A team of specialists,
built over two decades.

H.E. Dr. Hamad Al Ghafri

President, ISAM · Founder & CEO

Public health physician with over twenty-five years of experience in public health and addiction medicine. Dr. Al Ghafri served as Director General of the United Arab Emirates' National Rehabilitation Centre — a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre in the treatment, prevention, and rehabilitation of substance use disorders — from September 2008 to May 2022.

He holds an MBBS from the Faculty of Medicine at Jordan University of Science and Technology (1999), an MPH in Occupational and Environmental Health from Tulane University (2002), and a PhD in Primary Healthcare and Addiction from the University of Aberdeen Medical School (2013).

Dr. Al Ghafri currently serves as President of the International Society of Addiction Medicine (ISAM) and is a Board Member of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM). He has been an Advisor on Psychiatry to the World Health Organization's Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean since 2017, and is a Board Member of the International Consortium of Universities for Drug Demand Reduction. Within the United Arab Emirates, he is a member of the Anti-Narcotics Council and sits on the Advisory Board of the College of Medicine and Health Sciences at UAE University.

He is currently serving on the editorial group for the next edition of the WHO Global Status Report on Alcohol, Health, Treatment of Substance Use Disorders, and Addictive Behaviors. His academic appointments include Professor at the Faculty of Medicine at Jordan University of Science and Technology, and Chair of the Advisory Board of the College of Public Health at Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University.

Dr. Al Ghafri founded Delmon Consultancy and Health Planning in 2023. Current DCHP engagements include consultancy work with the Sharjah Rehabilitation Centre, consultancy and planning support for the Al Ain Halfway House, and a range of additional projects in addiction medicine, mental health, healthcare planning, and service development.

He was awarded the Sheikh Rashid Award for Science and Culture in 2003 and 2014, and was named a Life Member of the American Society of Addiction Medicine in 2017.

Dr. Shamil Wanigaratne

Consultant Clinical Psychologist · D.Clin.Psych., FBPsS, FBABCP

Dr. Shamil Wanigaratne is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist with over twenty years of experience in workforce development across mental health and addiction. He brings thirty years of clinical practice spanning the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, and Sri Lanka — combining frontline clinical work, academic leadership, and international policy consultancy.

Until 2022, Dr. Wanigaratne served as Head of the UAE National Rehabilitation Centre Abu Dhabi Training Institute, Adjunct Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Arab Emirates, and Acting Head of Research at the NRC. Earlier in his career, he was Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Head of Clinical Psychology for Addictions at the Maudsley Hospital London, and Honorary Senior Lecturer at King's College London — one of the world's leading academic centres for addiction studies.

His curriculum development work spans both King's College London and the University of Arab Emirates, where he has contributed to teaching programs, course design, and professional training architecture. He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society (elected 2011) and a Fellow of the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapists.

Dr. Wanigaratne is a World Health Organization registered expert and has served as a United Nations consultant. He has advised on substance misuse policy in the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Sri Lanka, Palestine, and Sudan. He was a member of the Expert Dialogue and Global Think Tank on Drug Demand Reduction convened by the United States State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.

He sits on the board of Phoenix Futures, one of the United Kingdom's largest addiction treatment organizations, and is the Director of Samutthana, the King's College London Centre for Trauma, Displacement and Mental Health in Colombo. He has authored more than 50 peer-reviewed publications, books, and chapters across his clinical, research, and policy work.

Dr. Hesham Elarabi

Addictionologist · PhD · BCPP

Dr. Hesham Elarabi is an addictionologist with 24 years of experience across the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States.

Dr. Elarabi was instrumental in building the UAE's National Rehabilitation Centre's addiction response ecosystem. He spearheaded the legislative framework, helped transform residential care models, and contributed to the architectural and operational design of a 170-bed full continuum of care facility.

His clinical and research expertise focuses on the pharmacological treatment of addiction — particularly precision and genomic medicine, novel pharmacotherapy including emerging psychedelic interventions, medication-assisted treatment, and the integration of behavioural and pharmacological approaches.

His research and development work has been directed at optimizing clinical outcomes and addressing core challenges including treatment retention and substance use. A number of the clinical interventions he has developed are now integrated into mainstream treatment programming.

Dr. Elarabi holds a PhD from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neurosciences at King's College London. He is American Board certified in Psychiatric Pharmacotherapy and holds clinical qualifications across multiple countries. He has been trained by both the World Health Organization and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and was ranked at McLean Hospital, a Harvard Medical School affiliate.

Dr. Francis Keaney

Addictions Psychiatrist · MB, BCh, BAO, MSc, MICGP, FRCPsych, MBA

Dr. Francis Keaney is dually qualified in General Practice and Psychiatry, with international clinical experience spanning Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Australia. For seventeen years he provided Consultant Leadership at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, including as Deputy Clinical Director of Addictions.

He continues to serve as Honorary Consultant Addictions Psychiatrist at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and as Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer in the School of Medicine at King's College London — institutions widely regarded as among the most significant addiction research and treatment centres in the world.

Dr. Keaney is a Trustee and Chair of Clinical Governance at Phoenix Futures, one of the UK's largest providers of therapeutic residential addiction treatment. He serves as a Care Quality Commission Special Advisor in Addictions, is a trained Serious Incident Investigator, and holds an MBA in Health Service Management from the University of Westminster.

He is actively involved in teaching and research at the National Addiction Centre at King's College London, and has authored more than 70 peer-reviewed publications across addiction psychiatry, clinical governance, and service development. He is a certified Trainer in Neuro-Linguistic Programming from the University of California, Santa Cruz.