Prof. Mohammad Ali is the pioneer Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic surgeon of Bangladesh. He initiated the first ever successful Liver Transplant in Bangladesh. He is the founder of the National Liver Foundation of Bangladesh.
He was born in Sylhet. Studied at Jalalpur Primary School, Jalalpur, Dewan Abdur Rahim High School, Goherpur and Murari Chand College (MC Collage), Sylhet. Graduated from Sylhet M.A.G Osmani Medical College with distinction and honors from Dhaka University in 1973. Started his surgical career at Chittagong Medical College Hospital in 1977. Obtained Fellowship (FCPS), Surgery from Bangladesh College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1982. He furthermore received a fellowship in Surgery (FRCS Ed) from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, UK in 1994.
Received Fellowship in Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery and Liver Transplant from Queensland Liver Transplant Services, University of Queensland, Australia in 1997. Received further training on Liver Transplantation at the University of Tokyo and Dept. of Transplantation & Immunology, University of Kyoto, Japan.
Prof. Ali established the first department of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery of Bangladesh at BIRDEM General Hospital, Dhaka on July 26, 1999.
Prof. Ali organized a liver transplant team and performed the first successful Liver Transplant in Bangladesh at BIRDEM General Hospital on June 3, 2010, and the second Liver Transplant on August 6, 2011. Both the successful liver transplants are acting as a landmark medical history of Bangladesh. The report published as “Initiation of Liver Transplantation in Bangladesh: Report on the First Two Successful Cases”
Prof. Ali relentlessly worked & made a dedicated Liver transplant unit with equipped operation theatres & other supporting facilities as a joint project of the Government of Bangladesh & BADAS. The third successful liver transplant was done in the new liver transplant unit on February 13, 2020.
He is one of the authors of the Textbook “Chronic Allograft Failure” published by Mayo Clinic Transplant Centre, USA. He edited the chapter “Hepatic Allograft loss”.
As a Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic & Liver transplant Surgeon, he witnessed the pain & endless suffering of liver disease patients at their different stages of illness. Especially during the treatment of liver cirrhosis, liver cancer & end-stage liver disease needing a liver transplant. As most of the liver diseases are well preventable, he started to work for the prevention of liver diseases in an organized way in Bangladesh.
He founded the National Liver Foundation of Bangladesh (NLFB) on April 15, 1999, a philanthropic organization dedicated to Prevention, Treatment, Education, and Research on liver diseases.
Prof Ali and NLFB actively engaged with viral hepatitis control activities in Bangladesh. Prof. Ali represented Bangladesh in the policy-making on Regional Strategy for the prevention & control of viral hepatitis in the South East Asia Region of WHO-SEARO.
Prof. Ali and NLFB are actively engaged in the activities of the World Hepatitis Alliance (WHA) Geneva, since its inception in 2007. He is one of the signatories of the Resolution on viral hepatitis as a member of the Public Health Panel of WHA. This resolution was accepted by the 63rd World Health Assembly of WHO in May 2010, which offered official recognition of World Hepatitis Day on July 28 globally.
Prof. Mohammad Ali as NOhep pioneer presented “How to develop successful awareness campaigns” at the 2nd World Hepatitis Summit, November 2017 in Sao Paulo Brazil. The presentation is uploaded to the NOhep website.
Prof Ali engaged in the NOhep campaign & Find the Missing Million campaign in Bangladesh. He initiated the NO hep drive in 8 divisions of Bangladesh. He designed a nationwide awareness building drive as “Nohep network Bangladesh”. NOhep activities of Prof Ali has been highlighted in the NOhep supporter Spotlight.
He is co-author of the article “Redefining fatty liver disease: an international patient perspective”, published at the Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology.
Coalition for Global Hepatitis Elimination (CGHE) honored Prof Ali with the “Hepatitis Elimination Champion 2021 Award ''. The coalition distinguishes his founding of the National Liver Foundation of Bangladesh, initiation of Liver transplant in Bangladesh & creation of viral hepatitis awareness at the grass root level. His campaigns reached the unreachable & underserved communities valued by the coalition. The coalition further recognizes the remarkable contribution of Prof. Ali to policies and programs that have expanded access to hepatitis testing & treatment and accelerated progress towards hepatitis Elimination in Bangladesh.
Prof. Ali initiated the Prevention of Mother-to -Child Transmission (PMTCT) of Hepatitis B in Bangladesh in August 2021, with the participation of different philanthropic organizations dealing with women's health, having a nationwide network in Bangladesh.
Prof Ali and NLFB along with distinguished hepatologists & gastroenterologists of Bangladesh conducted a study on the prevalence of Hepatitis B and C among Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh. The study was published in the Clinical Liver Diseases (CLD), the journal of the American Association for the study of Liver Diseases in January 2022 as “High Prevalence of Hepatitis B and C Virus Infections among Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh: A Growing Concern for the Refugees and the Host Communities”. Prof Ali is continuously operational with the vision for the elimination of viral hepatitis & establishment of a center of excellence for liver diseases in Bangladesh.