Dr. Ammar Albanna MD FRCPC IFAPA Head of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Center of Excellence Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist Assistant Professor in Psychiatry, MBRU President, Emirates Society for Child Mental Health, Emirates Medical Association Dr. Ammar Albanna is a Canadian trained Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and the Head of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Center of Excellence at Al Jalila Children’s Specialty Hospital in Dubai. He is the founding president of the Emirates Society for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, the national representative society for this field in United Arab Emirates, under the Emirates Medical Association. He is an Assistant Professor Assistant in Psychiatry at Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences in Dubai (MBRU). Dr. Albanna completed his psychiatry residency and child and adolescent psychiatry training at McGill University, Canada. He then Joined the Toronto Hospital for Sick Children as a fellow in Pediatric Neuropsychiatry.

Dr. Albanna is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and an international fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. He also holds a Master’s degree in Healthcare Leadership from McGill University. Dr. Albanna has peer-reviewed research publications and is a recipient of Research Grant Awards as the Principal Investigator, including the Dubai Harvard Center for Global Healthcare Delivery Research Award and from Al Jalila Foundation. His current research focus is on neuropsychiatric disorders in the UAE including Autism Spectrum Disorder and innovative models for healthcare delivery. Dr. Albanna has received awards for recognition of his clinical, research and educational work. He is regularly invited to present at local and international scientific meetings.

Dr. Albanna is a peer reviewer for scientific medical journals and served on and chaired the scientific committee of several conferences. Dr. Albanna has chaired a global mental health conference on Autism Spectrum Disorder and will chair the global congress of the International Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists and Allied Professionals (IACAPAP) in 2022 in Dubai, following a winning bid for Dubai to host this prestigious congress. He is a member of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at Mohamed Bin Rashid University. Further, served on the Jury committee for Princess Haya Award for Special Education, and Fatima Bint Mubarak Award for Motherhood and Childhood.

Dr. Hanan Derby is Consultant – Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Al Jalila Children’s. She is also the clinical lead for the Eating Disorder Service. Prior to joining Al Jalila Children’s, Dr. Derby was a Senior Consultant in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the Director of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC). She was also Assistant professor in Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College in Doha. She is still involved in a research project titled ‘Adapted Cognitive Behavioral Approach to Addressing Overweight and Obesity among Qatari Youth’.

Dr. Derby started her medical career as a Paediatrician in the UK attaining MRCP in Paediatrics. She then trained in Psychiatry accomplishing MRCPsych and subsequently attaining her Higher Specialist Training degree (the CCT) in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. She has special interests in neurodevelopmental disorders, family based therapy, eating disorders and medical education. In the UK, She established and led the CAMH subspecialty service for Learning Disability in Derbyshire. In addition to her clinical role. Dr Derby has always been active in medical training and teaching.

She is experienced in medical management, has led several psychiatrist services and sat on numerous departmental committees including Psychiatry Education, Clinical Competency, and Pharmacy & Therapeutic Committees. She has also served on Children’s Work Stream Governance Committee at Hamad Medical Corporation and on the Qatar Strategic Health Committee of the Supreme Council of Health.

Dr. Derby is a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, UK and has been a member of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, UK, the Royal College of Physicians of London, UK, and the Association of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, UK.

Dr. Meshal Sultan is a Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist at Al Jalila Children’s and an Assistant Professor at Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU), Dubai, UAE. He is the Vice President of the Emirates Society for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

Dr. Sultan obtained his medical degree from UAE University in 2007. He completed his psychiatry residency training as well as child and adolescent psychiatry subspecialty fellowship at the University of Ottawa. He has obtained certification from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in Psychiatry as well as in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. He is an International Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada. He has extensive expertise in outpatient, inpatient, consultation-liaison, emergency, school mental health, and tele-psychiatry.

Dr. Sultan has published in peer-reviewed journals, and presented in international conferences on several topics including attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), collaborative care, and mindfulness.

Dr. Sultan is very interested in teaching. He has given seminars and provided clinical supervision to medical students at University of Ottawa. He currently teaches at the Introduction of the Practice of Medicine Course, as well as Mind and Behaviour Module at MBRU. He has given lectures to parents on various topics including anxiety disorders as well as autism spectrum disorder. He has also co-authored information sheets, available at eMentalHealth.ca.

Dr. Sultan has been actively involved in leadership roles. He is currently the Clinical Lead of the Mental Health Intake Program. He served as the General Secretary of the Emirates Society for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, after being elected in 2018. He then was elected for the position of the Vice President of the society in 2021. He was appointed as the Deputy Director of Academic Affairs at Al Jalila Children’s from 2019 to 2022.

He is the Chair of the Local Organizing Committee of the 25 th World Congress of the International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions (IACAPAP) taking place in Dubai, from December 5 to 9, 2022.

He has actively participated in establishing the first Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship Program in the UAE, which started in 2019. He currently serves as the Deputy Director of the Fellowship Programme. In 2022, Dr. Sultan was elected as the Inaugural Chair of the Scientific Committee for the Specialty of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in the National Institute for Health Specialties (NIHS), United Arab Emirates.

Dr. Tarig is a Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist at Al Jalila Children’s. He completed his core training in Psychiatry in different Teaching hospitals across England, United Kingdom, where he gained membership of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. He completed his higher Specialist Training in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in Sheffield Children’s Hospital, following which he gained his CCT in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. He started as a Consultant in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in England, UK, in 2009 where he worked until joining Al Jalila Children’s in 2016. Whilst in the UK, Dr. Tarig managed both Community and Outreach/Home Treatment Child and Adolescent Mental Health teams.

He has a special interest in Family Therapy and Systemic Practice and has gained an FdA in this area during his higher Specialist Training at Sheffield. Dr. Tarig has also gained further qualification in Psycho-Social Interventions from Plymouth University, UK,in 2012. He brings a wealth of experience from the UK to help set up a world class mental health service for children and adolescents in Dubai.