Dr. Hamid Alhaj is an Associate Professor, Consultant Psychiatrist and Chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine and Behavioural Sciences at the University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. He is Director of Research for the National Association of Psychiatric Intensive Care in the UK. He has worked in the UK for over 20 years, both academically and clinically and his most recent roles included being Consultant Psychiatrist and Director of Medical Education at Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust, PLAB Examiner for the General Medical Council (UK) and Foundation Training Programme Director for Health Education England.

Dr Hamid obtained his MD from Aleppo University and PhD in psychiatry from Newcastle University. His clinical research interests are focussed on understanding common and severe mental health problems such as mood and psychotic disorders and developing innovative approaches to manage them. His academic distinction has been recognised by a number of awards, including the Erwin Stengel Memorial Prize for academic excellence in psychiatry and Royal College of Psychiatrists Margaret Slack Fellowship.