Dr. Hayat Al Sindi ( ar, حياة سندي; born 6 November 1967) is a Saudi Arabian medical scientist and one of the first female members of the

Consultative Assembly of Saudi Arabia The Consultative Assembly of Saudi Arabia ( ar, مجلس الشورى السعودي, Maǧlis aš-Šūrā s-Saʿūdiyy), also known as ''Majlis ash-Shura'' or ''Shura Council,'' is the formal advisory body of Saudi Arabia. It is a deliberative as ...

. She is famous for making major contributions to

point-of-care Clinical point of care (POC) is the point in time when clinicians deliver healthcare products and services to patients at the time of care. Clinical documentation Clinical documentation is a record of the critical thinking and judgment of a health ...

medical testing and biotechnology.

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

Media Services
Saudi Arabian woman researcher Hayat Sindi to be appointed UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador
UNESCOPRESS, October 1st, 2012.Laura Bashraheel
Hayat Sindi – The Saudi global icon
.

Saudi Gazette Saudi Gazette is an English-language daily newspaper launched in 1976 and published in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It is only available online, as the print version was discontinued in 2019. It is the second English-language daily newspaper in Saudi Ar ...

, Monday, December 24, 2012. She was ranked by

Arabian Business ''Arabian Business'' (''AB'') is a weekly business magazine published in Dubai and focusing on global and regional news analysis. The brand is aimed at the English- and Arabic-speaking communities and is published in both languages. Its circula ...

as the 19th most influential Arab in the world and the ninth most influential Arab woman. In 2018, she was listed as one of BBC's 100 Women.

Education

Hayat Sindi was born in

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...

, Saudi Arabia. In 1991, she convinced her family to allow her to travel alone to the UK in order to pursue her higher education. After a year spent learning English and studying for her

A-levels The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

, she was accepted to

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

Inspiring youth: Hayat Sindi
where she graduated with a degree in pharmacology in 1995. While at King's College, she was a recipient of Princess Anne's Award for her undergraduate work on allergy. Sindi, who wears the traditional Muslim headscarf, was pressured to abandon her religious and cultural beliefs while at university; she persisted, holding the view that a person's religion, color, or gender has no bearing on scientific contributions.Elizabeth Broomhall

Arabian Business, Sunday, April 15, 2012. Sindi went on to get a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...

from

Newnham College, Cambridge Newnham College is a women's Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sid ...

in 2001; she was the first Saudi woman to be accepted at Cambridge University in the field of biotechnology,Hayat Sindi to women: Opt for a career in science
. Coastaldigest.com, Thursday, January 17th, 2013.Hayat Sindi
at

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

. and the first woman from any of the

Arab States of the Persian Gulf The Arab states of the Persian Gulf refers to a group of Arab states which border the Persian Gulf. There are seven member states of the Arab League in the region: Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. ...

to complete a doctoral degree in the field.

Career

Hayat Sindi is a

visiting scholar In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic for which the visitor ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

;Hamida Ghafour
Saudi women join king’s advisory council for first time

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

, Friday, January 11th, 2013. as such, she travels often between

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

. Sindi's laboratory work at Harvard earned her a spot with four other scientists in a documentary film supported by the

Executive Office of the President of the United States The Executive Office of the President (EOP) comprises the offices and agencies that support the work of the president at the center of the executive branch of the United States federal government. The EOP consists of several offices and agenc ...

in order to promote science education among young people. Along with her scientific activities, Sindi participated in numerous events aimed at raising the awareness of science among females, particularly in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

and the Muslim World in general. She is also interested in the problem of brain drain, and was an invited speaker at the

Jeddah Economic Forum Jeddah Economic Forum (JEF) ( ar, منتدى جدة الإقتصادي) is a forum held annually since 1999 during winter in the city of Jeddah, western Saudi Arabia. It has become the region's Middle East strategic think tank focusing on regiona ...

2005. Hayat Sindi was a major influence in starting three companies, either as cofounder or founder, Diagnostics for All (DFA), Sonoptix, and i2 (the Institute for imagination and Ingenuity). Her entrepreneurial philosophy is simple: “A true scientist should focus on affordable simple solutions to reach everyone in the world.” In 2010, Sindi was the winner of the Mekkah Al Mukaramah prize for scientific innovation, given by HRH Prince

Khalid bin Faisal Al Saud Khalid bin Faisal Al Saud ( ar, خالد بن فيصل ال سعود ''Khālid bin Fayṣal Āl Suʿūd''; born 24 February 1940) is a Saudi Arabian politician, artist, and poet who is the governor of Makkah Province, in office from 2007 to 2013 ...

. She was also named a 2011 Emerging Explorer by the

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, and ...

. On October 1, 2012, Sindi was appointed by

head

Irina Bokova Irina Georgieva Bokova ( bg, Ирина Георгиева Бокова; born 12 July 1952) is a Bulgarian politician and the former Director-General of UNESCO (2009–2017). During her political and diplomatic career in Bulgaria, she served, a ...

as a

UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador is an official postnominal honorific title, title of authority, legal status and job description assigned to those goodwill ambassadors and advocates who are designated by the United Nations. UNESCO goodwill ambassad ...

for her efforts in promoting science education in the Middle East, especially for girls.

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

official site
Saudi Arabian female researcher Hayat Sindi to be appointed UNESCO advocate
October 1st, 2012. She was also on

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

's list of 150 women who shook the world for that year. In January 2013, Sindi again broke new ground by becoming part of the first group of women to serve in Saudi Arabia's Consultative Council.David Ignatius
Reforms may be too slow to save Saudi king from revolt

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...

, January 23, 2013. In the annual meeting of

Clinton Global Initiative The Clinton Foundation (founded in 2001 as the William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation, and renamed in 2013 as the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation) is a nonprofit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. tax code. It was es ...

held on September 21–24, 2014, Dr. Sindi was awarded the 'Leadership in Civil Society' prize.

References

External links

Profile for Hayat Sindi
at Pop Tech
i2institute
Sindi's company {{DEFAULTSORT:Sindi, Hayat 1967 births Living people Alumni of King's College London Alumni of Newnham College, Cambridge Members of the Consultative Assembly of Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabian women in politics 21st-century women politicians Saudi Arabian pharmacologists Saudi Arabian Sunni Muslims Saudi Arabian women People from Mecca UNESCO Goodwill Ambassadors BBC 100 Women Arab people of Sindhi descent

Education

Career

References

Further reading

External links