Staff Profile - Dr Bassel Hassan
You never know where life will lead you
On finishing school and gaining the marks for medicine, he figured he may as well do it: "I stumbled in rather naively". Yet it immediately clicked. "I’ve been pursuing a medical career for 14 years now, and every year I enjoy it more and more".
Along the way he developed a particular interest in neurology, the study of nerves and the nervous system. "Neurology is exploding at the moment. Even when I was a student there were far fewer treatment options. With more research there are new ideas coming up every day."
Before starting at The George in January this year, Bassel was working at Nepean and Westmead hospitals in Sydney as a Neurologist. Armed with this expertise, Bassel is now doing a fellowship in neurology with The George Institute, working on the SEISMIC epilepsy project (see opposite). It aims to give, for the first time, reliable data on the incidence of epilepsy in Australia.
"Currently I am involved in study design and implementation of SEISMIC. When the study is up and running, I will be a link between The George Institute researchers and the clinicians, getting them to sign on to the study and initially to ensure that potential patients are comprehensively screened. A major part of my role will also be to promote the study to the neurology and medical community as a whole to ensure maximal participation in this population based study."
And this is exactly where Bassel wants to be heading in his career. "I’m interested in the interface between clinical practice and research. I think the people at this interface have a unique opportunity to improve the quality of research. With their clinical insight, they tend to produce research that is relevant, practical and likely to be achieved."
Outside of work Bassel’s major interest is in international affairs and modern history. He is a keen chess and judo player, but says his main priority is his family.