Kazem Behbehani is a

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

i immunologist and retired professor. He is known for his research on

tropical diseases Tropical diseases are diseases that are prevalent in or unique to tropical and subtropical regions. The diseases are less prevalent in temperate climates, due in part to the occurrence of a cold season, which controls the insect population by for ...

before he became International Health Advocate at

WHO The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has 6 regional offices and 15 ...

Early life and education

Behbehani was born in

Kuwait City Kuwait City (; ) is the capital and largest city of Kuwait. Located at the heart of the country on the south shore of Kuwait Bay on the Persian Gulf, it is the political, cultural and economic center of the emirate, containing Kuwait's Seif Pal ...

, studied medicine at the Universities of

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

and received a PhD in Immunology in 1972. He was a Post Doctoral Fellow at the

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is a public university, public research university in Bloomsbury, central London, and a constituent college, member institution of the University of London that specialises in public hea ...

and the Mathilda and Terence Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. He married Dr Sabikah Abdulrazzaq and has two daughters Faye and Farah. He also has five grandchildren but he quoted “My first grandson Bader is my favorite”.

Career

In 1983, Behbehani returned to Kuwait and joined

University of Kuwait Kuwait University (, abbreviated as Kuniv) is a public university located in Kuwait City, Kuwait. History Kuwait University (KU), (in Arabic: جامعة الكويت), was established in October 1966 under Act N. 29/1966. The university was of ...

, Medical School, where he eventually became Professor of

Immunology Immunology is a branch of biology and medicine that covers the study of Immune system, immune systems in all Organism, organisms. Immunology charts, measures, and contextualizes the Physiology, physiological functioning of the immune system in ...

and tropical diseases. At the University level he held the following posts: Vice President for Research, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Science, Vice Dean (Research) of the Faculty of Medicine and member of the university council. During these years, he also became a visiting professor at

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...

(1979–1984). After the

Invasion of Kuwait The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, codenamed Project 17, began on 2 August 1990 and marked the beginning of the Gulf War. After defeating the Kuwait, State of Kuwait on 4 August 1990, Ba'athist Iraq, Iraq went on to militarily occupy the country fo ...

in 1990 Kazem Behbehani had to flee Kuwait and joined the

. At WHO (1990–2005), he worked in the vaccine research of the Global programmed of AIDS, was the Programme Manager of Tropical Disease Research (TDR), the Director of both the Division of the Control of Tropical Diseases (1994–1998) and, the Eastern Mediterranean Liaison Office (1998–2003) in Geneva. He served as a member of the WHO Board of Appeal, Secretary of number of Intergovernmental meetings (e.g. Tobacco Convention), as well as several of the committees/subcommittees of the Executive Board and the World Health Assembly. His last position was Assistant Director-General for External Relations and Governing Bodies (2003 - 5). In 2005, he became WHO Envoy. In 2006 he became official candidate in the WHO Director General election, where he succeeded to reach the top 5 list. Beside his WHO work he became member of many national and international advisory boards like the Scientific Advisory Board of the Cyprus International Institute for Environmental and Public Health; chairman of the

International Atomic Energy Agency The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear technology, nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was ...

– IAEA’s External Panel for the Evaluation of Human Health Programme (2005); member of the

International Agency for Research on Cancer The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC; ) is an intergovernmental agency forming part of the World Health Organization of the United Nations. Its role is to conduct and coordinate research into the causes of cancer. It also cance ...

– IARC’s Ethics Review Committee (2005–2009) or member of the board of Baroness Nicholson and J.K. Rowling’s Children’s High Level Group.

Scientific merits and awards

Over the years Behbehani has developed close working relationships with various agencies and international bodies including

Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development SA is a Swiss for-profit entity and international development finance institution which invests in countries of East Africa, West Africa, Central Asia, and South Asia. It is based in Geneva, Switzerland. I ...

OPEC Fund for International Development The OPEC Fund for International Development (OPEC Fund) is an intergovernmental development finance institution established in 1976 by the member states of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The OPEC Fund was conceived ...

Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development The Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) (), commonly known as the Kuwait Fund, is the State of Kuwait’s agency for the provision and administration of financial and technical assistance to developing countries. History and profil ...

Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development The Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD) is a Kuwait-based pan-Arab development finance institution. All member-states of the Arab League are members of the AFESD. As of 2003, it held around US$7.3 billion in assets. The AFESD ...

and the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

. He is the recipient of several awards and scientific recognitions, including the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Science's (KFAS) Best Researcher in Medicine. He served as a member of the Editorial Board of a number of scientific journals. He has more than 100 scientific publications and one book on science and technology to his credit. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists (

FRCPath The Royal College of Pathologists (RCPath) is a professional membership organisation. Its main function is the overseeing of postgraduate training, and its Fellowship Examination (FRCPath) is recognised as the standard assessment of fitness to p ...

) (1995) and Fellow of the Islamic Academy of Sciences (1992). The Cyprus International Institute for the Environment and Public Health in Association with Harvard School of Public Health has awarded him with an honorary degree of

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

Environmental health Environmental health is the branch of public health concerned with all aspects of the natural environment, natural and built environment affecting human health. To effectively control factors that may affect health, the requirements for a hea ...

in 2009. In 2016 Kazem received an

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth for his services to UK/Kuwait Healthcare cooperation.

Books

*''Proceedings of the Symposium on Science and Technology for Development in Kuwait'' (1981) Longman ()

References

External links

Kazem Behbehani BiographyThe Official World Health Organisation Web SiteDr Kazem Behbehani's Personal Web Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Behbehani, Kazem Living people Harvard Medical School faculty Immunologists Kuwaiti physicians World Health Organization officials Kuwaiti people of Iranian descent Academic staff of Kuwait University Kuwait University alumni Alumni of the University of Liverpool Alumni of the University of London Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Kuwaiti officials of the United Nations Year of birth missing (living people)