Personal Data and Academic Background
Dr. Jamila Al-Suwaidi is a Consultant in “Radiation in Medicine Developments” at the Department of Medical Education in Dubai Health Authority. She is the Emirati Counterpart for National Projects in-cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Additionally, Al-Suwaidi heads a Research Project in Patient Radiation Dosimetry in diagnostic radiology.
In Academia, Dr. Al Suwaidi has worked as a visiting professor at the Department of Physics, Faculty of Sciences, UAE University, and as an academic supervisor at Higher Colleges of Technology – Dubai Women’s College, Division of Medical Sciences and Medical Imaging. Moreover, she supervised the training of students of various disciplines in medical sciences in the field of radiation in medicine.
Dr. Al-Suwaidi is a member of a number of societies, such as Emirates Medical Physics Society (EMPS) (Former President of EMPS, 2005-2009) and Emirates Medical Association (EMA) (Board Member and Treasurer). She is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board Committee at Al Jalila Foundation and the UAE Radiation Protection Committee. Al-Suwaidi is member and regional representative of the International Organization for Medical Physics. Formerly, she was a member of the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine in Britain and of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine as well as the Gulf Nuclear Medicine Society.
Achievements and Professional Milestones
Dr. Jamila Al Suwaidi is the first Emirati to obtain postgraduate qualifications in the field of medical physics, with a special focus on nuclear energy. She obtained both M.Sc. and PhD in Radiation Physics from the University of Surrey, UK. Importantly, Al Suwaidi played a very active role in establishing and developing the Medical Physics specialty at the Faculty of Sciences at UAE University. Moreover, she contributed remarkably to the establishment and improvement of the specialty of Nuclear Medicine in the Emirate of Dubai since 1996, and to the introduction of Radioactive Iodine Therapy for patients.
In 2000, Al Suwaidi founded the Radiation Protection Unit in the Department of Nuclear Medicine, and then she established the Department of Medical Physics at Dubai Hospital. The latter contained the Radiation Protection Unit to service Nuclear Medicine and Diagnostic Radiology. In 2002, she participated in drafting and formulating the first federal law concerning radiation protection. In the same vein, Al-Suwaidi contributed to developing the regulatory details of the aforementioned law.
In 2009, Jamila Al Suwaidi participated in establishing blood radiolabelling laboratory in cooperation with the International Society of Radiolabeled Blood Elements (ISORBE). This laboratory is the only regional lab of its kind to meet international standards. Notably, Al Suwaidi was fully involved in establishing Radiation Protection and Safety programs, in addition to quality control programs in medical imaging and radioiodine therapy in Dubai Health Authority.
The focus of Al Suwaidi’s research is on radiation protection and patient radiation dosimetry. She published numerous scientific articles and presented frequently at scientific conferences and meetings. On the top of that, she was involved in organizing and hosting a good number of scientific events in the context of many collaborative projects on local, regional and international levels. Her scientific research and publications are impressively unique considering that they highlight the particulars of radiation in medicine in UAE. It is hardly surprising then that the results of her work have a massive practical importance, particularly in regards to her published studies on computed tomography doses in children and adults. Interestingly, most of her published work is the fruit of international multicenter studies, which is an indication of the high quality and high standards of their scientific content. Dr. Al Suwaidi has participated in a number of local, regional and international projects in collaboration with International Atomic Energy Agency (Vienna) and with World Health Organization (Geneva). With these projects, there were accompanying courses and workshops in nuclear imaging, radiology and radiotherapy. Furthermore, she authored many scientific publications in collaboration with International Atomic Energy Agency (Vienna).
Dr. Al Suwaidi established regular educational programs around the principles of radiology protection in hospitals, and she extended these programs to involve dentistry as well. These programs are among the basic requirements for licensing for those who are involved in radiology.
Awards
In recognition of her pioneering work and notable achievements in the context of radiology and nuclear medicine, Dr. Jamila Al Suwaidi was chosen to receive the Sheikh Hamdan Award for Distinct Medical Personalities in UAE for the term 2013-2014.
