Scholarly & Research Technologies
Interview with Sami A. Hashim, MD, by Norma M.T. Braun, MD, June 27, 2017 (INT 0171)
Abstract of Video Recording
Dr. Sami Hashim discusses his education and career development, his research on lipid metabolism and its derivatives, the ketogenic diet, the development of MCT (Medium Chain Triglycerides) which today has in many nutritional and medicinal applications and his collaboration with Dr. Theodore VanItallie which produced cholestyramine, the first cholesterol lowering medication. Dr. Hashim remarks on his family life and children, his hobbies, and his acquaintances with the Royal family in Kuwait and meeting the former President of Algeria, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt, Nobel Laureate Linus Pawling, IRA member Bobby Sands, and Arctic Explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson.
Transcript of Sami Hashim, MD interview, INT 0171
Audio-Video recording of interview with Sami A. Hashim, MD INT 0171
Biographical Sketch
Born and raised just south of Beirut, Lebanon, Dr. Sami Hashim attended an American-based high school and completed his BA at the American University of Beirut. Originally working towards a PhD in biochemistry, a meeting with an American professor from the University of Buffalo (New York) redirected him to medical school there. Hashim completed his internship, residency, and research fellowship in nutrition at Harvard University while working at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, where he met Dr. Theodore VanItallie. A few years later Dr. VanItallie became Chief of Medicine at St. Luke’s Hospital in New York, and invited Dr. Hashim to join St. Luke’s staff where he rose to the position of Director of the Division of Metabolism and Nutrition in the Department of Medicine. Dr. Hashim’s research into lipid metabolism led to the development of MCT (Medium Chain Triglycerides) as a supplement to infant formula for premature babies and as the basis for a drug to treat Alzheimer’s disease, among other applications. Collaborating with Dr. VanItallie, they developed cholestyramine, the first cholesterol lowering medication. Both doctors, though retired from Hospital service, continue their research ventures and currently are collaborating on is a new treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.