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PRIM&R Service Award

The PRIM&R Service Award was created by the PRIM&R Board of Directors in 2021 to recognize individuals who have provided significant timely or timeless service to the human subjects protections or animal care and use communities that are at the core of PRIM&R. That service could be in teaching, mentorship, innovation, leadership, engagement, program improvement, or research. The intention of the award is to recognize the many and varied ways that people can have a significant impact on the field—awardees may be recognized for their long-time commitment or for one-time innovations and projects, whether early in their careers or after a lifetime of service.
Wael Al-Delaimy, MD, PhD 2025 PRIM&R Service Award Winner

2025 Service Award Winner

Wael Al-Delaimy, MD, PhD

Professor, Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science School of Public Health and School of Medicine, University of California San Diego PRIM&R is pleased to present the 2025 Service Award to Wael Al-Delaimy, MD, PhD, in recognition of his leadership, mentorship, and pioneering contributions to bioethics, research integrity, and public health. Dr. Al-Delaimy is a professor of epidemiology at the School of Public Health and School of Medicine, University of California San Diego. He completed his medical degree and postgraduate diploma in Iraq before earning a PhD in epidemiology in New Zealand. He was a research fellow and research associate at Harvard School of Public Health between 2000 and 2004, a scientist with the International Agency for Research on Cancer in 2003, and a faculty member at UC San Diego since 2004, serving as an assistant, associate, and full professor. Dr. Al-Delaimy also leads the concentration on public mental health within the masters of public health program at UC San Diego. At the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health & Human Longevity Science, Dr. Al-Delaimy has led a series of research groups as part of the university’s faculty research labs. In this capacity, he led the California American Indian Tobacco Initiative Evaluation (CAITIE); the Community Health Workers for Advancing Public Health within Immigrant, Refugee and Native American Communities programs; the GeoHealth Hub; the Global Mental Health Initiative; and the Global Center on Climate Change and Water, Energy, Food, and Health Systems. 
Dr. Al-Delaimy has also been involved in academic and research development in the Middle East, North and sub-Saharan Africa. His work emphasizes the engagement of Indigenous populations, refugees and immigrants, minorities, and populations in low -and middle-income countries. According to his biography at UC San Diego, “Global environmental health, and especially climate change, is a focus of Dr. Al-Delaimy where he leads two large NIH Fogarty International Center Programs. These programs, funded by NIH, makes Al-Delaimy a global leader in this area of work.” Dr. Al-Delaimy has led research on chronic diseases and health of refugees in San Diego and Jordan. He has developed local and international collaborations with a focus on mental health, resiliency, and coping mechanisms, as well as capacity building and training among health care providers through the Global Mental Health Initiative. UC San Diego credits his work with proving new insight into cultural aspects of resilience and how mental illnesses can be prevented among high-risk and vulnerable populations impacted by trauma, war, and climate change. It is with great pleasure and immense gratitude for his devoted service to the research ethics and oversight community that PRIM&R presents Dr. Al-Delaimy with the PRIM&R Service Award for 2025. The PRIM&R Service Award will be presented to Dr. Al-Delaimy in person on Saturday, November 8, 2025 at PRIMR25/SBER25 in Baltimore.