Dr. Ammar Albanna is a Canadian trained Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and the Director of Al Amal Psychiatric Hospital. He was the founding Head of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Center of Excellence at Al Jalila Children’s Specialty Hospital in Dubai and the founding president of the Emirates Society for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, the national representative society for this field in United Arab Emirates, under the Emirates Medical Association. He is an Adjunct Associate Professor at Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU) and at the University of Sharjah. Dr. Albanna is the Vice President of the International Associational of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists and Allied Professionals (IACAPAP). Dr. Albanna completed his psychiatry residency and child and adolescent psychiatry training at McGill University, Canada. He then joined the Toronto Hospital for Sick Children as a fellow in Pediatric Neuropsychiatry. Dr. Albanna is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and an international fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. He also holds a Master’s degree in Healthcare Leadership from McGill University. Dr. Albanna has peer-reviewed research publications and is a recipient of Research Grant Awards as the Principal Investigator, including the Dubai Harvard Center for Global Healthcare Delivery Research Award and from Al Jalila Foundation. His current research focus is on neuropsychiatric disorders in the UAE including Autism Spectrum Disorder and innovative models for healthcare delivery. He is the Co-Principle Investigator for the research project that received the first cycle funding from SWARD (Sandooq Al Watan Research Award). Dr. Albanna has received awards for recognition of his clinical, research and educational work. He is regularly invited to present at local and international scientific meetings. Dr. Albanna is a peer reviewer for scientific medical journals and served on and chaired the scientific committee of several conferences. Dr. Albanna has chaired a global mental health conference on Autism Spectrum Disorder, and chaired the global congress of the International Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists and Allied Professionals (IACAPAP) in 2022 in Dubai, following a winning bid for Dubai to host this prestigious congress. He is a member of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at Mohamed Bin Rashid University. Further, he served on the Jury committee of prestigious awards including the Fatima Bint Mubarak Award.