Prof. Vidya Mohammed Ali (UK/Qatar)
Dr. Vidya Mohamed-Ali is Deputy Director of the Centre for Metabolism & Inflammation, University College London (UCL) and Scientific Advisor for Research, Anti-Doping Lab Qatar (ADLQ). She has been a member of the Medical & Scientific Committee, IOC, since 2015. The Medical and Scientific Commission's mission is to provide a guiding reference for all other sports organisations on matters relating to the protection of the health of athletes. The Commission advises the IOC Session, the IOC Executive Board, and the IOC President on athletes' health, promoting health and physical activity, and protecting clean athletes in support of Agenda 2020.
Before joining ADLQ, Professor Mohamed-Ali worked on reproductive endocrinology in Professor Robert G Edwards' (Nobel Laureate 2010) team at Bourn Hall Clinic, University of Cambridge. Joined UCL as a Junior Research Fellow and was tenured in 2002.
She had a significant teaching load at UCL, including organising a 3rd-year undergraduate module. She received a Division of Medicine Teaching Award, served on two post-graduate courses' teaching committees, and initiated a non-resident Ph.D. program.
Her research, since 1995, has focused on the chronic inflammation associated with obesity and, specifically, the endocrine nature of adipose tissue (fat). Her group was the first to show in vivo release of interleukin-6 and leptin from human adipose tissue. Formed the Adipokines and Metabolism Research Group at UCL, investigating the inflammatory and secretory functions of the adipocyte and its consequences.
She has served on the committee of the UK Association of the Study of Obesity, is on the editorial board of Obesity Facts, is a member of the American Endocrine Society, and is a Senior Associate member of the Royal Society of Medicine. Dr. Vidya was on the Qatar University Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences Advisory Board (2015-2016).
Dr.Vidya has contributed to over 100 conference proceedings and media output for the wider public (such as the British Nutrition Foundation Task Force publications), attracted funding for several student stipends, and obtained grant funding of more than £2 million.
She has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers on obesity-associated diseases, four reviews, and contributed chapters to three books. Work has been cited over 8000 times, with an H-index of 52.
