20th May 2024

Health and Care Research Wales Specialty Lead receives Honorary Professorship in Medical Sciences

A Health and Care Research Wales Specialty Lead says he hopes to raise the profile of research into immunotherapies to treat head and neck cancer, after receiving an Honorary Professorship in Medical Sciences from an international accrediting body.

Mr Ali Al-Hussaini, Joint Specialty Lead for Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT), said that he hopes the accolade from the International Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (QAHE) would help to foster more strategic national collaborations with his research unit at Cardiff University, which is focussed particularly on immune responses in cancer patients.

Mr Al-Hussaini, who is a Consultant ENT Surgeon at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, is extremely passionate about high-quality research with 40 peer-reviewed publications to date and a strong international ENT research portfolio.

His other research interests include virtual e-learning solutions for medical undergraduates, and other specialities including General Practice and Emergency Medicine, which often see crossover with ENT patients, and in providing anoutcome measure to assess patient satisfaction and experience following septorhinoplasty nasal surgery.

He said: “I am delighted to have received this recognition from the International Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education as it will help to raise the profile of ENT research across Health and Care Research Wales and allow for more strategic national collaborations with our unit in Cardiff.

“I am collaborating with academics at Cardiff University particularly on immune responses in cancer – we’ve got some exciting research that we’re looking into. This accolade will hopefully give us extra credibility and raise the profile of ENT, and enable us to make more national and international links, as it’s very important that we have an international footprint.”