About Me
Dr. Fouad Abdul Wahab Al-Shaban
Principal Investigator
Joint Associate Professor
Throughout his career at Qatar Biomedical Research Institute, Dr. Alshaban has focused on applying epidemiological methods to investigate and evaluate the burden of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) on Qatari families and other families residing in Qatar. He began studying prevalence rates of ASD and all contributing risk factors associated with the disorder. From this, he and his team established the first ASD registry in Qatar funded by Qatar National Research Fund. The registry’s comprehensive database includes 110 variables regarding demographic, environmental, and clinical data of each diagnosed individual.
His current focus is the development of interdisciplinary research programs to improve early diagnosis, intervention, and treatment of ASD. He is working on the development of innovative screening and diagnostic tools using eye-tracking technology in collaboration with the Cleveland Clinic. Moreover, Dr. Alshaban’s work includes translating and validating the Arabic version of the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ), which is a golden standard tool for ASD screening. Additionally, he recently established a commercial partnership with the American company Argus Cognitive Inc. to co-develop the first Arabic digital phenotyping for social communication behaviors as a diagnostic tool for ASD, using machine learning and artificial intelligence to be used in conjunction with ADOS-2 diagnostic tool.
Education
Royal College of Physician, Dublin-Ireland.
1980
MSc of Public Health
University of Glasgow, Glasgow- UK.
1977
MD of Medicine
Baghdad College of Medicine, Baghdad-Iraq.
1970
Experience
Qatar Biomedical Research Institute, HBKU, QF, Doha, Qatar
2014 - Present
Senior Research Scientist
Shafallah Medical Genetics Center, Doha, Qatar.
2009 - 2014
Clinical Research Manager
The Arrhythmia Center, Department of Cardiology, Washington Hospital Center, Med Star Research Institute, Washington, DC, USA
2005 - 2008
Occupational Medical Specialist
Qatar Petroleum Medical Center, Doha, Qatar.
2004 - 2005
Director General
Administrative and Legal Affair Directorate, Ministry of Health, Baghdad, Iraq.
1998 - 2003
Advisor
Iraqi Minister of Health, in the field of Preventive Medicine, Health Care, and Research, Ministry of Health, Baghdad, Iraq.
1993 - 1998
Adjunct Associate Professors
Community Medicine and Occupational Health, University of Baghdad, College of Medicine.
1989 - 1992
Head of Department
Preventive Medicine, Al-Rasheed Teaching Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq.
1981 – 1989
Senior Lecturer
Public Health, High Institute of Public Health, Al-Rasheed Teaching Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq.
1974 - 1977
Selected Publications
Alshaban, F. (2017) ‘Qatar and Autism’, Springer Science+Business Media LLC 2018 F.R. Volkmar (ed.), Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders.
Alshaban, F., Aldosari, M., Al‐Shammari, H., El‐Hag, S., Ghazal, I., Tolefat, M., Ali, M., Kamal, M., Abdel Aati, N., Abeidah, M., Saad, A. H., Dekair, L., Al Khasawneh, M., Ramsay, K. & Fombonne, E. (2019). Prevalence and correlates of autism spectrum disorder in Qatar: a national study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 60:12 (2019), pp 1254–1268.
Aldosari, E. Fombonne, H. Aldhalaan, M. Ouda, S. Elhag, H. Alshammari, I. Ghazal, A. Alsaleh, T. Alqadoumi, R. Thomson, M. Al Khasawneh, M., Tolefat, and F. Alshaban (2019). Validation of Arabic version of Social Communication Questionnaire, Autism, Vol. 23(7) 1655–1662.
Frazier, T., Uljarevic, M., Ghazal, I., Klingemier, E., Langfus, J., Youngstrom, E., Aldosari, M., Al‐Shammari, H., El‐Hag, S., Tolefat, M., Mohammed Ali, M. & Al‐Shaban, F. (2021). Social attention as a cross‐cultural transdiagnostic neurodevelopmental risk marker. Autism Research. 14.
Honors and Awards
1992, Biography entered in the Encyclopedia of Iraqi Scientists and Scholars. Baghdad Iraq.
2001, Letter of Appreciation from the Iraqi Minister of Health for the invention of special herbal formula for the treatment of obesity. Baghdad-Iraq.