- celebrated for his discovery of a childhood cancer, Burkitt’s lymphoma, in equatorial Africa - the award is intended to recognise people with Denis Burkitt’s ‘integrity, compassion and dedication’. Established in 2013, the Burkitt Medal has been awarded, among others, to John Ziegler of University California San Francisco, who developed curative therapies for Burkitt’s lymphoma, and to Iranian-American oncologist, Mina Bussell, who helped established the role of a cell’s micro-environment in causing cancer. ‘It was beyond a privilege to receive this medal in honour of the legacy of Dr Denis Burkitt,’ says Eileen. MEDICAL DIPLOMACY The other area of interest for Eileen and Ghassan is medical diplomacy in which they now sponsor an annual lecture in Trinity. Medical diplomacy (sometimes called health diplomacy) is the process by which governments and nonstate actors develop agreements across state boundaries to improve global health outcomes. Since healthcare is universally recognised as a basic human right, it can become a diplomatic channel, enabling countries to step outside the immediacy of conflict to find mutual understanding and goodwill. ‘Eileen and I both grew up in countries where there was conflict and that was part of what drew us together,’ says Ghassan, ‘and it’s why medical diplomacy is so important to us.’ He has been instrumental in developing several applicable educational programmes at MSK and chaired an international committee to study germline inheritance of cancer in areas of conflict impacted by the divergence and convergence of global populations. He is currently pursuing a law degree in Fordham University ‘to better understand all the legal implications of medical diplomacy’. The inaugural Ghassan Abou-Alfa and Eileen O’Reilly Medical Diplomacy lecture was given by HE Dr Vincent O’Neill, Irish Ambassador to Jordan (and Trinity medical alumnus) on 13 January 2022 on the subject of ‘Deepening Ireland’s global footprint in international health – linking politics, diplomacy and technical expertise’. Scheduled to be in-person, it ended up being delivered online after a surge in COVID cases - appropriately enough since the pandemic occasioned medical diplomacy on a global scale through initiatives like COVAX, which oversaw delivery of vaccines to developing countries. In recognition of his effort, Ghassan was recently awarded the Order of Merit of Lebanon. In Trinity, medical students are currently introduced to medical diplomacy through the Medical Humanities module in first year and the ‘Global Determinants of Health and Development’ course in third year. In recognition of its growing importance as a discipline, the School of Medicine is now planning to expand research and teaching for both undergrads and postgrads and to appoint Ghassan as adjunct professor in medical diplomacy. ‘I look forward to teaching Trinity students,’ says Ghassan, ‘my aim is simple: I want medical graduates to be aware of the vital role they can play in diplomacy, conflict resolution and improving global health outcomes. After all, in his work in Africa, Dr Burkitt was a medical diplomat and certainly a humanitarian, and the Burkitt Medal awards not just extraordinary achievement and advancement in research but integrity and compassion - and that sends such a powerful message to students.’
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