastructure, including core laboratories and research administration personnel. Currently, he has begun to implement a five-year strategic plan for the next phase of WCMC-Q's development while continuing to carry out its tripartite mission of education, research and clinical care.
Dr. Sheikh is an internationally renowned researcher in the area of anxiety disorders. During the 1990s, he conducted the first studies to delineate the impact of aging on anxiety disorders, particularly a detailed characterization of panic disorder in aging patients. His most recent investigations, funded by the National Institutes of Health, have focused on the interface of central fear circuits and sleep architecture in patients with chronic anxiety disorders. He has published more than 125 scientific articles, in addition to numerous abstracts documenting his research findings.
Dr. Sheikh came to WCMC-Q from Stanford University School of Medicine where he was a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences. From 2001 to 2006, Dr. Sheikh served as associate dean for veterans affairs at Stanford and as chief of medical staff at the Stanford affiliate VA Palo Alto Health Care System (VAPAHCS). As the chairman of the board of Palo Alto Institute for Research and Education, he also oversaw the substantial research endeavors of more than 100 Stanford faculty members based at the VAPAHCS. As the research director for the National Center for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and as clinical director for the Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center at VAPAHCS, he oversaw broad-based research programs focusing on the neurobiology of anxiety disorders.
Dr. Sheikh received his medical degree from King Edward Medical College in Lahore, Pakistan, began his psychiatry residency training at University of Connecticut Health Center, and completed his residency training and two research fellowships at Stanford University School of Medicine.
"I am honored to accept the appointment," says Dr. Sheikh. "It is an exciting challenge to lead the pioneering efforts of WCMC-Q, and one that I welcome. We are participating in a renaissance of science and education in the Middle East that will make a great contribution to the health and well-being of the people of Qatar, the Gulf region and the world."
Weill Cornell Medical College-Qatar
Established in partnership with the Qatar Foundation, Weill Cornell Medical College-Qatar (WCMC-Q) is part of Weill Cornell Medical College (WCMC), the first American institution to offer an M.D. degree overseas. WCMC-Q shares the tripartite mission of WCMC: a dedication to excellence in education, patient care and biomedical research. Weill Cornell Medical College-Qatar offers an innovative program of pre-medical and medical studies leading to an M.D. degree from Cornell University. Teaching is by Cornell and Weill Cornell faculty, including physicians at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) who hold Weill Cornell appointments. Faculty and staff of WCMC-Q and WCMC are building the research capacity of Qatar in partnership with Qatar Foundation, HMC, the Qatar Ministry of Health and other organizations, with a focus on high-quality research in genetic and molecular medicine, women's and children's health, gene therapy and vaccine development. For more information, visit www.qatar-weill.cornell.edu.
Weill Cornell Medical College
Weill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University's medical school located in New York City, is committed to excellence in research, teaching, patient care and the advancement of the art and science of medicine, locally, nationally and globally. Physicians and scientists of Weill Cornell Medical College are engaged in cutting-edge research from bench to bedside, aimed at unlocking mysteries of the human body in health and sickness and toward developing new treatments and prevention strategies. In its commitment to global health and education, Weill Cornell has a strong presence in places such as Qatar, Tanzania, Haiti, Brazil, Austria and Turkey. Through the historic Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, the Medical College is the first in the U.S. to offer its M.D. degree overseas. Weill Cornell is the birthplace of many medical advances -- including the development of the Pap test for cervical cancer, the synthesis of penicillin, the first successful embryo-biopsy pregnancy and birth in the U.S., the first clinical trial of gene therapy for Parkinson's disease, and most recently, the world's first successful use of deep brain stimulation to treat a minimally conscious brain-injured patient. Weill Cornell Medical College is affiliated with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, where its faculty provides comprehensive patient care at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. The Medical College is also affiliated with the Methodist Hospital in Houston, making Weill Cornell one of only two medical colleges in the country affiliated with two U.S.News Honor Roll hospitals. For more information, visit www.med.cornell.edu.
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