Brigham Surgeon Discusses Health Diplomacy in Final Al Gosaibi Lecture

Dr. E. J. Caterson,  a surgeon and global health diplomacy advocate, gave the third and final talk in the 2016 Husam Al Gosaibi Political Communication and Public Diplomacy Lecture Series on “Bridging Cultures Through Health Diplomacy and Medicine” to a full house in the Beard Room on May 9.

Abdul Al Gosaibi, brother of Husam, for whom the lecture series is named, was in attendance, having made the trip from Saudi Arabia to Boston for the lecture.

Caterson, of the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, is a plastic surgeon who specializes in craniofacial trauma and reconstruction, and is internationally known for his humanitarian medical leadership. He was one of the first responders to the Boston Marathon bombing, and talked about how his work as a surgeon can help foster understanding, especially in post-crisis situations.

The first Al Gosaibi Lecture featured British Major Gen. Richard Cripwell, who spoke on “Diplomacy’s Vital Role in the Global Arena” on April 19. On April 20, Thomas Grace, who was shot by the National Guard at Kent State University in May 1970, spoke on his book, Kent State: Death and Dissent in the Long Sixties, at a special book signing.

The lecture series honors Husam Al Gosaibi MA ’98, an alumnus of the Political Communication program at Emerson College, who, along with Prince Faisal Al Saud founded the Saudi American Exchange in 2001, the first grassroots people-to-people public diplomacy project after 9/11, and a founding member of the Clinton Global Initiative.

After graduating from Emerson, Al Gosaibi returned to the Middle East, where he was a successful businessman and advocate for social justice. After his untimely death, his family established this lecture and public diplomacy award to continue his legacy of human rights and global civic engagement.