Dr. Hajjar Will Work With Qatari Academic Leaders to Strengthen Biomedical Research and Education
Newswise — NEW YORK (Feb. 14, 2011) — The Fulbright Commission, with approval of the U.S. State Department, announced that Dr. David P. Hajjar, the Frank H.T. Rhodes Distinguished Professor of Cardiovascular Biology and Genetics, professor of biochemistry, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine and dean of the Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, has been named to one of its premier senior scholarship programs — the Fulbright Specialist Program. Dr. Hajjar is the second Weill Cornell faculty member to receive this honor.
As a Fulbright awardee, Dr. Hajjar will work in Qatar in concert with Dr. Javaid Sheikh, dean of Weill Cornell Medical College–Qatar, and Dr. Kassim Ali Shaaban, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences of Qatar University, to strengthen the biomedical research and educational enterprise of Qatar University’s College of Arts and Sciences and to develop opportunities for collaborations between Weill Cornell Medical College–Qatar and Qatar University and beyond. In addition, Dean Hajjar intends to help identify students interested in medicine at Qatar University who would qualify for admission to the medical college in Qatar.
Dean Hajjar was nominated in 2010 for this honor by Dr. David J. Skorton, president of Cornell University; Sir Paul Nurse, president of Rockefeller University; and Dr. Barry Coller, physician-in-chief of Rockefeller University.
“Through his leadership in building our own research and education enterprise at Weill Cornell, and as an accomplished, brilliant scientist himself, Dr. Hajjar is uniquely qualified to offer expert guidance to our friends and colleagues in Qatar,” says Dr. Skorton. “I extend my congratulations and wish him well in this important undertaking.”
“Dr. Hajjar has extraordinary skills and will bring them to this important initiative which underscores Weill Cornell’s longstanding commitment to the people of Qatar. His work with academic leaders in Qatar, together with our broader, shared efforts in New York, will help to improve health outcomes in that country, the entire region and, indeed, the whole world,” adds Dr. Antonio M. Gotto Jr., the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medical College and provost for medical affairs at Cornell University.
“I applaud this important effort to forge new connections with Qatar University as we strive to realize the full potential of our institutions’ shared educational and research goals, and best prepare students to achieve their own aspirations in the fields of science and medicine,” says Dr. Sheikh.
“I look forward to working with Dean Hajjar and Dean Sheikh as we plot a course to establish strong collaborations within Qatar and internationally, connecting students and faculty with new opportunities for learning and advancing science,” says Dr. Shaaban.
“It is a great honor to be selected for the Fulbright Program. My intent is to do something meaningful to bridge the educational and scientific endeavors of Qatar University with the medical sciences in Education City at Weill Cornell Medical College in Doha,” says Dr. Hajjar.
Dr. Hajjar received his B.A. degree in 1974 from the American International College and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in biochemistry in 1977 and 1978, respectively, from the University of New Hampshire. He came to Cornell in 1978 as a research associate in biochemistry and pathology and was promoted to assistant professor in 1981, associate professor in 1984 and professor in 1989. In 1986, at the age of 33, he was awarded tenure, the youngest faculty member to be granted such an honor. In 1995, Dr. Hajjar became the founding director of the Center of Vascular Biology at the Medical College. In 1997, he was appointed dean of the Graduate School of Medical Sciences and the Frank H.T. Rhodes Distinguished Professor of Cardiovascular Biology and Genetics. To date, he has published more than 160 research papers on the pathogenesis of heart disease. He is considered an international authority in this area of research and has received many honors from the American Chemical Society, the American Heart Association and the Federation of American Societies of Experimental Biology. Dr. Hajjar was appointed vice provost for the faculty in 2000, executive vice dean in 2003, and senior executive vice dean and executive vice provost of Weill Cornell Medical College in 2007. He remains the longest serving dean of the Graduate School (14 years) in its 60-year history.
Fulbright Scholar Program For more than 60 years, the Council for International Exchange of Scholars (CIES) has helped administer the Fulbright Scholar Program, the U.S. government’s flagship academic exchange effort, on behalf of the United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Founded in 1947, CIES is a private organization. It is a division of the Institute of International Education.
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 & World Report Honor Roll hospitals. For more information, visit weill.cornell.edu.
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