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Not all of our visit was taken up with medical discussions. Dr. Adnan Mansoor, right, and our delegation visited ancient Palmyra, northeast of Damascus, which flourished in the 3rd century CE as a trading city connecting the Mediterranean and the Orient. |
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This is our fourth delegation to the Middle East (and our fifth medical visit), in our effort to build Friendship Through Medicine. Previous delegations: + Delegation to Baghdad, December, 2002 +Medical Visit to Baghdad July, 2003 +Delegation to Damascus, Spring 2008 +Delegation to Damascus, Fall 2008, Report below +Doctors Needed for Our Next Friendship-Building Delegation to Syria Nov. ‘09 In November, 2008, our medical delegation traveled to Damascus as guests of the Syrian American Medical Association. Members of the delegation included Dr. Vartan Igidbashian, a radiologist, from St. Francis Hospital in Wilmington; Dr. Adnan Mansoor who specializes in hematology and transfusion medicine at the University of Calgary, Alberta; and Dr. Mazhar Rishi, who had accompanied us on our previous trip (see insert, below). Our team also included Ms. Wendy Keslick, Director of Children Creating Bridges, and Mel Lehman of CommonHumanity.org. Each of the doctors presented papers in his field of specialty at the First Symposium in Medical Research and Biostatistics held at the Al-Asad University Hospital, a major teaching hospital in Damascus named in honor of the late elder brother of Syrian President Bashar Al-Asad. |
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Fall, 2008, delegation at the historic Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria. From left, Dr. Mazhar Rishi, Dr. Adnan Mansoor, Mel Lehman, Wendy Keslick, Dr. Vartan Igidbashian. |
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Each of the doctors presented papers in his field of specialty at the First Symposium in Medical Research and Biostatistics held at the Al-Assad University Hospital, a major teaching hospital in Damascus named in honor of the late elder brother of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. “At the symposium, we presented talks and workshops on the early diagnosis and treatments of various cancers and cost-effective use of ultrasonography,” Dr. Mazhar Rishi said. “Our presentations were well received by the Syrian medical community. “After the symposium, we visited various departments at Al-Assad University hospital and met their faculty, residents and medical students. We were all impressed with the More |
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Dr. Mazhar Rishi, above left, receiving an award of appreciation from the Syrian Minister of Higher Education, Dr. Ghiath Barakat, right, and Dr. Naem Shahrour, center, President of Syrian American Medical Association. Dr. Mazhar Rishi has become an invaluable part of our team and deserves a special word of thanks. Dr. Rishi is a pathologist who is President of the Medical Staff of St. Francis Hospital in Wilmington. He is the past President of the Philadelphia Chapter of C.A.I.R., the Council of American-Islamic Relations, and he is a leader in interfaith dialogue. |