Dr. Yacoub Yousef

Young Investigator Regional Track

Dr. Yacoub Yousef, who is a recognized Ocular Oncologist in the Middle East, is a full Member Consultant Ocular Oncologist at the King Hussein Cancer Center (KHCC) in Amman, Jordan. He currently heads the retinoblastoma service and the ocular oncology unit at KHCC, and he is a member of the International Ocular Oncology task group that works at global level for prevention, staging, and customized treatment for retinoblastoma.

Dr. Yousef completed his basic medical education and higher specialization in Ophthalmology from University of Jordan. He completed his fellowship in Ocular Tumors, Orbital Disease and Ophthalmic Radiation Therapy at the New York Eye Cancer Center (USA) and a Fellowship in Retinoblastoma and Ocular Oncology at University of Toronto (Canada) before joining the KHCC faculty.

Dr. Yousef has established and led a collaborative institutional research team for Retinoblastoma that focuses on understanding Retinoblastoma in Jordan (and the Arab region) in terms of genetics, clinical and pathological behavior, and tumor features that affect tumor response to different treatment modalities including chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery. He also initiated the Retinoblastoma screening program and awareness research to enhance early diagnosis for Retinoblastoma in Jordan. At the time of this writing, Dr. Yousef has to his credit 80 publications in peer-reviewed journals, has delivered more than 60 conference lectures, multiple educational courses, and is the author of several chapters in Eye Tumors.

In collaboration with the New York Eye Cancer Center, Dr. Yousef established the ocular oncology fellowship program at KHCC to train ophthalmologists interested in Retinoblastoma in the Middle East. He also directs a global initiative, the International Retinoblastoma Comprehensive Course (IRBCC) which teaches all aspects of retinoblastoma and serves as an open-access resource for eye doctors around the world that should help to save the lives of children with retinoblastoma worldwide (www.eyecancereducation.org).