TBRI Holds a Ceremony Honoring Prof. Dr. Eman El-Ahwany

TBRI Holds a Ceremony Honoring Prof. Dr. Eman El-Ahwany

Under the patronage of Prof. Dr. Ahmed Abdel Aziz, Acting Director of the Institute and Chairman of the Board, the Immunology and Therapeutic Evaluation Division organized a ceremony honoring Prof. Dr. Eman Gamal El-Din El-Ahwany, former Head of the Division, in recognition of her distinguished scientific and research career and in appreciation of her significant contributions to the Institute through the numerous leadership positions she has held.

The ceremony opened with a speech by Prof. Dr. Hanaa Ismail, Professor of Immunology and former Vice President of the Institute. She reviewed Prof. Dr. Eman's career since joining the Institute, highlighting the awards she received, including the Institute's Excellence Award in 2014 and the Institute's Distinguished Achievement Award in 2022. She also highlighted her position as Head of the Immunology Department and Head of the Immunology and Therapeutic Evaluation Division, emphasizing her leadership abilities, sense of responsibility, and exceptional humility.
Prof. Dr. Hanan El-Baz, Professor of Immunology and former Head of the Institute, then spoke about Prof. Dr. Eman's outstanding qualities and commendable ethics, as well as the respect she consistently showed her professors throughout her career. Prof. Dr. Mona Zohairy, Professor of Immunology and Director of the Biobank Center of Excellence, also expressed her profound happiness and gratitude for the collaborative work she had shared with Prof. Dr. Eman, beginning with the establishment of the biobank and culminating in their joint success, alongside their team, in achieving the first official accreditation of a biobank in Egypt, the Middle East, and Africa.

Then, Prof. Dr. Sanaa Thabet, Professor of Pharmacology at the Institute and Chairperson of the Research Ethics Committee, described Prof. Dr. Eman as someone who has always been devoted to giving, noting that this rare quality continues throughout one's life and expressing her hope that the coming years would bring even greater achievements and successes. In her remarks, Prof. Dr. Faten Nagy, Professor of Immunology, recalled numerous examples of Prof. Dr. Eman's humanity, emphasizing that a person is an integrated whole and that knowledge and ethics can give individuals two wings with which to soar toward success and excellence. Prof. Dr. Ibrahim Rabie, the current Head of the Immunology and Therapeutic Evaluation Division, who succeeded Prof. Dr. Eman in this leadership role, spoke next. He affirmed that her tenure as Head of the Division was marked by decisiveness without sacrificing understanding and compassion. She successfully combined administrative excellence with the preservation of human relationships, earning a special place in the hearts of all Division members across its three departments: Immunology, Parasitology, and Pharmacology.

In his address, Prof. Dr. Ahmed Abdel Aziz expressed his sincere gratitude and appreciation to Prof. Dr. Eman for everything she had contributed to the Institute throughout her distinguished career. Referring to the saying that everyone bears a share of the meaning of their name, he remarked that her name brought together faith, beauty, and kindheartedness. He also highlighted her outstanding performance in the various leadership positions she had held at the Institute. Despite the difficult decisions that these positions sometimes required, she managed to maintain strong relationships with those working under her supervision. He noted that it is extremely rare for so many people to share such affection and admiration for one individual.

For her part, Prof. Dr. Eman expressed her profound happiness at receiving this honor. She extended her heartfelt thanks and gratitude to the Institute's Director for his care and commitment to organizing the ceremony, and praised his ongoing efforts to develop the Institute and enhance its research and medical standing. She also expressed her appreciation to all former Institute directors under whom she had worked, as well as to her professors in the Immunology Department. Her thanks extended to distinguished academics with whom she had collaborated outside the Institute, particularly Prof. Dr. Soheir Zada, former Professor and Head of the Biology Department at the American University in Cairo, who honored the ceremony with her presence. Prof. Dr. Eman also took the opportunity to offer words of encouragement to early-career researchers, urging them to work sincerely and diligently and to remain committed to giving without expecting anything in return.

The ceremony was organized by members of the Institute's Immunology and Therapeutic Evaluation Division, led by Prof. Dr. Hanaa Ismail and Prof. Dr. Rabab Zalat, Professor of Parasitology at the Institute, who shares a close friendship with Prof. Dr. Eman on both professional and personal levels. The event was presented by Prof. Dr. Marwa Tamim, Head of the Institute's Technical Office, who had worked under Prof. Dr. Eman's leadership for many years. She explained that those years had allowed her to know Prof. Dr. Eman closely and 
had repeatedly confirmed to her that the values of goodness and beauty remain alive and vibrant.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, Prof. Dr. Ahmed Abdel Aziz presented Prof. Dr. Eman El-Ahwany with a certificate of appreciation and an honorary shield in recognition of her significant contributions to the Institute in both research and administration.

The ceremony was attended by a distinguished gathering of former Institute directors, heads of research divisions and departments, members of the research faculty and their assistants from across the Institute, as well as administrative and technical staff who share longstanding and positive relationships with Prof. Dr. Eman. The event was characterized by its warmth, simplicity, spontaneity, and genuine expressions of affection and appreciation.