Ajay K. Singh, MBBS, MBA, FRCP
Chief Academic Officer
Dr. Singh is Chief Academic Officer at HMSDC and Executive Director, Dubai Harvard Foundation of Medical Research. Dr. Singh did his undergraduate and medical training in England at University College School of Medicine. He moved to Boston in 1987 for his clinical and research renal fellowship at Tufts-New England Medical Center, which he completed in 1992 and joined the faculty at Tufts. In 1998 he moved to the Brigham and Women’s Hospital as Clinical Director of the Renal Division and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. The Brigham of Women’s Hospital is one of the principal teaching hospitals of Harvard Medical School. This past year, he accepted the position of Director, Postgraduate Medical Education in the Department of Medicine at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Dr. Singh’s interests are in clinical research – with a particular focus on chronic kidney disease, and in education both in leading several Harvard CME courses as well as lecturing both nationally and internationally. He is the author of over 100 original contributions and review articles, as well as author/editor of 3 books in nephrology. Dr. Singh is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in London UK and has an MBA from Boston University
Zahra Saeed Baalawi
Director, Education
Mrs Zahra Baalawi has joined Harvard Medical School Dubai Center as Director of Education. She has recieved her BSc in Biology from Missouri State University, Medical Laboratory Technology training at Research Medical Center in Kansas City (USA) and her Masters degree in Medical
and Molecular Microbiology from Manchester University (UK). She is currently completing her Doctorate in Education from the University of Leicester. Zahra has extensive experience in Laboratory sciences and Molecular biology, Health Sciences education, Curriculum development, continuous professional development, and Learning and Teaching in higher education. Zahra’s research interests are professional development in higher education faculty development and lifelong learning, which she has presented at a number of international conference’s on some of these issues.
Tobias Baker
Director, Medical Simulation Center
Dr Tobias Barker joined PHMI, representing the Harvard Medical School Dubai Center as its Medical Director of Simulation. Dr. Barker is responsible for the design and delivery of high quality educational programs using the resources of the simulation center in the Dubai Healthcare City. He will be working closely with the leadership of HMS, DHCC and PHMI on this important endeavor. Dr. Barker comes to PHMI from the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where he was the Associate Director of the STRATUS Center for Medical Simulation and Attending Physician in the Department of Emergency Medicine. Dr Tobias Barker received his B.A. from University of Colorado (Boulder) and his Degree in Medicine from the University of California (Los Angeles). He left his medical school training toperform researchat the NIH for one year before returning to graduate AOA from UCLA. He completed two years of Residency in General Surgery at The Cleveland Clinicbefore completing a four-yearResidency in Emergency Medicine at Yale University. In addition to his U.S. experience, Dr. Barker has also worked in clinical training programs in India, South Africa, Kazakhstan,and the West Indies, amongst other places.
Albert Oliver
Instructor, Medical Simulation Center
After studying bioresource engineering at the University of British Columbia, Albert attended and graduated from Queen’s University Medical School in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Following completion of his residency in Family Medicine and Emergency Medicine at the University of British Columbia’s teaching hospitals in Vancouver, Canada, he began his career as a Consultant Emergency Physician in 1990. He practiced in the Vancouver area for many years before moving to the UAE in 2002 and has worked in most of the country’s top emergency departments since that time. Albert also has extensive experience in clinical bedside teaching and has served as an Instructor of many courses. He works as an Instructor in the Medical Simulation Center under the direction of Dr. Tobias Barker.
Badriya Amir
Client Services Representative
Badriya Amir serves as HMSDC’s Client Services Representative. Her previous studies have focused on Arts & Literature, and she plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. She enjoys collaborating on team-oriented projects and conducting online research to gain new knowledge.
Christine Chalhoub, CCRP
Manager, Research
Christine Chalhoub is currently working on establishing the governance and regulatory infrastructure for conducting research within Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC); including setting up the Office for Research Administration (ORA), the Research Council (RC) and the Research Ethics Review Committee (RERC). Christine holds a Bachelors Honors Degree from York University, Toronto, Canada in Experimental Animal Biology. She further completed her graduate studies in the field of Clinical Research. She has been a member of the Society of Clinical Research Associates (SoCRA) since August 2001 and is a Certified Clinical Research Professional (CCRP). Christine brings with her a wealth of knowledge and experience within the clinical research field.
Hala Shazia Bhat
Senior Executive, Operations
Hala Shazia Bhat has over 9 years of experience in the field of Marketing and Information Technology. Her roles have included specialization in Graphic Design, Animation and Event Management. At HMSDC, Hala Shazia handles the operations, manages the website and is also responsible for branding and creating the marketing collaterals in house. She also actively participates in the Event management. In the past, Hala Shazia has coordinated the marketing and post-production for media companies
Dr. Maher Musallam manages the planning and implementation of continuing medical and professional education programs at HMSDC, and oversees the system for reviewing, approving, and accrediting CME programs offered within Dubai Healthcare City and the community. He has over 10 years of experience in the health care industry, serving as the Pharmaceutical Division Manager at Unigreg Pharmaceutical and Key account manger for Fine Hygienic Medical Division and most recently served the clinical team in DHCC sales department as Senior executive. He holds a bachelor’s degree in science major in Zoology and bachelor degree in Medicine from Fatema College of Medicine, Manila (Philippines) and holding also Master degree in International Business from Wollongong University.
Nazanin Khodadoust
Manager, Medical Simulation Center
Nazanin is responsible for planning, development,
and implementation of the HMSDC
Medical Simulation Center, and also coordinating and providing life support courses for
health care professionals. She is a Registered Nurse (RN) in Canada with over eleven
years of experience in Canada, Iran, and UAE. Her work experience encompasses both
clinical nursing in Cardiac ICU, ICU step-down, and NICU as well as health education.
Nazanin holds a Master of Science degree
in Health Care Management from Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI).
Nivine Abbas
Senior Executive, Academic Affairs
Nivine holds Bachelors degree in Medical Diagnostic Imaging from University of Sharjah, UAE. She further completed her postgraduate diploma in Medical Ultrasound, Burwin Institute, Canada. She worked over six years as a Teaching Assistant and Clinical Tutor in Medical Diagnostic Imaging Department at University of Sharjah providing instruction to develop the practical skills of the students as well as delivering laboratory sessions in Radiographic Imaging, Processing and Quality Assurance. At HMSDC Nivine works on designing and developing policies, procedures manual and academic compliance to ensure implementation of education regulations, rules and processes in Dubai Healthcare city.
Saba Abu Seini
Personal Assistant
Ms. Saba Abu Seini is the Personal Assistant to the Chief Academic Officer and Director of Education of HMSDC. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English Literature from the University of Jordan. Prior to joining HMSDC she worked as an Administrative Assistant in the Dubai International Finance Center.
