Inaugural Meeting of BIU/GMC and Gulf Medical University Departments of Surgery

A first at the Faculty!

The international forum convened at three o'clock Israel time, eight AM eastern standard time, and five o'clock UAE time. As the 50 participants were signing into the Zoom meeting, introductions were made and small talk ensued about the weather (rare snow storm in Safed and also in NY). Dr. Elliot Goodman of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NY opened, saying that while this is the 4th of a series of academic lectures, it is the first in cooperation with the Galilee Medical Center, an Azrieli Faculty of Medicine affiliate hospital, and the Gulf Medical University in Ajman, United Arab Emirates. It is part of a collaborative effort to advance medical education and research.

Dr. Eli Kakiashvili of the GMC spoke next, welcoming everyone and pointing out that these meetings only began a few months ago and that they are pleased to now welcome GMU. He invited suggestions and remarks to further deepen the collaboration.

Next to offer opening remarks was Prof. Manda Venkatramana, Dean of the GMU College of Medicine who stated that only a few short months ago the collaboration agreement was signed and that already it is bearing fruits. He looks forward to continuing in the areas of education and research.

From the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Prof. Eric Shinwell introduced the speaker, Dr. Terrah Paul Olsen of Emory University, and thanked her warmly for agreeing to speak to the forum.

 And finally, before the presentation, Prof. Karl Skorecki, Dean of the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine offered words of thanks to Dr. Paul Olson and to the moderators, Dr. Goodman and Dr. Kakiashvili. He continued, saying that all too often, Memorandums of Agreement are signed with little getting off the ground. In this case, joint academic research has already been published thanks to the cooperation between BIU and GMU, and joint programs are planned. He added that BIU and GMU share a common vision, as both are exploring overlapping areas of interest in education, research, and innovation. This relationship is already blossoming, he said, and this meeting is only one example. The collaboration between Israel, UAE, and the USA is "strong global health at its best."

Dr. Paul Olson spoke about the surgical management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).  IBD includes two major conditions, Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis.  They are serious chronic conditions that are mostly managed with a number of medications that keep the symptoms under control.  In the most severe cases, in certain circumstances, surgery is required.  Her talk focused on the indications for surgery and the possible approaches that are used.

After the half hour presentation by Dr. Terrah Paul Olson, a Q&A session ensued and Dr. Goodman offered closing remarks including mention of the next meeting in a month's time, on trauma treatment, a specialty of GMC as a result of their treatment of Syrian war casualties.