Ayman El-Sheikh, M.D., passed away from COVID-19 complications in February, 2021. El-Sheikh was a preceptor with the Boonshoft School of Medicine (BSOM). He was also the elective director and fourth-year sub-internship director for the hematology and oncology unit, teaching and working with BSOM students, residents and other learners. He was a mentor to BSOM medical students interested in pediatrics and hematology.
Along with his work for BSOM, El-Sheikh was chief of the hematology and oncology department at Dayton Children’s Hospital. He was also involved with medical research at the hospital. He was drawn to the field of hematology and oncology after losing a friend to cancer while in medical school.
El-Sheikh led a team at Dayton Children’s Hospital of pediatric specialists, nurses, social workers and other professionals, ensuring children with cancer or blood disorders received the appropriate clinical care to meet the needs of their unique medical conditions. Regarding his patients El-Sheikh stated, “When I see the smile on their face at the end of the treatment, that’s the whole reward for me.”
Along with his fight to provide the best instruction to future physicians, and help cancer patients, El-Sheikh used to fight in the ring. In his younger years he was a boxer, winning a heavyweight title three times.
—Lisa Coffey
