Scientific Committee

Dr. Abdulwahab Roman is a Consultant Neurologist, Clinical Neurophysiologist, and Head of Adult Epileptology at Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City (SSMC) in Abu Dhabi. Prior to joining SSMC in August 2024, he served for nearly three years as Consultant Neurologist and Lead of Neurophysiology and Epileptology at Mediclinic City Hospital in Dubai.

Dr. Roman completed his neurology residency in Germany, followed by two fellowships—one in epilepsy and another in presurgical epilepsy evaluation. Before relocating to the UAE in June 2021, he held the position of Deputy Head at the Vogtareuth Epilepsy Center in Bavaria for several years. He is a certified EEG expert and examiner accredited by both the German Society for Clinical Neurophysiology and Functional Imaging (DGKN) and the German Society for Epileptology (DGfE).

In addition to his expertise in epilepsy, Dr. Roman underwent advanced clinical training at two leading multiple sclerosis centers and one of Germany’s largest stroke units. He previously served as Head of the MS Department at the International Medical Center of the Schön Hospital Group in Bavaria. He also holds advanced certifications in cerebrospinal fluid diagnostics (CSF Specialist Qualification) and neurological ultrasound (DEGUM).

Dr. Roman is an active member of several international neuroscience societies and currently serves as a board member of the Emirati League Against Epilepsy.

Dr. Abubaker Almadani completed his undergraduate certificate in 1997 from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. In Gothernburg University, he was involved in teaching and contributed in research study with Dr. Anders Hamberger in neuroprotective agents in acute stroke. Then, he completed his Canadian Royal College in Neurology (FRCPC) in 2009.

Dr. Madani had his residency at the University of Toronto which is ranked number 1 in Canada by Royal College of Canada, and ranked number 4 in the whole North America by American Academy of Neurology. He was personally involved in regional stroke program and he was involved in at least 500 stroke cases and 80 TPA cases. In his residency he also did one whole elective year which involves EEG, research, pathology and nerve conduction studies. By finishing the residency, he was able to manage neurological cases as general neurological cases as general neurologist in 2007. He has his fellowship in neuromuscular subspecialty from 2007 to 2009.

Dr. Ahmed Osman Shatila obtained his BSc in Biological Sciences from Wayne State University in the United States and continued his medical education at the Wayne State University School of Medicine. He completed his residency in neurology at Wayne State University, followed by a fellowship in neurophysiology. His clinical interests focus on inpatient neurology, including but not limited to stroke, IV TPA program development, status epilepticus, and multiple sclerosis. With over 10 years of experience, he is also actively involved in public awareness initiatives for various neurological diseases and has a strong interest in supporting healthcare facilities in developing a Neuro-Hospitalist model, allowing inpatient neurological care to evolve independently from outpatient services.

Dr. Mohammed Alkuwaiti is an Assistant Professor and Consultant Vascular Neurologist at the Department of Internal medicine in the College of Medicine and Health Sciences at United Arab Emirates University. His clinical practice is based at the Tawam hospital, the regional stroke center of Alain city in UAE. Following completion of his medical school training at UAE University he travelled to Montreal, Canada where he completed Adult Neurology residency training at McGill University (2016). He later also completed Acute stroke clinical training (2017) and Stroke-Net Fellowships (2018) at the University of Minnesota, in Minneapolis, United States.

Dr. Alkuwaiti is an active member in local stroke committees, including the Department of Health stroke committee and at SEHA Stroke Task force committee. He Chairs the National Institute of Health Subspeciality (Emirates board) Neurology Committee. He is interested in secondary prevention and acute Stroke research. He is currently working on Stroke related projects in collaboration with UAE University and Sheikh Khalifa Stroke Institute.

Dr. Mustafa Shakra is a Consultant Neurologist based at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Specializing in inflammatory and degenerative diseases of the central nervous system, he oversees the Multiple Sclerosis clinics at SKMC. 

Dr. Shakra obtained his medical degree from Damascus University in 1992 and completed comprehensive training in general internal medicine and neurology subspecialty at major university hospitals. His extensive qualifications include an MD, MSc, MRCP, and FRCP in medicine and neurology. Furthermore, he has contributed to numerous articles as an author and co-author within the field of neurology

Prof. Naji Riachi recently joined Burjeel Medical City as Consultant Neurologist and Khalifa University College of Medicine as Clerkship Director of Neurology and Assistant Dean for Clinical Affairs. Dr. Riachi was previously Tenured Full Professor and Chair of Department of Neurology at the Lebanese American University and Assistant Dean for Clinical Research at LAU School of Medicine in Beirut, Lebanon.

After a 4 years Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, he completed his Residency in Neurology at the University Hospitals of Cleveland, then a two-year Fellowship in Epilepsy and Clinical Neurophysiology at the Cleveland Clinics Foundation. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Neurology and Psychiatry and the American Board of Epilepsy and Clinical Neurophysiology. He is founding member and past President of the Lebanese League Against Epilepsy and a member of several scientific societies.

He participated in several clinical studies, gave more than 300 lectures regionally and internationally, and authored 70 peer reviewed publications and book chapters.

Head of Scientific Committee Consultant Neurologist Sheikh Shakbout Medical City Professor, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Dr. ​Najwa Al-Bustani, MD, FRCPC, is a Consultant Neurologist in the Neurological Institute at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi with special interest in Neuromuscular Medicine. Prior to joining Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, she worked in the Department of Internal Medicine and Neurology at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC), Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Dr. Al-Bustani received her medical degree from Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. She completed her residency in Neurology at McGill University, Montreal, Canada. Subsequently, she completed her fellowship in Clinical Neurophysiology, EMG Track, Neuromuscular Medicine and Advanced Neuromuscular Medicine at the University of Washington, Seattle, W.A., USA.

Dr. Shivam Om Mittal is the Section Head of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. He is an American Board-Certified Neurologist with fellowship training from the Mayo Clinic and Yale University. Dr. Mittal specializes in advanced therapies for Parkinson’s disease, including Deep Brain Stimulation and subcutaneous levodopa infusion. He serves on the Executive and Education Committees of the Movement Disorder Society – Asian and Oceanian Section (MDS-AOS) and is the Editor of the upcoming Oxford Textbook of Movement Disorders. Dr. Mittal has authored over 40 peer-reviewed research articles and several book chapters, focusing on neuromodulation, clinical innovation, and personalized care in movement disorders.

Dr. Syed Irteza Hussain, MD, is the Department Chair of Neurology in the Neurological Institute at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.

Dr. Hussain is a Consultant Neurologist with seventeen years of experience. After completing his medical degree from the prestigious Aga Khan University, he underwent extensive postgraduate training in the US. He is American Board certified in Neurology, Vascular neurology, Neurocritical Care and Neuroendovascular surgery.

Upon completion of his postgraduate training, he joined Michigan State University as an Assistant Professor in 2009, where he helped establish a 24/7 Neurointerventional Surgery Service and Fellowship Training Program. In addition to his procedures, Dr. Hussain had an integral role in the Management of Acute Stroke and critically ill neurological patients in the Hospital.

Subsequently, in 2011 he assumed the Medical Directorship of the Stroke Program at Michigan State University and its affiliate Sparrow Health system. In this administrative role, he supervised multiple successful joint commission recertifications of the Primary Stroke Center and subsequently became the first in Michigan to become a JC certified Comprehensive Stroke Center. Recognizing his services, he was promoted to Associate Professor in 2014 and awarded the Physician Leader of the Year award in 2015 by his institutions.

Dr. Hussain lives in Abu Dhabi with his wife and two daughters. He enjoys traveling with his family, listening to music and football.

Dr. Alrukn received his degree in medicine from UAE university. He underwent his neurology residency at the University of McGill, and subsequently obtain the neurology certification from the Royal Collage of Physicians & Surgeon (Canada). He then completed a fellowship in Cerebrovascular disease and Stroke at Montreal General Hospital, Canada. he currently serves as a head of Stroke Center at Rashid Hospital, Dubai. 

Dr. Alrukn’ s field of interest are principally directed towards the acute stroke management, stroke unit establishing and post stroke rehabilitation. He established the 1st certified stroke unit in UAE. Dr. Al rukn is a local and international speakers in stroke field, and had many publications in this area. Currently he is the President of MENA Stroke Organization. 
In 2019, Dr. Alrukn became the President of World Congress of Neurology, and is the currently the President of  Emirates Neurology Society. 

Dr. Alrukn is the Founder and the chairman of the Neurology Residency Program in Dubai, since 2013. Also, he is the Chairman of the Dubai Scientific & Research Ethical Committee. 

Dr. Alrukn has an interest in Headache management & Movement disorders, and he is running  the movement disorder clinic at Rashid hospital. He currently sits on the executive boards of various scientific associations, steering committee and advisory boards, mainly in stroke & headache.