By Lidia Qattan

Dr Nadia S. Al Ali is a pioneer in endocrinology in Kuwait, a field she is passionate about; for it concerns the working of the human body as a whole: physically and mentally.

The chemical secretions of the thyroid, pituitary, pancreas, adrenals, ovaries and testes directly into the blood stream profoundly influence people’s life. Though they cannot be controlled these hormones are absolutely necessary for the continuation of life. Anomalies of development, idiosyncrasies of the personality and certain psychological and physical disorders are closely related to the activities of these glands, consequently it is imperative for doctors to understand how they work, in order to deal effectively with the whole mental and physical condition of the patient, this helps in making a proper diagnosis of his or her condition and prescribe the right treatment.

Dr Nadia Al Ali was born in 1961, in a family deeply rooted in the Arabian subsoil. Her forefathers arrived to Kuwait shortly after the Anooz (the group of families from Nejd, Saudi Arabia) settled in this area around 1715 and made their new home “Kuwait” prosperous by engaging in commerce by land and sea; their growing prosperity attracted other settlers, among them were the forefathers of Al Ali family.

From the time Nadia could read and write books became her main attraction; indeed she loved reading whatever came under her hand: books of children stories, books of adventure, even newspapers; she was six years old when she started reading daily newspapers.