Four Visiting Fellows join Hughes Hall this term reflecting College strengths in futures education, global health and virology.
The senior membership of Hughes Hall comprises a broad range of professional academics, from early career researchers developing their research profiles to established professors directing world-class research, as well as professionals from non-academic backgrounds. Our Visiting Fellows scheme is for established, leading academics, from other universities, to spend up to 12 months in Cambridge to advance their research and translational networks. Hughes Hall President, Laurie Bristow, welcomed the newest College members:
“Our Visiting Fellows reflect the values at the heart of Hughes Hall. They are coming to Hughes Hall from different parts of the world to pursue work that is of wider benefit to people and societies. Their expertise aligns strongly with the College’s areas of excellence as does their dedication to making a difference in their world.”
“Working with inspiring people like Fawaz, Asmaa, Neil and Thomas will support other members of our community, particularly our students, to learn from those who are already changing the world for the better. I look forward to hearing more about the work they are doing around the globe.”
Dr Fawaz Abu Sitta
Dr Abu Sitta is a candidate UNESCO Chair for Anticipatory Systems and the Foresight Research Director at the Center of Futures Studies, the University of Dubai. He is also an adjunct faculty in the Master of Professional Studies: Future Foresight & Planning at Rochester Institute of Technology and the Head of Strategic Projects and Future Foresight Management Office at the Department of Culture and Tourism in Abu Dhabi.
Dr Fawaz Abu Sitta is a candidate UNESCO Chair for Anticipatory Systems and the Foresight Research Director at the Center of Futures Studies at the University of Dubai
Fawaz is the co-author of the first edition of Dubai e-Government Model that laid the foundation for Dubai Government Digital Transformation. He has received several recognition certificates and international awards for his work. Dr Abu Sitta’s research focus and interest is in the futures thinking, scenario planning, and systems thinking with emphasis on developing anticipatory systems. He has achieved his MSc in Foresight from the University of Houston and PhD from the University of Bath.
Dr Asmaa Al-Fadala
Dr Al-Fadala is Director of Research at the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE). With over 20 years of experience in K-12 education, higher education and policy development, Asmaa has served as policy writer at governmental level, professor, author of books on leadership reform and board member on educational organisations.
Dr Asmaa Al-Fadala is Director of Research at the World Innovation Summit for Education and board member at University of Doha for Science and Technology
Asmaa’s research interests include leadership for learning, teacher professional development, educational reform, innovation in education and SDGs. She holds a Ph.D. and MPhil from Cambridge University in Educational Leadership and Policy. She has served at the RAND-Qatar Policy institute as an associate policy analyst and also as teacher, school leader, and fellow in various institutes in Qatar. Asmaa is a widely published author in educational leadership and policy. Asmaa holds an advisory role in several organizations, including Karanga, a global alliance for social – emotional learning and life skills and Qatar Academy Sidra School. She is a board member at University of Doha for Science and Technology.
Dr Neil J Saad
Dr Saad is an epidemiologist and an expert in humanitarian health and response to public health emergencies. He trained in epidemiology and public health at Imperial College London and completed his postdoctoral training at Yale University. He has worked for several years in humanitarian crises and conflict settings with Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders and the United Nations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Syria, Jordan and the occupied Palestinian territory.
Neil works at the World Health Organization in the Health Emergencies Programme having worked for several years in humanitarian crises and conflict settings with Médecins Sans Frontières
Neil currently works at the World Health Organization in the Health Emergencies Programme, where he focusses on disease surveillance and outbreak response. As a Visiting Fellow at Hughes Hall, he is interested in bridging the gap between academia and the operational realities of health emergencies.
Dr Thomas Zheng
Dr Zheng has expertise, leadership, and motivation in clinical and tumor virology and has carried out important studies leading to our understanding of molecular biology and pathogenesis of several important human viruses, including papillomaviruses and Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus. Thomas’s expertise is to dissect the complexity of viral gene structure and expression in combination with state-of-the-art technologies, and most importantly viral RNA biology in virus life cycle and pathogenesis.
Dr Zheng is the Head of the Tumor Virus RNA Biology Section, US Center for Cancer Research
His scientific achievements, with over 200 publications, were recognised by election to Fellowship of the American Academy of Microbiology in 2014, NIH Director Award of Merit in 2010, and NCI Outstanding Mentor Award in 2016, NIH Asian and Pacific Islander American Organization Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award in 2016.
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