Humaid bin Harmal Al Shamsi

The first Emirati doctor specializing in gastrointestinal oncology and palliative care.

He has been the Chairman of the Emirates Board of Hematology and Oncology at the National Institute of Health Specialties since August 2022, the Director of Oncology and Cancer Services in the Gulf Region at Burjeel Holdings since March 2023, the Chairman of the Colon Cancer Guidance Committee in the Middle East and North Africa Region at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) since December 2021, and the Rapporteur of the Gulf Oncology Society since December 2022.

He is also the Founder and Director of the Medical Oncology Service at Burjeel Medical City , President of the Emirates Oncology Society since November 2018, Director of Oncology and Cancer Services at Burjeel Hospital and VPS Healthcare Group in the UAE, Director of the Innovation and Research Center at Burjeel Oncology Institute since October 2020, which he helped establish, and Assistant Clinical Professor of Oncology at the University of Sharjah since March 2017.

He has been a member of the Global Network for Personalized Cancer Medicine since December, making him the first Gulf member.

He worked as a consultant in oncology at Al Zahra Hospital Dubai between 2017 and 2021, a consultant and researcher in oncology and cancer at the MD Anderson Cancer Center between 2013 and 2017, an assistant professor at McMaster University in Canada between 2013 and 2017, and the University of Texas in the United States of America, and a consultant at Tawam Hospital between 2018 and 2020. He was also a military officer in the UAE Armed Forces.

He was able to identify a new type of colon cancer in 2017 after analyzing the genetic data of more than 9,000 colon cancer patients in the United States of America. He also authored the book “Cancer in the Arab World” in 2021, and co-authored “The Book of Rare Tumors” in 2018, and “The Book of Health Care in the Arab World.”

He has more than 15 years of experience in the field of medicine and oncology, where he published the first international study on the treatment of cancer patients during the Covid-19 virus stage, and presented the largest Arab study in the field of genetic testing for breast cancer. He also published more than 60 specialized research papers on cancer diseases, and participated in more than 70 research papers and working papers in international conferences on cancer diseases.

He has won many awards, including: “The Best Research Doctor Award in the UAE” from the “ Emirates Oncology Society ” and the “ Emirates Medical Association ” in 2020 and 2021, “The Best Doctor Award for Spreading Cancer Awareness in the UAE” from the same two associations in 2021, “The Best Research Award in the Field of Cancer and Corona in the United States” from “Harvard University” in 2020, “The Best Trainee Doctor Award” at “McMaster University” in 2012 as the first Arab doctor to win this award in the history of the awarding university, “The Best Research Doctor Award in the Field of Cancer and Oncology” from the same university in 2012, in addition to the “Silver Jubilee Medal for the Unification of the Armed Forces”, “The Peninsula Shield Force Medal”, “The Good Service Medal” for the first and second time, and “The Long Excellent Service Medal” for the first time.

He obtained the Canadian Fellowship and Board in Internal Medicine in 2011 from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC), the Canadian Fellowship and Board in Oncology and Cancer in 2012 from the same college, the American Fellowship and Board in Internal Medicine in 2010 from the American Society of Medical Specialties, the American Fellowship and Board in Oncology and Cancer in 2012 from the same society, and the British Fellowship and Board in Oncology and Cancer in 2012 from the Association of Royal Colleges of Physicians in the United Kingdom.

He holds a Bachelor of Medical Sciences in 2005 from University College Cork in Ireland, a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery in 2005 from the same college, and obtained a subspecialty certificate in internal medicine from McMaster University in Canada in 2010, a subspecialty certificate in cancer and oncology in 2012, a post-doctoral subspecialty certificate in gastrointestinal cancer in 2013, and a post-doctoral subspecialty certificate in palliative care in 2013.