Prestigious award for SQU team led by Omani

Muscat: A team of doctors at Sultan Qaboos University has been won the IBRO Award by the World Brain Research Organisation in the United Kingdom for their initiatives concerned with body health, diet, sports and awareness of all types of cancer.

The award is intended to encourage the team to carry out other activities that serve the same goal.

The award recognises the efforts made by Dr Adhari Al Zaabi and her team in the Siyaj initiative for a healthy life system that aims to improve body and brain health.

Dr Adhari Al Zaabi, the team leader and an Assistant Professor and Senior Specialist in the Department of Anatomy at the College of Medicine and Health Sciences at Sultan Qaboos University and Hospital, is the first Omani woman to win this award.

The initiative, founded by Dr. Adhari in 2019 in cooperation with students of the College of Medicine and Health Sciences, is one of the first concerned with body health, diet, sports and awareness of all types of cancer.

The initiative has taken a departure from the norm by spreading awareness through challenges, disseminating information and eliminating rumours related to cancer in a manner that touches the Arab community, and the challenges of the Siyaj initiative have met with a great response from many young people inside and outside the Sultanate, as more than 7 countries participated in the challenges from all parts of the world.

Many groups of doctors and researchers from different countries of the world competed for the IBRO award.

Dr Adhari said, “The evaluation of this award is not easy, as the requirements are many and the competition includes applicants from all over the world.

The initiative I established in cooperation with medical students was conceived under the umbrella of the Centre for Community Service and Continuing Education and then moved to the college.

“The number of participants in the team at its inception was nearly ten students, and now their number is between 50 to 60 Omani youths from various governorates and disciplines.”

“All scientific publications and activities affiliated with the initiative are evaluated by specialists in the field of cancer science, sports hygiene and mental health science before they are published, and we seek through this initiative to create a healthy and active community in line with Oman Vision 2040, which states that health is everyone’s responsibility,” she explained.