The first pediatric palliative care clinical dietitian in the world, Tala Jamal Naif Al-Dabbous, has achieved numerous academic degrees from prestigious universities worldwide. She obtained her Bachelor's degree in Nutrition and Biochemistry from Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, USA in 2011.
Following her studies, she specialized in tube feeding for pediatric oncology patients leading her to specialize in palliative care. Afterward, she began working at Bat Abdullah Children's Hospice and the National Bank Cancer Hospital for Children in 2012. She has been the Head of the Nutrition Department in the Intensive Care Unit at Al-Adan Government Hospital since 2015 while pursuing her Master's and Ph.D. in Clinical Research for a period of five years
(2014-2019) from the University of Liverpool. Tala is currently in her third year in her palliative care research program at Lancaster University linked with The International Observatory on End of Life Care. After completing this program she will be the first person in the GCC to receive a PhD in Palliative Care making it her second doctorate.
Dr. Tala has received several certificates, accolades, and training courses, including the EPEC train the trainers certification in Palliative Care from Combatore, India. She has also participated in programs and training courses at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, the Medical Center of the University of California, Los Angeles, the Cancer Center in Beverly Hills, and the Paray House School in London. She is a faculty member at Two Worlds Cancer Collaboration training doctors during their fellowship program in Clinical Dietetics in Pediatric Palliative care.
She has presented her research at numerous international conferences, including the annual conference of the Extracorporeal Life Support Organisation, in 2019 she was selected to develop the global protocol for parenteral and enteral nutrition for ICU patients. Dr. Tala has many publications in her respected field.
Most recently she co-wrote the pediatric clinical dietetic guidelines with five health care professionals from around the world from different backgrounds for the extracorporeal life support organization. Dr. Tala trains Clinical Dietitian's in Kuwait as a part of the training program at the Ministry of Health of Health in Kuwait. She has cultivated a young generation of Clinical Dietitian's by expanding their knowledge and teaching them basic and advanced tube feeding (Enteral Nutrition) and IV feeding (Parenteral Nutrition).
Dr. Tala's aim is to advocate for palliative care and raise awareness for pediatric palliative care in the gulf while maintaining a clinical practice.