Born and raised in Salamieh, Dr Saifo chose to pursue a medical degree from Damascus University, where he completed his residency and fellowship in medical oncology. He obtained a clinical and research post doctorate degree in oncology at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in New York. He then returned to Syria in 2011, despite the start of the war, as he believed it was his duty to serve and help the cancer patients at this critical time.
A highly respected healthcare professional, Dr Saifo has worked as an associate professor and chair of the Oncology Department at Damascus University since 2016. He also chairs the scientific committee of the Syrian Society of Oncology, and has been the Head of the Breast Cancer Department at Al-Bairouni University Hospital Cancer Center, Damascus since 2013.
Dr Saifo has served as a volunteer for the Jamati institutions since 1996 in Damascus and Salamieh. He is now a member of Aga Khan Health Board, and a medical consultant for the Aga Khan Health Service in Syria.
When asked to share his experience with Covid-19, he said: “We have developed a national set of recommendations to limit the exposure and we put it in practice for both healthcare workers and cancer patients. Our goal was to continue providing cancer care as much as feasible. It is crucial to us that cancer care must go on at the time of crisis, even during the pandemic.”
“We Syrians have been suffering from the catastrophic results of war for years, but with our strength, beliefs, and hopes, we managed and still manage to overcome many challenges. We can face this pandemic with awareness of all safety procedures, and our commitment to protect ourselves, our families, and our loved ones.“
In addition to his busy schedule, Dr Saifo also devotes time and energy in supervising graduate projects; guiding, inspiring, and empowering young medical students so as to establish a new generation of healthcare heroes who are driven with scientific aspirations and humane values.
