Houston Honors Distinguished Arab-American Physicians
Houston, Texas – The Houston Chapter of the Arab American Medical Association (AAMA-Houston) recently held its 6th Biennial Ben Qurrah Award gala to honor Arab-American physicians who have made remarkable contributions in the field of medicine and who have succeeded in the worldwide advancement of science. This year’s event honored two world-renowned physicians with the prestigious Ben Qurrah medals. The National Honoree for this year’s event was Dr. Elias Zerhouni, Director of the National Institutes of Health while the Houston Honoree was Dr. Issam Raad, Professor and Chair, Department of Infectious Diseases, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. A Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Dr. Saleh Shenaq’s family in memoriam. In addition, Mr. Monzer Hourani, a prominent Arab-American engineer and a leading medical real estate developer, was recognized as the Honorary Chair.
The black-tie event, held at the ZaZa Hotel, was co-chaired by Mrs. Cindi Albina, Mrs. Nouha Zacca and Mrs. Roula Abdalla. Dr. Aziz Shaibani served as the Awards Chair and Dr. Eddie Abdalla as the Underwriting Chair. The Gala was attended by more than 480 guests including several dignitaries, Consul members, representatives of the City of Houston, the President of Harris County Medical Society, various CEO’s and representatives of Texas Medical Center’s health facilities and educational institutions. It was also attended by the President of the National Arab American Medical Association, Dr. Nabil Khoury and its Executive Director, Dr. Muhanad Hammami.
This Award Gala is one of many achievements of the AAMA–Houston, a non-profit, charitable organization which has been active for more than 20 years. Since its inception, the organization has been keen in fulfilling its mission of promoting humanitarian, educational and cultural enrichment programs.
Lead underwriters for this event included Medistar Corporation, Aramco Services Company , Comerica Bank, MD Anderson Cancer Center, the Methodist Hospital System-International, St. Lukes Episcopal Hospital, APEX Hospitals, Cook Critical Care, Aloka Ultrasound, among many others. Net proceeds will go towards the Medical Students Scholarship Fund and towards other charitable and humanitarian needs including the Ronald McDonald House-Houston. For more information about the AAMA-Houston, visit www.aama-houston.org
