Prof. Dr. Humaid Alshamsi

Professor Humaid Obaid Al-Shamsi serves as Chief Executive Officer of Burjeel Cancer Institute in Abu Dhabi, UAE. He is President of the Emirates Oncology Society and holds a leadership role in the Gulf Cancer Society. He is Visiting Professor at Harvard Medical School at Harvard University and Visiting Scientist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Full Professor of Oncology at the Ras Al Khaimah Medical and Health Sciences University in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE. An Adjunct Professor of Oncology at the College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, and Honorary Professor at Gulf Medical University in Ajman, UAE. He graduated with honors from University College Cork, Ireland, in 2004. He completed his residency in internal medicine at McMaster University, Canada, followed by a fellowship in medical oncology and advanced training in gastrointestinal (GI) oncology and palliative care. He is the first Emirati to complete a fellowship in palliative care in the UAE. During his training at McMaster University, he received multiple awards, including the Outstanding Senior Resident of the Year Award by the Medical staff Association of McMaster University (2012) and the Jeff Ginsberg Subspecialty Resident Award (2012). Professor Al-Shamsi is the first Emirati to be promoted to the rank of Professor in Oncology in the UAE. He serves as Chairman for Colorectal Cancer in the MENA region, appointed by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN) in the USA. He is the only member of the Lung Cancer Policy Network in the MENA region, which aims to advance lung cancer research and screening globally. He is Chairman of the Oncology and Hematology Fellowship Training Program for the National Institute for Health Specialties in the United Arab Emirates. He is the only member in the GCC of the WIN Consortium, an international organization representing all stakeholders in personalized cancer medicine worldwide. He is board-certified in both internal medicine and oncology by the UK, USA (ABIM), and Canada (FRCPC). He is the only physician in the UAE with a subspecialty fellowship certification and training in gastrointestinal oncology and the first Emirati to train and complete a clinical post-doctoral fellowship in palliative care. He is the first physician globally to be documented as having been granted the well-recognized royal fellowships from the royal colleges of FRCP (Canada), FRCP (Ireland), FRCP (London), FRCP (Edinburgh), FRCP (Glasgow), and the American College of Physicians, FACP (USA), reflecting broad international recognition of his clinical and academic standing.

From 2014 to 2017, he served as Assistant Professor at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. He was the first (inaugural) graduate of the Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Program for outstanding UAE Physicians training in 2016 — a prestigious national scholarship/training initiative. He has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed articles published in leading journals including  CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians ,  Cancer ,  JAMA Oncology ,  Lancet Oncology ,  Journal of Clinical Oncology ,  The Oncologist ,  BMC Cancer , and many others. He received the Publication of the Year 2020 award from  The Oncologist  journal for an international paper on COVID-19 and cancer management. He is a regular peer reviewer for numerous international oncology journals and has served as guest editor for several leading oncology publications. He is also involved in the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) research network, contributing to large-scale analyses that inform cancer epidemiology and health policy worldwide, and is a regular contributor to the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Connection platform, where he shares insights on oncology practice, system development, and global cancer care. He also chairs sessions at major international congresses (e.g., ESMO Congress 2025). His areas of expertise include precision oncology and cancer care in the UAE. In 2016, he co-authored with his MD Anderson colleagues a landmark study in the  Journal of Clinical Oncology  that described a new distinct subgroup of colorectal cancer: non-V600 BRAF-mutated colorectal cancer. In 2022, Professor Al-Shamsi published the first book on cancer research in the UAE and the first book on cancer in the Arab world, both launched at Dubai Expo 2020.  Cancer in the Arab World  has been downloaded more than 600,000 times in its first two years and remains the ultimate source of cancer data in the Arab region. He also published the first comprehensive book  Cancer Care in the United Arab Emirates , the first book in UAE history to document cancer care in the country, addressing many topics for the first time. In addition, he authored the open-access book  Healthcare in the United Arab Emirates . This book achieved over 100,000 downloads in its first two months. All of his books have been made open access to ensure free access to scientific knowledge for everyone. His cancer research focuses on precision oncology and multi-omics AI-driven biomarker discovery in cancer. 

Professor Al-Shamsi is passionate about advancing cancer care across the UAE and the GCC region. As President of the Emirates Oncology Society and through his leadership role in the Gulf Cancer Society, he has helped build one of the most active oncology education platforms in the MENA region, offering frequent, high-quality educational activities accessible to oncologists across the region. He has been instrumental in bringing major international oncology educational initiatives to the UAE and the MENA region, including Best of ESMO, ESMO Breast, and Best of ASCO. He has made significant contributions to cancer awareness and early detection through public education on social media platforms and has championed free consultations for cancer patients without insurance, ensuring no patient is denied timely expert guidance due to financial barriers. He is recognized as the most followed oncologist in the world, with over one million subscribers across Instagram, Twitter (X), LinkedIn, and TikTok. In 2022, he received the prestigious Feigenbaum Leadership Excellence Award from Sheikh Hamdan Smart University for his exceptional leadership and research contributions. He was also awarded the Sharjah Award for Volunteering in recognition of providing thousands of free consultations to cancer patients across the UAE and the MENA region. He was named Researcher of the Year in the UAE in both 2020 and 2021 by the Emirates Oncology Society. 

In May 2024, His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President of the United Arab Emirates, awarded him first place in the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council (NAFIS) program for outstanding leadership in the private sector across all business and medical disciplines. He was recognized as one of The 100 Most Influential CEOs in Oncology in 2025. In February 2025, he was awarded the Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Program for Excellence and Community Intelligence Award by the UAE President in recognition of his role as a successful role model in UAE society for increasing cancer awareness across the UAE and GCC. In October 2025, he was officially received by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, in recognition of his academic achievements (Harvard Visiting Professor and Dana-Farber appointments) as the first GCC national to achieve this academic ranking. As CEO of Burjeel Cancer Institute, Professor Al-Shamsi leads the largest cancer network in the UAE, comprising more than 30 oncologists and hematologists. Despite his extensive leadership, academic, and administrative responsibilities, he remains in full clinical practice, conducting clinics five days a week to continue providing direct, high-quality care to his patients. 

Under his leadership, the institute has built one of the country’s first comprehensive adult and pediatric bone marrow transplant programs and secured the UAE’s first European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) accreditation for a cancer center. In addition to his clinical and administrative responsibilities, he is actively engaged in education and research training for medical trainees at all levels to enhance their clinical and research skills. He has shaped the future oncology workforce of the UAE by establishing the country’s first hematology and oncology fellowship training pathway and currently serves as Chairman of the Hematology and Oncology Fellowship Program, accredited by the UAE National Institute for Health Specialties at Burjeel Cancer Institute. Professor Al-Shamsi’s leadership has profoundly shaped the UAE oncology landscape. He has been a key architect behind several landmark national initiatives that have transformed cancer care delivery in the country. These include major contributions to the development of advanced national oncology care standards in collaboration with health authorities, the launch of the UAE’s National Guideline for Lung Cancer Screening and Diagnosis—which established a unified, evidence-based framework for early detection and risk stratification—and the establishment of the National Multidisciplinary Committee for Cancer Case Assessment through Ministerial Decree No. (20) of 2025, which formalizes multidisciplinary decision-making at a national level. In addition, he holds governmental advisory roles, including Advisor and Member of Governmental Committees for the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, Dubai Health Authority, Ministry of Health & Prevention, and has been a Member of the Steering Committee on National Cancer Control Indicators since January 2018. His mission is to advance cancer care in the UAE and the MENA region and to make high-quality cancer care accessible to everyone in need around the globe.