Reza Malekzadeh (; born 1952 in

Kazerun Kazerun () is a city in the northwest of Fars Province in Iran and the center of Kazerun County. This city has an ancient history, numerous ancient and historical monuments, and numerous tourist attractions. Kazerun is the largest and most p ...

Fars province Fars Province or Pars Province, also known as Persis or Farsistan (فارسستان), is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Shiraz. Pars province has an area of 122,400 km2 and is located in Iran's southwest, i ...

Pahlavi Iran The Imperial State of Iran, officially known as the Imperial State of Persia until 1935, and commonly referred to as Pahlavi Iran, was the Iranian state under the rule of the Pahlavi dynasty. The Pahlavi dynasty was created in 1925 and lasted ...

) is an

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

medical Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

scientist and gastroenterologist.

Career

Malekzadeh studied medicine at Shiraz University. He continued his studies to become specialized in

Internal Medicine Internal medicine, also known as general medicine in Commonwealth nations, is a medical specialty for medical doctors focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases in adults. Its namesake stems from "treatment of diseases of ...

in Shiraz University where he did as well his fellowship in

gastroenterology Gastroenterology (from the Greek gastḗr- "belly", -énteron "intestine", and -logía "study of") is the branch of medicine focused on the digestive system and its disorders. The digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract, sometime ...

. In 1985, he joined the department of gastroenterology at Free Royal Hospital in London. After his return to Iran, he got a faculty position at Shiraz University and later on at

Tehran University of Medical Sciences Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) (, ''Danushgah-e 'lum Pezeshki-ye Tehran'') is the largest and most highly ranked medical university of Iran. In September 2008, Iran's Minister of Health, Treatment, and Medical Education, Lankarani ...

br>
where he is currently a full professor of

internal medicine Internal medicine, also known as general medicine in Commonwealth nations, is a medical specialty for medical doctors focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases in adults. Its namesake stems from "treatment of diseases of ...

. He is also an Honorary Professor at

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

, UK. Reza Malekzadeh was the

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...

of Iran's government from 1991 to 1993. From 2000 to 2004, Malekzadeh was the secretary of the Iranian Academy of Medical Sciencesbr>
and since 2005, the academy's vice-president for

research Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...

. He is the director of Digestive Disease Research Cente

and was appointed as the director of Shariati Hospita

in 2007. Dr Malekzadeh is also the Deputy-Editor of Archives of Iranian Medicin

He is working on a big cancer cohort in Bandar-Turkeman, Golestan Province of Iran to investigate the environmental and genetic causes of oesophageal cancer.

Achievements

Besides being a renowned gastroenterologist, Professor Malekzadeh has been instrumental in designing and executing an efficient and practical way of diagnosing cancerous and benign esophageal lesions in Iran, applicable to urban and rural areas. He was elected as a member of

TWAS The World Academy of Sciences for the advancement of science in developing countries (TWAS) is a merit-based science academy established for developing countries, uniting more than 1,400 scientists in some 100 countries. Its principal aim is t ...

in 200

Reza Malekzadeh received the "Permanent Personages Award" in the Third Permanent Personages session held on October 22, 2003. This national award is given to the most outstanding and memorable citizens of Iran. He has numerous reputable scientific publications in gastroenterology and

liver disease Liver disease, or hepatic disease, is any of many diseases of the liver. If long-lasting it is termed chronic liver disease. Although the diseases differ in detail, liver diseases often have features in common. Liver diseases File:Ground gla ...

Dr Malekzadeh was selected as distinguished professor of

in 2008.

Views

During the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran, Supreme Leader

Ali Khamenei Ali Hosseini Khamenei (; born 19 April 1939) is an Iranian cleric and politician who has served as the second supreme leader of Iran since 1989. He previously served as the third President of Iran, president from 1981 to 1989. Khamenei's tenure ...

and general

Hossein Salami Hossein Salami (; 1960 – 13 June 2025) was an Iranian military officer who served as the Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from 2019 until 2025 when he was killed by an Israeli airstrike during the Iran–Is ...

had suggested that the coronavirus pandemic in the country was due to a biological attack. On 13 March, Reza Malekzadeh rejected this theory.

Family life

Dr Malekzadeh was born in the village of Baladeh in Fars. Reza Malekzadeh has been married for 31 years, and since then has had 4 children, three girls and one boy, three of which have followed his footsteps in the study of medicine and one who is currently studying architecture. He still visits Baladeh regularly and contributes massively to humanitarian work in the area.

Memberships

*Member of the International Association for Study of the Liver (IASL) *Member of the American Gastroenterology Association (AGA) *Member of the European Association for Gastroenterology & Endoscopy (EAGE) *Member of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) *Secretary of the Iranian Society of Gastroenterology and Hepatology *Member of the Iranian Society of Physicians *Counsellor of the Iranian Board of Internal Medicine *Permanent Member of the Iranian Academy of Medical Sciences *Member of the American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS)

References

External links

Digestive Disease Research Center (DDRC)Archives of Iranian MedicineReza Malekzadeh's publications in pubmed
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malekzadeh, Reza 20th-century Iranian inventors Gastroenterologists Iranian physicians Government ministers of Iran Shiraz University alumni Academic staff of Shiraz University Academic staff of the University of Tehran 1952 births Living people People from Kazerun Executives of Construction Party politicians Iranian Science and Culture Hall of Fame recipients in Medicine Shiraz University of Medical Sciences alumni 20th-century Iranian politicians