Syrian medical research wins an international award

Damascus, (ST) – A scientific research carried out at the University of Damascus and published last year in the Journal of the World Federation of Orthodontists won the (Thomas Graber)  Award for the year 2023, to be the first Arab research to receive this prize.

The award bearing the name (Graeber) is one of the high-level international awards. It belongs to the leading author of international orthodontic approaches, Thomas Graeber and was awarded for the first time in 2020 for the best scientific research published in the journal.

The winning research was prepared by Syrian researcher Dr. Amer Oweida during his master’s degree stage at the University of Damascus, under the supervision of Dr. Muhammad Younis Hajeer, Professor at the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Damascus, with the participation of Dr. Rashad Murad, Professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy at Damascus University. Dr. Rabab Al-Sabbagh, Professor of Orthodontics at the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Hama, helped in scientific writing, proofreading and revision.

In a statement to SANA, Owaida, currently a doctoral student at the University of Hama, said that he obtained a master’s degree in 2019, and part of his thesis was chosen to be published in the Journal of the World Federation of Orthodontists as a Syrian scientific research from Damascus University which later obtained this award.

Regarding the content of the research, Owaida clarified that it is based on the idea of controlling the disturbing orthodontic pain during treatment and looking for new safe means for the treatment.

According to Oweida, the results indicated a slight effectiveness of the low-energy laser in relieving pain, and the results of its application were similar to patients who used painkillers such as paracetamol – caffeine, while these two methods were not able to improve the quality of life associated with oral health.

For his part, Dr. Hujaira explained that this Syrian scientific research was chosen from among 80 research works  from different countries of the world that were published last year in the journal and were subject to careful evaluation by a jury appointed by the World Federation of Orthodontists.

In turn, Murad pointed to the role of Damascus University in supporting scientific research and motivating researchers to prepare qualitative research and honoring the distinguished among them for presenting all that is new in medical treatment.

Murad explained that he supervised the pharmacological side of the research, calling for an increase in the number of courses related to scientific research for the various university levels to encourage more youth to carry out applied research that would benefit in development and in linking the university with society.

For his part, Dr. Firas Al-Hinnawi, Vice Rector of Damascus University for Scientific Research Affairs stressed the importance of publishing Syrian scientific research works in international journals, obtaining international awards, as this upgrades the university’s classification.

The number of research papers prepared at the University of Damascus and published externally last year, according to Dr. Al-Hinnawi, amounted to about 430 scientific  research papers from various faculties. He noted the importance of applied research because of its positive impact on society.

Raghda Sawas