Kamal Al-Shoumer, professor of medicine and endocrinology at the faculty of medicine, Kuwait University and senior consultant and head of the division of endocrinology and metabolic medicine at Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital, gained international recognition for his commitment to his profession and for advancing the understanding of endocrinology through research and education. He was born in Kuwait, the son of Abdulaziz Sulaiman Al-Shoumer and Lulwa Al-Shoumer née Al-Sqabi. He studied medicine at Kuwait University, qualifying in 1986.
He held junior posts in Kuwait and at St Mary’s Hospital, London, and was then an endocrine clinical research fellow in the unit of metabolic medicine at St Mary’s under Desmond J Johnston. This work led to a PhD (in 1996) and a diploma from Imperial College (in 1997).
On his return to Kuwait, he established the division of endocrinology and metabolic medicine at Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital and demonstrated continuing dedication to upholding the highest principles of medical practice and ethics. He founded the dynamic testing service for endocrine patients and contributed significantly to the establishment of a bone mineral density assessment service using dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA).
In the faculty of medicine at Kuwait University, he held the position of vice dean for several years and had a major impact as a coordinator of the endocrinology teaching and evaluation system for the under- and postgraduate courses, both locally and regionally.
In addition to his position on the medical research council of the faculty, he profoundly influenced research at local, regional and the international levels, supervising masters’ and PhD theses of local and external researchers. His research interests were reflected in his wide range of publications in various prestigious national and international journals, on diverse topics as diabetes, metabolic, thyroid and pituitary disorders and growth hormone deficiency in adults. He also wrote book chapters and textbooks. He was a reputable reviewer for many international journals. He left an inspiring wealth of scientific work, with other papers waiting to be published.
He was a keynote speaker at various local, regional and international scientific events. During his term as president of the Kuwait Endocrine Society (from 2016 to 2018), he devoted his time and effort to achieve his vision of spreading knowledge and promoting health-related practice in the community. In the last few months of his life, he fought his illness in order to host the ninth update in endocrinology and metabolic medicine conference, which sadly in the end proved impossible.
His extensive experience in medical research inspired many local and regional endocrinologists and he offered opportunities to young researchers to be actively involved in the research process. Moreover, he was an engaging public health speaker about endocrine disorders, on television, radio and in newspaper articles.
The international community recognised his dedicated practice as a clinician, teacher and researcher. He was the first Kuwaiti to be awarded the international endocrinologist award of American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE), offered in recognition of the compassionate care he provided to patients with endocrine diseases, and his exceptional knowledge and expertise in the field of clinical endocrinology. He became a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in 2002 and of the American College of Endocrinology in 2003.
He was married to Athari Al-Asqah. They had a daughter, who became an industrial engineer. He loved travelling, fishing and family trips.
He was genuinely admired by everyone who crossed his path. The announcement of his premature death from an aggressive lymphoma came as a shock to everyone who knew him. In recognition of his academic achievements, memorial lectures have been set up in his name at the AACE and Saudi Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism conferences in his honour. With his death, his family, country and the scientific community lost a unique symbol of scientific generosity.
Marwa Al-Qudhaiby
[Ibnosina J Med Biomed Sci 2018;10:218 www.researchgate.net/profile/Salem_Beshyah2/publication/329533563_Kamal_Abdulaziz_Suliman_Al-Shoumer_1961-2018/links/5c0e70aba6fdcc494fe9bced/Kamal-Abdulaziz-Suliman-Al-Shoumer-1961-2018.pdf?origin=publication_detail – accessed 14 December 2018]