Citation for WSU International Alumni Leadership Award by Trish (Patricia) Pinto, Communication Strategist and Director, The Dark Horse Communications, Melbourne, Australia.
With Professor Syed (Zia) Rahman’s family background, his destiny always lay in human health.
Zia is a scion of one of the great Unani physician dynasties, with roots dating to the twelfth century. His forebears fled Iran during the Changezi massacres (1219-1258) perpetrated by Genghis Khan and his famously bloodthirsty Mongol warlords. Up to 15 million Iranian civilians lost their lives in this period – an estimated 90 per cent of the country’s population. Zia’s ancestors escaped to India, and with them, the centuries old tradition of Unani medicine. His family is the custodian of manuscripts that date to the tenth century, and that have now been declared a national treasure by the Indian Government. Zia’s family helped found the practice of Unani in India where it became, along with Ayurveda, one of the twin pillars of traditional medicine practiced across the subcontinent for centuries, and remains widely used to this day. In rural India particularly (where up to 80 per cent of Indians reside) Unani is a frontline treatment regime.
Today, Zia combines a world and nation leading role as a custodian of Unani’s ancient knowledge with an illustrious research and teaching career in pharmacology, where his global impact includes his pioneering work to eliminate animal exploitation in medical teaching, exploring the contemporary potential of traditional medicine, and founding a new field of research into the environmental impacts of pharmacology.
Professor Rahman was awarded a PhD in Pharmacology from WSU in 2015. Zia’s contribution to international society is in the field of human health and sits across community service and professional achievement.
A selection of his many achievements are summarised below.
Scholarly contributions to medical science:
1. Alternatives to animal testing – Zia’s campaigning against animal testing in medical teaching has resulting in practice changes across India. Several Indian States and individual universities have now ceased the practice of experimenting on rats, rabbits and guinea pigs in teaching environments. In 2010, Zia spearheaded the development and introduction of ‘student-friendly simulators’ as a viable alternative to animal testing, which are now being widely used across India. The methodology has been officially endorsed by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and the Medical Council of India, which recently conducted a national workshop on the subject. India is a pioneer in ending animal testing in medical teaching, with Zia leading the way. He has lectured on ethical alternatives to animal exploitation across India and internationally; including at the World Medical Assembly in Switzerland.
2. Traditional medicine – building the contemporary evidence base around traditional medical approaches is a strong, ongoing focus. His pioneering work to discover the de-addictive properties of Delphinium denudatum – to help morphine and other opiate addicts manage the physical side effects of detoxification is currently being advanced by two of Zia’s MD candidates. He supervised or co-supervised 15 candidates in total. Pharmacovigilance – Zia has been the first to record several new cases of Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs), including nimesulide-induced hepatitis in children and amantadine- and lansoprazole- induced skin reactions in adults. Within this sphere, he is also interested in the environmental impacts of therapeutic drugs, where once again, his work is ground breaking. Zia coined the term ‘pharmacoenvironmentology’. He is closely associated with India’s Society of Pharmacovigilance, currently serving as its National Secretary.
3. Ibn Sina Academy of Medieval Medicine and Science, India Along with other family members, Zia founded ‘Ibn Sina Academy of Medieval Medicine & Sciences’ in 2000 – combining their personal collections in to more extensive holdings to create what is inarguably the world’s best example of its type. Located between Delhi and Agra in Uttar Pradesh, the Academy houses an ancient collection dating from the tenth century, comprised of over 900 manuscripts including 450 medical manuscripts; 25,000 printed books in languages including Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Sanskrit, Hindi and English; 15,000 periodicals; hundreds of special magazines; medical conference souvenirs; and specimens of centuries-old medical tools. Today the Ibn Sina Academy is a major national institution, allowing its visitors a window into medicine across the Middle East and Asia as it has been practiced for centuries. It has recently been awarded ‘Centre of Excellence’ status by the Government of India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. People come from across the world to visit the Academy – students, scholars (including recently, two Fulbrights), researchers, tourists, government officials and others. Zia has worked in pharmacology for over two decades, with innumerable accomplishments that have raised his profile and that of his profession.
As a scholar, he has to his credit: Seven published books and 10 book chapters 160+ articles, research papers, case-reports and editorials in national and international journals Editor roles for 10 periodicals. Being an invited lecturer at 45 international conferences and 58 national conferences Organising two international conferences, many national conferences and symposia, and six major academic projects.
Zia’s extensive list of honours and awards include: Servier Young Investigator Award of International Union of Pharmacology (1999) Junior Scientist Award of Safety Pharmacological Society of USA (2006) The African Institute of Biomedical Science and Technology Scholarship for Kenya (2003) WHO Fellowships to attend the international conferences in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Chiang Mai, Thailand Four APSN and ISN Fellowships An International Postgraduate Research Scholarship for his PhD at WSU.
As a visiting scholar, Zia has travelled to the USA, Holland, Germany, United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Iran, Kenya, Hong Kong, Thailand, France, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Nepal, Pakistan, Australia, Czech Republic and Austria.
Zia is involved with a total of 33 educational bodies, including the International Medical Sciences Academy, the International Association of Medical Colleges, National Academy of Medical Sciences, International Society for Neurochemistry, Indian Science Congress Association, Indian Medical Association, Safety Pharmacology Society, Australian and New Zealand Society of the History of Medicine, and the Australasian Society of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacologists and Toxicologists – to name a few! Zia’s work with the International Association of Medical Colleges (IAOMC) provides a particularly keen example of his leadership qualities. The IAOMC seeks to uphold uniform standards and recognition of physicians’ qualifications provided by medical colleges around the world. As its Secretary, his international leadership includes work with medical schools in developing countries to gain accreditation, ensuring its physicians graduate with the right skills to practice medicine and optimally support their patients. His team was recently in Tunisia in this capacity, influencing decisions to affect positive, progressive change in pharmacology and physician training is Zia’s passionate life’s work. He is indefatigable and highly effective.
Zia is a scion of one of the great Unani physician dynasties, with roots dating to the twelfth century. His forebears fled Iran during the Changezi massacres (1219-1258) perpetrated by Genghis Khan and his famously bloodthirsty Mongol warlords. Up to 15 million Iranian civilians lost their lives in this period – an estimated 90 per cent of the country’s population. Zia’s ancestors escaped to India, and with them, the centuries old tradition of Unani medicine. His family is the custodian of manuscripts that date to the tenth century, and that have now been declared a national treasure by the Indian Government. Zia’s family helped found the practice of Unani in India where it became, along with Ayurveda, one of the twin pillars of traditional medicine practiced across the subcontinent for centuries, and remains widely used to this day. In rural India particularly (where up to 80 per cent of Indians reside) Unani is a frontline treatment regime.
Today, Zia combines a world and nation leading role as a custodian of Unani’s ancient knowledge with an illustrious research and teaching career in pharmacology, where his global impact includes his pioneering work to eliminate animal exploitation in medical teaching, exploring the contemporary potential of traditional medicine, and founding a new field of research into the environmental impacts of pharmacology.
Professor Rahman was awarded a PhD in Pharmacology from WSU in 2015. Zia’s contribution to international society is in the field of human health and sits across community service and professional achievement.
A selection of his many achievements are summarised below.
Scholarly contributions to medical science:
1. Alternatives to animal testing – Zia’s campaigning against animal testing in medical teaching has resulting in practice changes across India. Several Indian States and individual universities have now ceased the practice of experimenting on rats, rabbits and guinea pigs in teaching environments. In 2010, Zia spearheaded the development and introduction of ‘student-friendly simulators’ as a viable alternative to animal testing, which are now being widely used across India. The methodology has been officially endorsed by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and the Medical Council of India, which recently conducted a national workshop on the subject. India is a pioneer in ending animal testing in medical teaching, with Zia leading the way. He has lectured on ethical alternatives to animal exploitation across India and internationally; including at the World Medical Assembly in Switzerland.
2. Traditional medicine – building the contemporary evidence base around traditional medical approaches is a strong, ongoing focus. His pioneering work to discover the de-addictive properties of Delphinium denudatum – to help morphine and other opiate addicts manage the physical side effects of detoxification is currently being advanced by two of Zia’s MD candidates. He supervised or co-supervised 15 candidates in total. Pharmacovigilance – Zia has been the first to record several new cases of Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs), including nimesulide-induced hepatitis in children and amantadine- and lansoprazole- induced skin reactions in adults. Within this sphere, he is also interested in the environmental impacts of therapeutic drugs, where once again, his work is ground breaking. Zia coined the term ‘pharmacoenvironmentology’. He is closely associated with India’s Society of Pharmacovigilance, currently serving as its National Secretary.
3. Ibn Sina Academy of Medieval Medicine and Science, India Along with other family members, Zia founded ‘Ibn Sina Academy of Medieval Medicine & Sciences’ in 2000 – combining their personal collections in to more extensive holdings to create what is inarguably the world’s best example of its type. Located between Delhi and Agra in Uttar Pradesh, the Academy houses an ancient collection dating from the tenth century, comprised of over 900 manuscripts including 450 medical manuscripts; 25,000 printed books in languages including Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Sanskrit, Hindi and English; 15,000 periodicals; hundreds of special magazines; medical conference souvenirs; and specimens of centuries-old medical tools. Today the Ibn Sina Academy is a major national institution, allowing its visitors a window into medicine across the Middle East and Asia as it has been practiced for centuries. It has recently been awarded ‘Centre of Excellence’ status by the Government of India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. People come from across the world to visit the Academy – students, scholars (including recently, two Fulbrights), researchers, tourists, government officials and others. Zia has worked in pharmacology for over two decades, with innumerable accomplishments that have raised his profile and that of his profession.
As a scholar, he has to his credit: Seven published books and 10 book chapters 160+ articles, research papers, case-reports and editorials in national and international journals Editor roles for 10 periodicals. Being an invited lecturer at 45 international conferences and 58 national conferences Organising two international conferences, many national conferences and symposia, and six major academic projects.
Zia’s extensive list of honours and awards include: Servier Young Investigator Award of International Union of Pharmacology (1999) Junior Scientist Award of Safety Pharmacological Society of USA (2006) The African Institute of Biomedical Science and Technology Scholarship for Kenya (2003) WHO Fellowships to attend the international conferences in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Chiang Mai, Thailand Four APSN and ISN Fellowships An International Postgraduate Research Scholarship for his PhD at WSU.
As a visiting scholar, Zia has travelled to the USA, Holland, Germany, United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Iran, Kenya, Hong Kong, Thailand, France, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Nepal, Pakistan, Australia, Czech Republic and Austria.
Zia is involved with a total of 33 educational bodies, including the International Medical Sciences Academy, the International Association of Medical Colleges, National Academy of Medical Sciences, International Society for Neurochemistry, Indian Science Congress Association, Indian Medical Association, Safety Pharmacology Society, Australian and New Zealand Society of the History of Medicine, and the Australasian Society of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacologists and Toxicologists – to name a few! Zia’s work with the International Association of Medical Colleges (IAOMC) provides a particularly keen example of his leadership qualities. The IAOMC seeks to uphold uniform standards and recognition of physicians’ qualifications provided by medical colleges around the world. As its Secretary, his international leadership includes work with medical schools in developing countries to gain accreditation, ensuring its physicians graduate with the right skills to practice medicine and optimally support their patients. His team was recently in Tunisia in this capacity, influencing decisions to affect positive, progressive change in pharmacology and physician training is Zia’s passionate life’s work. He is indefatigable and highly effective.
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