Iqbal al-Asaad, 20, a Palestinian refugee from Lebanon has graduated from Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar as the youngest medical practitioner in the world.
Iqbal, who finished secondary school at the age of 12, won herself an academic scholarship from the Qatar Association for Education, Science and Social Development to study medicine at Weill College in Qatar, one of the top ten medical schools in the world.
She now has an offer of a colleagueship from Cleveland Clinic to specialise in children’s heart diseases.
Iqbal was summoned for a meeting with the Lebanese Education Minister, Khalid Qabani, when she was 12 and was honoured for her intelligence.
The father of the young doctor said that another one his children has shown the same intellectual prowess as Iqbal and is currently studying medicine at Lyon University in France.