Ahmed Mohamed El Hassan

El Hassan died on Thursday, 10 November 2022, in his house in Al Riyadh, Khartoum, from natural causes.

Ahmed El Safi. Ahmed Mohamed El Hassan: Milestones in tropical disease, pathology, cancer research & medical education, Independently published (April 30, 2019), ISBN 978-1096419341.

El Hassan focused on epidemiology and immunopathology of tropical and infectious diseases, especially leishmaniasis and mycetoma, including diagnosis, therapy, and vaccines. His research also investigated leprosy and malaria, and after 2005, he shifted his focus to nasopharyngeal cancer. He received research grants from the World Health Organization's Tropical Disease Research, the Wellcome Trust, Danish International Development Agency, and The World Academy of Sciences.

El Hassan was the Founding Director of the Institute of Endemic Diseases between 1993 and 2000. He was an Emeritus Professor of Pathology at the Institute of Endemic Diseases, University of Khartoum, since 1991 and until his died in 2022. El Hassan was also the Founding President of the Sudanese National Academy of Sciences (SNAS) in 2005 and was the President Sudanese Cancer Society between 2008 and 2009.

El Hassan focused on epidemiology and immunopathology of tropical and infectious diseases. Sudan bestwood upon him the highest orders of merit, and Al Qadarif's tropical medicine centre was named after him. In addition, he received WHO's 1987 Shousha Prize, RSTMH's 1996 Donald Mackay Medal, and the 2017–2018 Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum award.

Between 1979–1980, El Hassan was in Sudan as the Director of the Tropical Diseases Institute, and he established the Institute of Medical Laboratory Technology. Upon his return from Saudi Arabia in 1988, he continued working at the department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum.

In 1977, El Hassan became the President of the Medical Research Council (1972–1977), while helping establish the Department of Pathology at King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia and the Institute of Medical Laboratory Technology, Sudan. In addition, El Hassan was the Founding Director of the Institute of Endemic Diseases (1993–2000), the Sudanese National Academy of Sciences (SNAS) (2005–2011) and the Sudanese Cancer Society (2008–2009).

The Government of Sudan awarded El Hassan the Gold Medal for Research and Science in 1977, El Neelain Order (First Class) in 1979, and the Order of Merit (First Class) in 1995. He received an Honorary Doctor of Science from the Ahfad University for Women in 2006, and Al Qadarif's tropical medicine centre was named after him in 2010.

El Hassan was the founding minister of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Sudan, between 1971 and 1972, after which he became the President of the Medical Research Council (1972–1977). El Hassan then joined King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia, as Professor in 1977 and helped establish the Department of Pathology before leaving in 1979, to return in 1981 as Director of Research until 1987.

Upon his return to Sudan, he led the Department of Pathology (1966–1969) and the Faculty of Medicine (1969–1971), before briefly becoming the first Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (1971–1972).

El Hassan returned to the Department of Pathology, University of Khartoum as a Senior Lecturer before becoming a Professor and the head of the department in 1966. In 1969, El Hassan was made the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Khartoum.

El Hassan was born and reared in Sudan. He received most of his medical training at the University of Khartoum before completing a PhD at the University of Edinburgh in 1965.

He was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists, London (FRCPath) in 1964, a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, London (FRCP) in 1974, and a Fellow of The World Academy of Sciences (FTWAS) in 1996. He received the Shousha Prize from the World Health Organization in 1987, Donald Mackay Medal from the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in 1996, and Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum Award for medical sciences in 2017–2018.

El Hassan continued his training at the University of London and obtained a Diploma in Clinical Pathology (DCP) in 1961 and returned to the University of Khartoum for a short period (1962–1963) as a Lecturer before starting his doctorate and finished a Doctor of Philosophy in Immunology from the University of Edinburgh in 1965.

El Hassan married Amal Galal Mohamed in 1959 and had four daughters. He had a keen interest in photography and music. He established the first medical photography and illustration unit in Sudan. He learned to play Oud and published his book Writings on medicine, music and literature in 2017.

El Hassan attended the Kitchener School of Medicine (now Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum) and graduated with a distinction in Medicine and Surgery in 1955 while winning the Kitchener Memorial prize for best graduate. He joined the Ministry of Health, Sudan, to train, starting as a Housemanship between 1955 to 1957 and a Medical Officer from 1957 to 1958 in different locations in Khartoum, Omdurman and Northern State. He then returned to the Pathology Department, University of Khartoum as a Research Assistant.

Ahmed Mohamed El Hassan FRCP FTWAS (Arabic: أحمد محمد الحسن , 10 April 1930–10 November 2022) was a Sudanese professor of pathology.

El Hassan was born in Berber, Sudan, on 10 April 1930. Like many at that time, he started his education at a Quranic school (Khalwa) before joining Berber intermediate school. He later moved to Khartoum to start high school at Omdurman secondary school in 1945.