Reza Malekzadeh ( fa, رضا ملک‌زاده; born 1952 in

Kazerun Kazeroon ( fa, کازرون, also Romanized as Kāzerūn, Kāzeroūn, and Kazeroon; also known as Kasrun) is a city and capital of Kazeroon County, Fars Province, Iran. In 2016, as the fifth big city in the province, its population was 96,683. ...

, Fars province,

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

) is an

Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...

medical Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practic ...

scientist and

gastroenterologist Gastroenterology (from the Greek gastḗr- “belly”, -énteron “intestine”, and -logía "study of") is the branch of medicine focused on the digestive system and its disorders. The digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract, ...

Career

Malekzadeh studied medicine at

Shiraz University Shiraz University ( fa, دانشگاه شیراز ''Dāneshgāh-e-Shirāz'', formerly known as Pahlavi University دانشگاه پهلوی ''Dāneshgāh-e Pahlavi'') is a public university located in Shiraz, Fars, Iran, established in 1946. ...

. He continued his studies to become specialized in Internal Medicine in

where he did as well his fellowship in

gastroenterology Gastroenterology (from the Greek gastḗr- “belly”, -énteron “intestine”, and -logía "study of") is the branch of medicine focused on the digestive system and its disorders. The digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract ...

. In 1985, he joined the department of gastroenterology at Free Royal Hospital in London. After his return to Iran, he got a faculty position at Shiraz University and later on at

Tehran University of Medical Sciences Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) ( fa, دانشگاه علوم پزشکی تهران, ''Danushgah-e 'lum Pezeshki-ye Tehran'') is the largest and most highly ranked medical university of Iran. In September 2008, Iran's Mini ...

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where he is currently a full professor of internal medicine. He is also an Honorary Professor at

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

, UK. Reza Malekzadeh was the

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

Iran's government The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran ( fa, نظام جمهوری اسلامی ایران, Neẓām-e jomhūrī-e eslāmi-e Irān, known simply as ''Neẓām'' ( fa, نظام, lit=the system) among its supporters) is the ruling state a ...

from 1991-1993. From 2000-2004, Malekzadeh was the secretary of the

Iranian Academy of Medical Sciences The Academy of Medical Sciences of Iran ( fa, فرهنگستان علوم پزشکی جمهوری اسلامی ایران) was formally inaugurated in the winter of 1990. It had received its mandate from the High Council of Cultural Revolution and ...

br>
and since 2005, the Academy's Vice-President for

Research Research is "creativity, creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular att ...

. He is the director of Digestive Disease Research Cente

and was appointed as the director of Shariati Hospita

in 2007. Dr Malekzadeh is also the Deputy-Editor of Archives of Iranian Medicin

He is working on a big cancer cohort in Bandar-Turkeman, Golestan Province of Iran to investigate the environmental and genetic causes of oesophageal cancer.

Achievements

Besides being a renowned

, Professor Malekzadeh has been instrumental in designing and executing an efficient and practical way of diagnosing cancerous and benign esophageal lesions in Iran, applicable to urban and rural areas. He was elected as a member of

TWAS The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) is a merit-based science academy established for developing countries, uniting 1,000 scientists in some 70 countries. Its principal aim is to promote scientific capacity and excellence for sustainable devel ...

in 200

Reza Malekzadeh received the "Permanent Personages Award" in the Third Permanent Personages session held on October 22, 2003. This national award is given to the most outstanding and memorable citizens of Iran. He has numerous reputable scientific publications in gastroenterology and

liver disease Liver disease, or hepatic disease, is any of many diseases of the liver. If long-lasting it is termed chronic liver disease. Although the diseases differ in detail, liver diseases often have features in common. Signs and symptoms Some of the sig ...

Dr Malekzadeh was selected as distinguished professor of

in 2008.

Views

During the

COVID-19 pandemic in Iran Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

, Supreme Leader

Ali Khamenei Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei ( fa, سید علی حسینی خامنه‌ای, ; born 19 April 1939) is a Twelver Shia ''marja and the second and current Supreme Leader of Iran, in office since 1989. He was previously the third president o ...

and general

Hossein Salami abdullah eslami (1960) is an Iranian military officer with the rank of major general, who is the commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Early years Salami was born in 1960 in Golpayegan, Isfahan province, Iran. In 1 ...

had suggested that the coronavirus pandemic in the country was due to a

biological attack Biological warfare, also known as germ warfare, is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, insects, and fungi with the intent to kill, harm or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act of war. Bio ...

. On 13 March, Reza Malekzadeh rejected this theory.

Family life

Dr Malekzadeh was born in village baladeh in Fars. Reza Malekzadeh has been married for 31 years, and since then has had 4 children, three girls and one boy, three of which have followed his footsteps in the study of medicine and one who is currently studying architecture. He still visits Baladeh regularly and contributes massively to humanitarian work in the area.

Memberships

*Member of the International Association for Study of the Liver (IASL) *Member of the American Gastroenterology Association (AGA) *Member of the European Association for Gastroenterology & Endoscopy (EAGE) *Member of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) *Secretary of the Iranian Society of Gastroenterology and Hepatology *Member of the Iranian Society of Physicians *Counsellor of the Iranian Board of Internal Medicine *Permanent Member of the Iranian Academy of Medical Sciences *Member of the American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS)

References

External links

Digestive Disease Research Center (DDRC)Archives of Iranian MedicineReza Malekzadeh's publications in pubmed
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malekzadeh, Reza 20th-century Iranian inventors Iranian gastroenterologists Government ministers of Iran Shiraz University alumni Shiraz University faculty University of Tehran faculty 1952 births Living people People from Kazerun Executives of Construction Party politicians Iranian Science and Culture Hall of Fame recipients in Medicine Shiraz University of Medical Sciences alumni 20th-century Iranian politicians