Born in the emirate of Dubai, Mirza All Hassan AI-Sayegh received his primary and preparatory education at AI-AhliyaBSchool, which was established by his late father, All Hassan Al-Sayegh. He moved to Kuwait for his secondary education, and was the top student among the batch of Dubai learners there.

In 1964 he headed for the Arab Republic of Egypt to study medicine at the Cairo University Faculty of Medicine (Kasr Al-Ainy) where he graduated in 1970 with a Very Good and honors grades. He spent his internship year at the Kasr Al-Ainy Hospital in Cairo.

 

In 1971, he returned to his homeland, Dubai, to commence his career as a physician. He first joined the Health Department as a resident doctor in the internal medicine department at Al-Maktoum Hospital and later became a registrar at the department before he moved to Rashid Hospital upon its opening in 1972.

 

In 1974, he joined a postgraduate program in the UK and in just two years obtained a diploma in tropical medicine from the University of Liverpool (UK) in 1976. In 1977, he obtained another diploma in chest diseases from the University of Cardiff in Wales, UK. He then spent a number of years working in his field of specialization at prestigious hospitals in Britain.

 

In 1981, he returned to Dubai to act as chest and internal diseases specialist at Rashid Hospital. He later moved to AI-Maktoum Hospital and helped with the establishment of the Chest Diseases Division at the Department of Health and Medical Services.

 

In 1983, he obtained fellowship of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine, London. Eventually he was promoted as Consultant in 1988 and in 2003 he was appointed Chair of the Chest Diseases Division at the Department of Health and Medical Service, a position he still holds to date.

 

Dr. Mirza AI-Sayegh has played a prominent role in the development of the Chest Diseases Division as an independent division specializing in the management of chest diseases, especially such chronic ones as asthma, tuberculosis, and chest malignancies. Previously, chest diseases were treated as part of internal malignancies. Thus, the establishment of a division devoted to chest diseases gave this specialization the attention it deserved. It helped upgrade the quality of the services offered to patients suffering from chest and respiratory diseases. The presence of specialized doctors promoted diagnosis and treatment of chest diseases, some of which (such as tuberculosis and cancers) are considered dangerous. Dr. Sayegh's interest in the said division helped boost the services it offers. In the meantime, he counseled many doctors specializing in chest diseases and other fields of medicine.

 

Dr. Mirza participated effectively in many conferences and seminars around the world. He is also member of numerous organizations, societies and local and international medical committees. Moreover, he is member of the American Foundation of Chest Diseases, and is chair of the Chest Diseases Division of the Emirates Medical Society. Additionally, he is founding member of the Arab Chest Diseases Society.

 

Furthermore, Dr. Mirza has published numerous papers and comparative studies on issues related to chest and internal diseases. He has also earned several merit certificates from a number of medical organizations in the Arab World for his tremendous endeavors in the medical field. In addition, he was member of the medical team that succeeded in performing a heart and lung transplant operation for an emarati woman in Saudi Arabia in 2004.

 

His was such a long journey of learning, accompanied with many hardships but ultimately crowned with outstanding achievements; a long journey into internal medicine and chest diseases. It is a journey by a man of whom the United Arab Emirates has every reason to be proud of.

 

Dr. Mirza Ali Hassan AI-Sayegh certainly is deserving of the Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Award for Medical Sciences (category of the outstanding figures in the medical field in the United Arab Emirates: 2005-2006 session).