UAE: Sheikh Mohammed announces Saudi doctor Hani Najm as first winner of ‘Great Arab Minds’ award in medicine

The initiative, similar to the Nobel Prize but specifically for the Arab world, seeks to recognize and motivate exceptional Arab talents in fields such as medicine, engineering, economics, literature and the arts.

The first winner of this award in the field of medicine is Dr. Hani Najm from Saudi Arabia. He serves as Chair of Pediatric and Congenital Cardiac Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic in the United States. Dr. Najm has been recognized for his innovative and exceptional surgical practices in cardiac surgery for both children and adults, having performed more than 10,000 cardiac surgeries.

Sheikh Mohammed praised Dr. Najm and other distinguished Arab doctors for their contributions to medical knowledge, their efforts to alleviate human suffering and for paving the way for future innovators in this field.

The Great Arab Minds initiative is part of a broader mission to identify, support and recognize leading thinkers in the Arab region, amplifying their impact and inspiring future generations. This is the ‘Mohammed bin Rashid Medal for Great Arab Minds’ which is awarded annually to six winners in six different categories.

The goal of the initiative is to facilitate the recognition of Arab thought leaders and transform their innovative ideas into real-life breakthroughs and solutions. It aims to empower a group of Arab scientists and thinkers, building a network of Arab intellectuals to drive an intellectual renaissance in the Arab world.

Dr. Najm is chair of Pediatric and Congenital Cardiac Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic, Ohio. He has been awarded the Great Arab Minds Prize in Medicine in recognition of his outstanding contributions and pioneering innovations in the field of cardiac surgery for children and adults. He having performed more than 10,000 cardiac operations on patients with complex heart conditions with outstanding results.

A key aspect of their work is developing a gradually expanding heart “valve” for children, sparing them the need for repeated surgeries to replace the valve. Dr. Najm is also recognized for developing a new surgical technique, called a “ventricular switch,” to repair one of the most complex congenital heart diseases in children.

Dr. Najm was the lead cardiac surgeon on a large team that performed a rare and complex life-saving surgery to remove a cardiac tumor in a 26-week fetus.