12/09/2025
A Capstone Moment in Riyadh
Shared by Executive Director Dr. John Kirwan:
Our inaugural Pennington Obesity and Metabolic Disease Symposium exceeded expectations in every dimension. Attendance surpassed projections, bringing together senior consultants, department heads, and emerging physicians from leading institutions across Saudi Arabia and the Gulf—exactly the audience we aimed to engage.
Most gratifying was the response afterward: new institutional contacts, requests for follow-up meetings, genuine interest in research collaborations, and multiple calls to repeat this program.
This historic program concludes an extraordinary week of partnership-building across the Gulf region, with meetings at Hevolution Foundation, KFSHRC, LEAN, KACST, and Qatar Metabolic Institute establishing Pennington as the premier U.S. partner for the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 health transformation.
None of this happens without exceptional partners. Lilly’s support made this possible. SCOPE and the Saudi Society of Endocrinology & Metabolism (SSEM) lent credibility and reach. Co-Chair Dr. Nasreen Alfaris opened doors throughout the Kingdom that would otherwise remain closed to us.
Deep thanks also to Course Director Dr. Philip Schauer and Dr. Donna Ryan for delivering world-class content. This is just the beginning. From cells to society. From Louisiana to the world.
