JEDDAH: Saudi scientist Dr. Khawla Al-Kuraya, who recently won King Abdul Aziz Medal of the First Order in recognition of her outstanding contributions to cancer research, will be the guest of honor at Al-Ithnainiya — the cultural evening held every Monday by Jeddah businessman Abdul Maqsood Khoja.
Al-Kuraya, who is director of the Research Center at the Riyadh-based King Fahd National Children’s Cancer Center, was invited to Al-Ithnainiya after Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah conferred on her the prestigious medal last Monday.
“I am happy to honor Dr. Al-Kuraya in appreciation of her efforts, along with her team, in identifying the features of cancer cells in order to diagnose and treat various types of cancer,” said Khoja and invited interested people to attend the cultural event this Monday evening at his residence in Jeddah.
Born in the northern Jouf province, Al-Kuraya completed her residency and fellowship at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington. Under her leadership, the research program at King Fahd National Children’s Cancer Center has earned recognition as an active partner of global cancer research.
Al-Kuraya said the suffering of cancer patients encouraged her to conduct more research on how to reduce their suffering. She said her research team included scientists from different countries including Saudi Arabia, China, India and Pakistan. Al-Kuraya’s research interest varies from translational research to identifying the molecular signature of the common tumor utilizing the recent technology in cancer genetic fields. She has authored many papers for international peer journals like Nature Genetics, Blood, Cancer Research and Oncogene.
Speaking to Al-Madinah daily, Al-Kuraya said during her higher education in the West, she had to face the stereotypes that Arab women, especially Saudi women are backward and oppressed. “I wanted to change this wrong impression by working hard and tried to become top in the class,” she added.
She earned her MD in medicine and general surgery from King Saud University in Riyadh.
She completed a fellowship in hematopathology and molecular diagnostics at Georgetown.
