Kurdish Doctor Roni Baha Mayi Wins Russia’s Highest Medical Award

ARK News.. Kurdish physician and pediatric neurosurgery specialist Dr. Roni Baha Mayi has been awarded the highest medical honor in the Russian Federation for 2026, in recognition of his groundbreaking scientific and medical innovation in the field of brain and neurosurgery, which offers new hope for treating severe hereditary diseases in children.
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During the annual “Prizvanie” (The Calling) Awards ceremony, held in Moscow and attended by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova and Health Minister Mikhail Murashko, Dr. Mayi was honored as the only Kurdish physician among this year’s distinguished medical laureates.

The award was granted following his success, together with his research team, in developing a pioneering treatment method regarded as the most advanced of its kind worldwide for children suffering from Aromatic L-Amino Acid Decarboxylase (AADC) Deficiency, a rare inherited genetic disorder.

The innovative technique relies on highly precise neurosurgical intervention to deliver healthy, genetically modified genes deep into the affected child’s brain, replacing defective genes and enabling normal growth and movement. Previously, the disease often caused complete paralysis and severe disability, leaving children unable to feed themselves except through feeding tubes.

According to the medical team, these complex procedures are performed using advanced intelligent imaging systems and sophisticated visual monitoring technologies, allowing microscopic doses of gene therapy to be injected with exceptional precision into targeted areas of the brain.

The breakthrough has made it possible to perform the surgery on infants under one year of age, a development that researchers say has saved the lives of children who otherwise faced a near-certain fatal outcome.

AADC Deficiency is considered one of the rarest genetic disorders affecting the central nervous system. It disrupts the brain’s ability to produce essential neurotransmitters and hormones, including dopamine and serotonin. The innovative gene-therapy approach is widely viewed as a major milestone in modern medicine and a significant step toward ending the suffering of hundreds of affected families worldwide.

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