New Board, Review Committee Members and New Specialties Approved by ACGME-I Board
At its September 11, 2026 meeting, the ACGME-I Board of Directors welcomed new members to both the Board and the Review Committees-International and approved new specialties and subspecialties to be accredited.;
The Board welcomed the following individuals to its members, for terms that will run from 2026 to 2029:
- Salah Zein-El-Dine, MD, American University of Beirut, Lebanon
- Vanessa Kerry, MD, MSc, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, USA
The Board thanks departing members, Drs. Kamal Badr, Josepha Cheong, Lim Boon Leng, and, George Thibault, for their years of dedicated service and important perspectives.
Four new members of the Review Committees-International were also approved by the Board during this meeting:
- Samer Jalal Ahmeed, MBChB, SBOG, ABOG, The International Medical Center, Saudi Arabia, Review Committee International-Surgical/Hospital based programs
- Eman Al Maslamani, MD, CABP, Sidra Medicine, Qatar, Review Committee International-Medicine-based programs
- Joseph W. Gravel Jr., MD, FAAFP, Medical College of Wisconsin, USA, Review Committee International-Medicine-based programs
- Danny Takanishi Jr., MD, FACS, FSSO, University of Hawaii, USA, Review Committee International-Surgical/Hospital based programs
These individuals will serve up to two three-year terms, and bring a range of experience, expertise, and views to the important work of the Review Committees.
The Review Committees-International also recognize and thank the following departing members: Drs. Salwa Abuyaqoub, Nouran Alkhoori, Haya Al Thani, and Shirley Ooi Beng Suat.
The Board approved the new accredited specialties and subspecialties during the meeting as well. These are:
- Vascular surgery (Residency and Fellowship; surgery)
- Sports cardiology (Fellowship, a subspecialty of internal medicine)
- Sports exercise medicine (specialty (residency); internal medicine)
Neither the fellowship in sports cardiology nor residency in sports exercise medicine are accredited in the United States by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), making their approval by the ACGME-I Board a notable milestone.
The Board of Directors next meets in October 2026.