Professor Dr Osama Ismail al-Mashadani: from the lecture theatres of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Nineveh… to its Dean’s Office, and then to the presidency of the university

Some journeys are measured by the milestones they have passed. In the seventh instalment of our series on Deans of the Faculty of Medicine, we look back at the career of Professor Osama Ismail Al-Mashadani: a paediatric surgeon, academic, former Dean of the Faculty, and current President of the University of Nineveh. His medical career began with his graduation from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Mosul in 1997. He then specialised in paediatric surgery, obtained a fellowship from the Iraqi Council for Medical Specialities, and became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of London. He progressed academically until he was awarded the title of Professor of Paediatric Surgery in 2020.

In the operating theatre, his international career has been characterised by expertise in delicate and complex paediatric surgeries, including the separation of conjoined twins and the treatment of congenital malformations, which are among the most delicate and complex areas of paediatric surgery

His involvement with the Faculty of Medicine was not merely academic; he also served as its Dean from 2019 to 2023, a period marked by the exceptional circumstances brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, when teaching suddenly shifted from lecture theatres to screens, and ensuring the continuity of teaching and maintaining contact with students became a daily challenge

During those years, the challenge was not merely to manage the faculty, but to ensure the continuity of the educational process at a time when virtually all teaching methods had changed. His tenure as Dean thus became a period characterised by adaptation, continuity and the management of change in circumstances that were unfamiliar to both the university and its students.

The journey then moved from the Faculty Dean’s Office to the Presidency of the University of Nineveh; and as the scope of responsibility expanded, the Faculty of Medicine remained a constant presence throughout this journey, through its support and patronage of the university’s projects, achievements and academic initiatives.

From a pediatric surgeon… to a professor… to a dean who led the college through one of the most challenging periods in modern education… and then to a university president who today oversees its achievements and will celebrate its upcoming silver jubilee, God willing

On the occasion of the School of Medicine’s silver jubilee, we are not recounting the history of an institution, but rather the story of a journey in which the medicine of Nineveh has been present at every stage.