Armenian Medical World Congress to Feature Prominent Speakers

NEW YORK CITY—A 16-year old-athlete from Englewood, N.J., falls on the baseball field and injures his knee. He is taken to the nearby hospital where a stat MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) is performed. Dr. Raymond Damadian, inventor of the MRI, will be attending and speaking at the Armenian Medical World Congress at New York’s Hilton Hotel, July 1-4.

A father needs immediate bowel surgery, and doesn’t want to miss his daughter’s wedding. Famed surgeon Lord Ara W. Darzi, does robotic surgery from his London office. Dr. Darzi, the newly appointed Minister of Health of Great Britain will attend, speak, and be honored at the World Armenian Medical Congress at New York’s Hilton Hotel, July 1-4.

A young mother of three in Los Angeles has postpartum depression. Acclaimed psychiatrist Hagop Akiskal treats this patient. Dr. Akiskal will attend, speak, and be honored at the Armenian Medical World Congress at New York’s Hilton Hotel, July 1-4.

A 73-year-old grandfather in New York, on his way to his grandson’s high school graduation, develops severe abdominal pain and is rushed to Lenox Hill Hospital where vascular surgeon Vicken Pamoukian operates on him. Dr. Pamoukian will attend and speak at the Armenian Medical World Congress at New York’s Hilton Hotel, July 1-4.

Speakers to Relay Latest Medical Information

Damadian is among the distinguished plenary speakers on Fri., July 3, detailing current MRI innovations. His work also involved collaborating in the development of an MRI-compatible pacemaker. He has won numerous awards, including induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1989. Many world experts and scientists believe that he should have won a Nobel Prize for his invention of the MRI.

Lord Darzi, the minister of health of Britain, is one of the world’s leading surgeons at the Imperial College London where he holds the Hamlyn Chair of Surgery. He specializes in minimally invasive and robot-assisted surgery, and has pioneered many new techniques and technologies. He was awarded a knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II for his service to medicine and surgery, and subsequently elevated to the peerage in 2007. He will speak at the Armenian Medical World Congress on health care delivery in Great Britain on Thurs., July 2, and on robotic surgery on Fri., July 3.

Akiskal, a noted psychiatrist, is best known for his research on temperamental and bipolar disorder (manic depression). He served as the senior science advisor at the Institute of Mental Health from 1990-94, before going to the University of California San Diego where he is currently a professor of psychiatry. He is regarded as the leading conceptual thinker in the area of bipolar sub-typing. He is scheduled to speak at a morning symposium on Sat., July 4.

Pamoukian, a prominent vascular surgeon at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, is experienced in all areas of complex endovascular surgery, including thoracic, abdominal aneurysms, and carotid, peripheral, and renal stenting. He will be among the speakers in a group discussion on Friday afternoon, July 3, covering various topics on surgical subspecialties.

These medical professionals are among the many distinguished doctors, who along with their families and interested laymen, will be attending the Armenian Medical World Congress from July 1-4, hosted by the Armenian American Health Professionals Organization (AAHPO), at New York’s elegant Hilton Hotel.

Scheduled are plenary sessions on comparative health care systems, innovations in medicine, and symposia on tele-medicine and diaspora issues, as well as a sub-specialty day on July 1 covering such topics as anesthesia, dentistry, mental health, nursing, ophthalmology, pediatrics, and physical therapy.

Notable attendees will include the health ministers of Armenia and Karabagh, the rector of Yerevan State Medical University, the director of the National Medical Library of Armenia, as well as Armenia’s minister of the diaspora and co-chairman of the Armenian Congressional Caucus, Congressman Frank Pallone.

In addition to the medical symposia and meetings, the four-day special event will feature a dinner cruise on a luxurious yacht on Thurs., July 2, and a gala banquet in the Hilton Hotel’s main ballroom on July 4. Also of great interest will be a bus trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to view a magnificent khatchkar (cross-stone) on loan from Armenia.

For more information or to make reservations, visit www.aahpo.org/amwc09.