Mohamed Hamad Satti (, 1913 – 15 March 2005) was a Sudanese physician that is remembered as ''The father of Medical research in Sudan.'' He had a very philanthropic approach to medicine, and was known for being an entertaining educator who linked scientific information with stories from his fieldwork. Satti received the

Shousha Prize World Health Organization Prizes and Awards are given to recognise major achievements in public health. The candidates are nominated and recommended by each prize and award selection panel. The WHO Executive Board selects the winners, which are pre ...

from the World Health Organization, and the Order of the Two Niles. ''Dr'' ''Satti Foundation'' for medical research was created in his honour.

Life and career

Early life and education

Mohamed Hamad Satti was born in Shendi, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, in 1913. His father passed away when he was 15. He attended the elementary and intermediate schools in Atbara, before joining

Gordon Memorial College Gordon Memorial College was an educational institution in Sudan. It was built between 1899 and 1902 as part of Lord Kitchener's wide-ranging educational reforms. Named for General 'Chinese' Charles George Gordon of the British army, who was kill ...

(Secondary school) in 1927. He graduated with a Diploma of

Kitchener School of Medicine The Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum (established 1924 as Kitchener School of Medicine), located in Khartoum, Sudan, is the oldest medical school in Sudan. It was opened in 1924 by Sir Lee Stack, Governor-General of Sudan and Sirdar ...

(DKSM) (today’s

Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum The Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum (established 1924 as Kitchener School of Medicine), located in Khartoum, Sudan, is the oldest School of medicine, medical school in Sudan. It was opened in 1924 by Sir Lee Stack, Governor-general, Go ...

), in 1935. Satti 1952

Satti then started his medical training working as a medical officer in areas endemic to

Leishmaniasis Leishmaniasis is a wide array of clinical manifestations caused by parasites of the trypanosome genus ''Leishmania''. It is generally spread through the bite of phlebotomine sandflies, ''Phlebotomus'' and ''Lutzomyia'', and occurs most freq ...

between 1936 and 1946 including Singa and Port-Sudan. He joined Stack Medical Research Laboratories in 1946, before moving to the United Kingdom and completing a postgraduate degree in internal medicine (1952–1954) where he was also the President of the Sudanese Student Society in the UK. Once he was back in Sudan, he was appointed as a medical zoologist, where he started with a study on a visceral leishmaniasis outbreak in 1956, before going to the United States and completing a master's degree in Public Health at

Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is the public health graduate school of Johns Hopkins University, a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. As the second independent, degree-granting institution for research in epi ...

, Baltimore.

Career

Satti was elected a member of the World Health Organization Advisory Panel of parasitic diseases (1962–1980). He also became the director of Stack Medical Research Laboratories (1963–1968), succeeding

Mansour Ali Haseeb Mansour Ali Haseeb Royal College of Physicians of London, FRCP Royal College of Pathologists, FRCPh (, 1 January 1910–29 September 1973) was a Sudanese professor of microbiology and parasitology and the first Sudanese dean of the Faculty of Me ...

who left the position to become the first Sudanese Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum. Satti occupied several posts in the . He was an educator at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum (1946–1948, 1963–1969) and a researcher of bacteriology, medical zoology, epidemiology, forensic medicine, and pathology. He laid the foundation of several laboratories and tropical medicine research centres in Sudan which include the National Health Laboratories, the Cancer Institute for Tropical Diseases Research, the Medical Research Council (1966), the School of Tropical Medicine (1966), the National Council for Research (1970), and the Institute of Medical Laboratory Technology. He was the director of the Institute of Tropical Medicine Research at the Medical Research Council, Sudan. Satti did not have a private clinic throughout his career. He was known for being an entertaining educator who linked scientific information with stories from his fieldwork. Satti had a very philanthropic approach to medicine as he once repurposed his private car as an ambulance. Once he retired in 1969, he became an advisor to the Sudanese Medical Research Association. He worked with WHO as a consultant epidemiologist and public health advisor to study the environmental effects of

Lake Nasser Lake Nasser ( ar, بحيرة ناصر ', ) is a vast reservoir in Southern Egypt and northern Sudan. It is one of the largest man-made lakes in the world. Before construction, Sudan was against the building of Lake Nasser because it would encro ...

in 1970. He was the Vice Chairman of the WHO

Onchocerciasis Onchocerciasis, also known as river blindness, is a disease caused by infection with the parasitic worm ''Onchocerca volvulus''. Symptoms include severe itching, bumps under the skin, and blindness. It is the second-most common cause of blindne ...

Expert Committee in 1986.

Personal life and death

Satti was married to Fatma Hassan el Nor and with her, they had thirteen children. He died from natural causes on 15 March 2005, and was buried in Faroug Cemetery, Khartoum.

Research

Ahmed Mohamed El Hassan and Mohamed Hamad Satti

Satti carried out extensive field and laboratory work on

leishmaniasis Leishmaniasis is a wide array of clinical manifestations caused by parasites of the trypanosome genus ''Leishmania''. It is generally spread through the bite of phlebotomine sandflies, ''Phlebotomus'' and ''Lutzomyia'', and occurs most freq ...

in eastern and southern Sudan, yellow fever in the Nuba Mountains and Kurmuk, Klumpke paralysis and cutaneous larva migranes in Kordofan,

onchocerciasis Onchocerciasis, also known as river blindness, is a disease caused by infection with the parasitic worm ''Onchocerca volvulus''. Symptoms include severe itching, bumps under the skin, and blindness. It is the second-most common cause of blindne ...

in Bahr el Ghazal, malaria in Shendi,

Hepatitis C Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that primarily affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. During the initial infection people often have mild or no symptoms. Occasionally a fever, dark urine, a ...

, cholera and

Leptospirosis Leptospirosis is a blood infection caused by the bacteria ''Leptospira''. Signs and symptoms can range from none to mild (headaches, muscle pains, and fevers) to severe ( bleeding in the lungs or meningitis). Weil's disease, the acute, severe ...

Nuer people The Nuer people are a Nilotic ethnic group concentrated in the Greater Upper Nile region of South Sudan. They also live in the Ethiopian region of Gambella. The Nuer speak the Nuer language, which belongs to the Nilotic language family. They ...

schistosomiasis Schistosomiasis, also known as snail fever, bilharzia, and Katayama fever, is a disease caused by parasitic flatworms called schistosomes. The urinary tract or the intestines may be infected. Symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloody s ...

in Gezira, typhoid in Western Sudan, smallpox on the

Beni Halba tribe The Beni Halba () is an Arab group located in the western Sudanese region of Darfur. The Beni Halba is one of the major Darfuri Baggara groups, along with the Habbaniya, Rizeigat and Ta’isha, and was granted a large ''hakura'' (land grant) i ...

in Singa,

jaundice Jaundice, also known as icterus, is a yellowish or greenish pigmentation of the skin and sclera due to high bilirubin levels. Jaundice in adults is typically a sign indicating the presence of underlying diseases involving abnormal heme meta ...

Al Qadarif El-Gadarif ( ar, القضارف '), also spelt ''Gedaref'' or ''Gedarif'', is the capital of the state of Al Qadarif in Sudan. It lies on the road that connects Khartoum with Gallabat on the Ethiopian border, about from the capital. Overview ...

, presbycusis in the Mabans tribe living southern Funj, filariasis in Geneina, the adverse effects of the consumption of high-nitrate-well-water in two villages in North Kordofan, and health aspects of

Rahad Ar-Rahad ( ar, ٱلـرَّهَـد, "The Water-shrine") is a city located in the state of North Kordofan, Sudan, at an altitude of above sea level. It is about away from the capital, Khartoum. It is a major railway station linking East and Cent ...

Irrigation Project. He presented his research at the first Italian Conference of Tropical Medicine in East Africa,

Asmara Asmara ( ), or Asmera, is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea, in the country's Central Region. It sits at an elevation of , making it the sixth highest capital in the world by altitude and the second highest capital in Africa. The ...

, in 1952, and the International Congress of Tropical Medicine and Malaria (1958–1986). He left a legacy of scientific excellence that earned him the name ''The father of Medical research in Sudan.''

Awards and honours

Satti received an

Honorary Doctor of Science Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...

in 1980 from the University of Khartoum. He received the

from the World Health Organization in 1985, and was awarded the Order of the Two Niles in 1989. In 2011, a foundation, ''Dr Satti Foundation for medical research,'' was established in his honour.

References

{{authority control University of Khartoum alumni Sudanese scientists 1913 births 2005 deaths Sudanese physicians Dr A.T. Shousha Foundation Prize and Fellowship laureates Recipients of orders, decorations, and medals of Sudan Gordon Memorial College alumni