Activity director:

• Dr Matthew Walsh, Chair: Department of General Surgery, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Local chair:

• Prof Ali Al Dameh, Associate Professor, General Surgery and Thoracic and Laparoscopic Surgery - Consultant Surgeon, Emirates Speciality Hospital - DHCC, Dubai, UAE

Scientific committee:

• Dr Bijendra Patel, Consultant Upper GI & Laparoscopic Surgeon, Barts Health NHS Trust, Clinical Lead for General Surgery, Network Director for Upper GI Surgery, Director of Surgical Skills and Science, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
• Dr Guido Mannaerts, ‎Chief of General Surgery; Consultant Bariatric and Oncology Surgeon, Tawam Hospital, Al Ain, UAE
• Prof Dr Homero Rivas, MIS, Digestive and Bariatric Surgeon, Associate Dean of Innovation and Future, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU), Dubai, UAE
• Dr Shaw Somers, President, British Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Society; Consultant Upper GI and Bariatric Surgeon, BMI Clementine Churchill Hospital London and Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust, Portsmouth, UK
• Prof Dr Yousif Hussein Eltayeb, Consultant Surgeon, Rashid Hospital; Associate Professor, Dubai Medical College; Dubai Surgical Residency Program Director, Dubai Healthcare Authority, Dubai, UAE
• Honorary member: Dr Faruq Badiuddin, Specialist General Surgeon, General, Laparoscopic and Obesity Surgery, Mediclinic Dubai Mall, Dubai, UAE

Speakers:

• Dr Abdulsalam Al Taie, Consultant General, Bariatric & Laparoscopic Surgeon, Al Taie Centre, Dubai, UAE
• Dr Abrie Botha, UGI Surgeon, Guy and St Thomas's NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
• Dr Ajit Abraham, Consultant HPB & Trauma Surgeon, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Barts Health NHS Trust, London, UK
• Dr Ali Khammas, Consultant General Surgeon, Rashid Hospital, Dubai, UAE
• Dr Ali Tavakkoli, Associate Professor of Surgery, Harvard Medical School; Minimally Invasive and Bariatric Surgeon, Director of Minimally Invasive Surgery Fellowship, Co-director of the Centre for Weight Management and Metabolic Surgery, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
• Dr Antonio Pinna, Director: Liver Transplant and Hepatobiliary Surgery, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, UAE
• Dr Bart van Wagensveld, Past President, Dutch Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgeons; Consultant Laparoscopic and Bariatric Surgeon, Quro Obesity Centre, Dubai, UAE
• Dr Basim Al Khafji, Consultant Laparoscopic Surgeon, Canadian Specialist Hospital, Dubai, UAE
• Dr Fathi Azribi, Chief of Medical Oncology, Tawam Hospital, Al Ain, UAE
• Dr George W. Holcomb III, Katharine Berry Richardson Professor of Pediatric Surgery, Kansas City School of Medicine, University of Missouri, Chief: Section of General Surgery, Director, Center for Minimally Invasive Surgery, Children’s Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, Missouri, USA
• Dr Haytham N. Elsalhat, Consultant Surgeon; Head of Surgical Oncology & Chief of Surgical Services, Al Noor Hospital, Abu Dhabi, UAE
• Dr Hmouda Al Afari, Tawam Hospital, Al Ain, UAE
• Dr Ian Jenkins, Lead Consultant Colorectal Surgeon, BMI Healthcare, St Marks Hospital, London, UK
• Dr John Morton, Past-President, American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery; Chief: Bariatric and Minimally Invasive Surgery (Bariatric Endoscopy), Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
• Dr Martin Dockweiler, President, Universidad de Aquino de Bolivia, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
• Dr Mary Dillhoff, Surgical Oncologist, Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center (OSUCCC) - James, Columbus, Ohio, USA
• Dr Matthew Kroh, Chief of the Digestive Disease Institute, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, UAE
• Dr Mazen Taha, Chief: Gastroenterology, Tawam Hospital, Al Ain, UAE
• Dr Mohammed Al Hadad, Head of Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery; Consultant Bariatric Surgeon; Consultant General Surgeon, Healthpoint, Abu Dhabi, UAE
• Prof Mohey Elbanna, Secretary General, Egyptian Society of Bariatric Surgery; Governor, Egypt Chapter of the American College of Surgeon; GIT, Laparoscopic and Bariatric Surgery Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt
• Dr Nelya Melnitchouk, Director: Program in Peritoneal Surface Malignancy, HIPEC; Associate Surgeon, Division of General and GI Surgery, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
• Dr Omar Al Marzouqi, Consultant General Surgeon; Minimally Invasive and Bariatric Surgery Specialist, Rashid Hospital, Dubai, UAE
• Dr Patrick Noel, Laparoscopic & Bariatric Surgeon, American Surgeon Centre, Abu Dhabi, UAE
• Dr Rakesh Suri, Chief Executive Officer, Chief of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, UAE
• Dr Ray Shidrawi, Consultant Physician & Gastroenterologist, Homerton & Wellington Hospitals, London, UK
• Prof Ritu Lakhtakia, Professor: Pathology, College of Medicine, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai, UAE
• Prof Rowan Parks, President, Association of Surgeon of Great Britain and Ireland; Prof of Surgical Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland
• Dr Satya Bhattacharya, Consultant General and Hepato-biliary-pancreatic (HPB) Surgeon, Barts Health NHS Trust, King Edward VII’s Hospital, The London Clinic; Clinical Lead, Liver and Pancreas Multi-Disciplinary Team, Barts Health NHS Trust, London, UK
• Prof Shafi Ahmed, Consultant General, Laparoscopic and Colorectal Surgeon; Associate Dean, Barts and the London Medical School, London, UK
• Dr Stanley W. Ashley, Frank Sawyer Professor of Surgery, Harvard Medical School; General, Gastrointestinal and Oncologic Surgeon, Chief Medical Officer, Vice President for Medical Affairs, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
• Major Tom Konig, Trauma and Vascular Surgeon, British Army, The Royal London Hospital, Barts Health NHS Trust, London, UK

Faculty disclosure

The Cleveland Clinic Foundation Center for Continuing Education has implemented a policy to comply with the current Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education Standards for Commercial Support requiring resolution of all faculty conflicts of interest. Faculty declaring a relevant commercial interest will be identified in the activity syllabus.