TEHRAN — Dr. Reza Malekzadeh, Iranian gastroenterologist and deputy health minister, will receive the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) medal of honor, Mehr news agency reported.

The IARC medals of honor are awarded to acknowledge and reward the work of scientists whose research has made an outstanding contribution to advancing the understanding of the biology or of the epidemiology of cancer.

In a letter addressed to Malekzadeh Dr. Christopher P. Wild, IARC Director, has formally invited the Iranian scientist to attend the Richard Doll Lecture, in France in 2018, to both deliver a speech and receive his medal at the event. 

Reza Malekzadeh is a distinguished professor of medicine at Tehran university of Medical Sciences and is also the director of Digestive Research Institute at Shari’ati Hospital in Tehran.

Malekzadeh studied medicine at Shiraz University. In 1985, he joined the department of gastroenterology at Free Royal Hospital in London. He is also an Honorary Professor at University of Birmingham, UK. Reza Malekzadeh was the Minister of Health from 1991-1993.

He was elected as member of the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) in 2004. He has numerous reputable scientific publications in gastroenterology and liver diseases.

Malekzadeh has been instrumental in designing and executing an efficient and practical way of diagnosing cancerous and benign esophageal lesions in Iran. He co-conducted Golestan cohort study of esophageal cancer with enrollment of 50,000 subjects between 2004 and 2008. 

IARC is the specialized cancer agency of the World Health Organization. The objective of the IARC is to promote international collaboration in cancer research. The Agency is inter-disciplinary, bringing together skills in epidemiology, laboratory sciences and biostatistics to identify the causes of cancer so that preventive measures may be adopted and the burden of disease and associated suffering reduced. 

A significant feature of the IARC is its expertise in coordinating research across countries and organizations; its independent role as an international organization facilitates this activity. The Agency has a particular interest in conducting research in low and middle-income countries through partnerships and collaborations with researchers in these regions.

MQ/MG