Since his childhood, he could not imagine himself in an office surrounded by papers and transactions. He only saw himself busy with laboratory work and analysis, or any job related to medicine! His early scientific curiosity reinforced his desire. He used to ask about things and their components, and why does heat come from one place and appear normal from another? Until he grew up.. and his dreams became a reality! He discovered four new genes that are only found in diabetics, and invented a new way to use the gene OXA-131 to detect diabetes, and obtained a patent from the United States of America known as USPTO, and he also received the gold medal at the Geneva Exhibition of Inventions, and the WIPO World Award for Best Inventor, and received the Grand Prize Cup from the Romanian Authority, and the Saudi Embassy in London honored him for his distinguished discovery.

and more;

He was successful enough to give more than fourteen lectures in Britain and Saudi Arabia, and to present about seven scientific papers at conferences in Britain, France, Spain, and finally Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. His invention was printed in French and English, he was hosted by the Swiss Channel in a TV interview, and he received offers from Swedish and Italian marketers!

He is the researcher and academic Dr. Abdul Rahman bin Abdul Hadi Al Sultan, born in Al-Ahsa Governorate, Assistant Professor of Immunology and Medical Microbiology at King Faisal University - College of Medicine, Vice Dean of the College of Medicine for Academic Affairs.

The environment made me an explorer!

“Luck happens when opportunity meets preparation.” Seneca

What the German philosopher Seneca said applies exactly to Dr. Abdulrahman, as his luck led him to be sent to study for a doctorate at the University of Edinburgh, one of the most prestigious universities in medicine, as its scientific level reached 23rd among the universities in the world. He was also lucky that the university hosted Susan Brown, who discovered the OXA-51 gene, which is one of the most important scientific achievements and is a reference for all researchers in the field of specialization. Susan Brown is a forty-year-old woman who holds a doctorate and is a first-class researcher. Dr. Abdulrahman had no choice but to take her as a guide and mentor during his studies, and to benefit scientifically from being with her at the same university.

Moreover, his supervisor for his master’s and doctoral thesis was the discoverer of the OXA-23 gene, and his colleague was an English doctoral student who had also discovered several genes. This aroused his curiosity and prompted him to ask him about the mechanism of discovery. He told him that he had brought samples from different parts of Europe. Dr. Abdulrahman was so enthusiastic that he suggested to his supervisor that he bring samples from different parts of the Kingdom!

His supervisor refused on the grounds that it was hard work, and suggested that he should only bring samples from the Eastern Province, and this was the beginning of the launch.

I loved my work so much that I was able to do the work of 10 people without anyone sharing it with me. Dr. Abdulrahman says: “I loved this work despite its difficulty. I loved it so much. The presence of Dr. Susan, my supervisor, and my colleague around me and seeing their accomplishments was the biggest motivator for me. It made me believe that it was possible, but it required determination and hard work, which made me do the work of 10 people without anyone sharing it with me. I collected nearly a thousand samples in two months and took them with me to Britain to discover the genes that hinder the effect of antibiotics.”

He added: “I was in Edinburgh working day and night, enjoying the facilities and services around me that helped with that. If I returned to the Kingdom on vacation, I would spend a long time at home or in internet cafes analysing the results.

With an opportunity like this that was given to Dr. Abdulrahman, and with the hard work he did, outstanding success was never impossible. He was able to discover four new genes that had no equivalent in the world after they were matched in the gene bank, and documented by George Jacoby at (Lahi Clinic) to be then officially registered in the central gene bank in America.

When you are in an ideal environment for achievement, and surrounded by creatives and inventors, nothing can stop you from being creative. You just have to believe in your abilities and work hard! Dr. Abdulrahman says: When you are in an ideal environment for achievement, and surrounded by creatives and inventors, nothing can stop you from being creative. You just have to believe in your abilities and work hard!

Ambition sometimes requires you to pay a price!

Every success has a price and a tax, and to succeed you must be bold enough! There is no doubt that the presence of Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Sultan in an environment like the University of Edinburgh, and next to great discoverers like his professors, was a motivator for his success, a factor that ignited ambition and challenge within him, but it did not make success easy! Every success has a price and a tax, and to succeed you must be bold enough!

Dr. Abdulrahman was spending his vacation in Saudi Arabia, working on the results of the tests, but in Edinburgh he was forced to sit in the labs alone sometimes for a very long time, to see a result, as the work had to be continuous, and this was not easy at all for him!

Dr. Abdulrahman narrates that there was a laboratory next to the one where he worked, a specialist in simulating human bodies and dolls sleeping on beds, and this was a source of fear and panic for him. When the place was empty of everyone and late at night, he would have fantasies and delusions that they might move or talk to him, and sometimes he had to hurry up in his work. It was very difficult for him to work in the shadow of such frightening thoughts, but he was patient and persistent, and always looked for flexible solutions to ease his mind. He would bring with him a CD of a recitation of the Holy Quran to calm him down!

Another day, in the middle of the night after he left a lab, his bike was stolen, forcing him to walk at night on deserted roads amidst barking dogs! So staying at night in the lab was a challenge that he encouraged himself to do every day, reminding himself that a great future awaited him, and that these simple problems would inevitably end!

Stolen Speaker!

One of the funny and difficult situations that Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Sultan experienced in his rich scientific career was when he went to Spain, specifically to the city of Barcelona in the summer of 2008, to present the genes he had discovered.

Dr. Abdulrahman attended the opening ceremony with great enthusiasm, and was fully prepared for the next day when the activities and workshops would begin. He boarded one of the high-speed underground trains known as the “Under Grand”, thinking about the day he would give his presentation at the conference. The train stopped, and he discovered that his wallet had been stolen from him in the crowd. His wallet contained all his money, his credit cards, and even the value of the ticket that would take him back to the hotel!

Dr. Abdulrahman says: I became very bankrupt. I did not even have enough money to buy food. I sat on the floor in shock and thanked God that I did not bring my family with me. I tried to calm myself down, asked where the police were and went to report it. I found that a number of conference participants had been robbed in various ways. I knew them from the conference card hanging around their necks, but the police did nothing for us except a report paper and a phone call to call the bank and stop my credit card. They asked me to leave, and here was the problem. Where should I leave?

One of the conference participants offered to accompany me or give me some money, but I refused. The embassy told me that all they could offer was a paper that would allow me to return home. Finally, I found a group of Arabs who offered me food and housing, and gave me money for a train ticket to go to the conference the next day. There, I found my supervisor, exhausted and worried. I no longer thought about my participation, but rather a solution to my problem. I told my supervisor what had happened, and a Kuwaiti student was with him, listening to me. He then offered me 200 euros and told me to return it to him whenever I could. I overcame the ordeal, praise be to God, and presented my participation in the way I had hoped for. I came out of this experience with a story that I will never forget, and with a deeper faith that God does not let His servants down, and that every problem will end and be solved!

Dr. Abdulrahman's achievements:

First: Discovery of four new genes that are only found in diabetic patients:

This discovery is a scientific addition to the knowledge of the mechanism of obstructing and neutralizing the effect of antibiotics, and it is added to the achievements of Susan Brown, a senior researcher at the University of Edinburgh, who was an example and role model for Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Sultan in creativity.

His idea: The presence of this gene in the pathogen that caused the patient to develop diabetes makes it produce an enzyme that breaks the beta-lactam ring, so the antibiotic becomes useless no matter how much the patient takes. Consequently, the patient does not recover, which confuses the treating physician, forcing him to change the medication several times to no avail, which leads to weakening his immune system, and the patient’s condition may lead to death from this cause.

Second: Inventing a new method to use the OXA-131 gene to detect diabetic patients who are at risk of developing multi-resistant infections:

This invention aims to detect diabetic patients at risk of multi-resistant infections. The idea is based on converting this gene into a two-way primer. If this gene appears adjacent to another mobile gene called ISaba1 in the patient, this is a sign that the patient is at risk. The treating physician must be careful and look for other treatment options before the condition becomes more complicated. This achievement has been patented by the United States of America, known as the USPTO.

Briefly:

Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Sultan.. His life began as a curious and ambitious child. What distinguished him was that he knew what he wanted, and he planned and was very patient to get it.. He was given golden opportunities. He studied at a distinguished university, and mingled with prominent scholars in their field.. He was not satisfied with anything less than becoming one of them..

His story is a story of luck, preceded by preparation, followed by hard work, and ending with a unique scientific discovery!  

Video: Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Sultan receiving the award: http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=lQM_NPMP8uU&feature=endscreen