Rambam Medical Center
Public Affairs and Spokesman
David Ratner, Director
www.rambam.org.il

New appointment at Rambam - Dr. Suheir Assady is the first Muslim woman to
head a hospital department in Israel

Dr. Suheir Assady was recently appointed as the new Head of the Nephrology
Department at Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa, Israel.

To date, Dr. Assady is the first Israeli Muslim woman directing a large
medical department in an Israeli hospital. There are only a few women
holding similar positions in the entire Middle East.

Dr. Assady was born and resides in the northern city of Nazareth. In 1993,
after she had completed her medical studies and internship at the Hebrew
University and Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem, Dr. Assady began her
residency at Rambam in the Department of Internal Medicine C. Her fellowship
at Rambam in the Nephrology Department soon became her passion, leading her
to in-depth research in the field and to her Ph.D. in Medical Sciences on
the subject of characterization of differentiation pathways in human
embryonic stem cells-an achievement reached by only 10% of doctors in
Israel.

After completing her Ph.D., Dr. Assady returned in 2003, as a senior
physician and since then has held many positions, such as: Head of the
Hemodialysis Unit, Head of the Peritoneal Dialysis Unit, and as a nephrology
consultant. Within the framework of her clinical and research duties, Dr.
Assady oversees the instruction of the Technion medical students in the
Department of Nephrology. She is currently authoring a chapter in the
prestigious book in her field, entitled The Kidney, edited by B.M. Brenner.

Dr. Assady believes that striving for excellence is a process more than a
target. "To quote the words of my teachers, I see my work as a lifelong
mission," says Assady. "My greatest achievements are due to the
opportunities I had for professional growth within the (Nephrology)
Department and from the excellent training I received from some of the
finest doctors in the field of nephrology in Israel who are world-renowned
for their groundbreaking research in this area - Professor Karl Skorecki,
the late Professor Jacob Green, and Professor Ori Better. I intend to
continue in the course they have set - the path of distinguished
nephrologists - to combine humane medical approaches that heighten patient
welfare through advanced departmental research, and strive for excellence in
teaching and training, thus leaving a rich medical legacy to future
generations."