From left: Joseph Habboushe; Dr. Daniel Alonso; Dr. Antonio Gotto; Dr. Bernice Grafstein; Dr. Carol Storey-Johnson; and Dr. Pablo Rodriguez del Pozo.
The first information session on Weill Medical College in Qatar was held on March 3 in Weill Auditorium and provided updates about Weill Cornell's newest location to faculty, staff and students.
Dr. Bernice Grafstein, the Vincent and Brooke Astor Distinguished Professor in Neuroscience and professor of physiology and biophysics, moderated the session.
Dr. Antonio Gotto, dean of the Medial College, gave a brief overview on the history of WCMC-Q.
Dr. Antonio Gotto
"After 35 years, I went to the desert," joked Dr. Daniel Alonso, dean of WCMC-Q, who talked about WCMC-Q's physical environment and educational objectives. Dr. Alonso pointed out how the design of WCMC-Q labs were purposely built to imitate the contemporary design of laboratories in the Weill Education Center of New York City's campus. He continued, "building a medical school from scratch is a remarkable opportunity."
Weill Cornell student overseer Joseph Habboushe (Class of 2006), gave his impressions as a visitor and commented on the diversity of Qatar, noting that "the country is sort of creating itself." Habboushe added, "There are maps that have one color for roads already in existence, others are for roads that are currently being built."
In addition, a short video clip on narcolepsy—showcasing the advantages of distance learning—was included in the session. (The video, featuring Dr. James Maas, professor and past chairman of the Department of Psychology at Cornell University, was completed at Cornell's Ithaca campus and recently broadcast via streaming video to WCMC-Q students.)
Dr. Daniel Alonso
Dr. Pablo Rodriguez del Pozo, assistant professor of medical ethics at WCMC-Q, talked about ethical issues unique to Qatar, noting the challenge of faculty at both Weill Cornell in New York City and Cornell University in Ithaca to "transfer medical knowledge in such a way that is socially meaningful in that area of the world."
Dr. Carol Storey-Johnson, senior associate dean for education at WCMC-NY, stressed the importance of faculty contributions to the curriculum in Qatar, especially with easily accessible technologies such as video streaming.
Photos by Weill Cornell Art & Photo.