Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre Appoints Majid Jafar to its Advisory Council
Mr. Jafar is a distinguished international business leader and co-founder of the Loulou Foundation
OXFORD, UK and CLEVELAND, Ohio, US, 29 April 2025 – The Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre (‘OHC’), a partnership between the University of Oxford, UK and Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals, Cleveland, Ohio, aimed at driving cutting-edge rare disease breakthroughs, announces the appointment of Mr. Majid Jafar to its Advisory Council.
The Advisory Council, led by former UK Prime Minister David Cameron, supports the OHC’s mission to deliver new treatments for the nearly half a billion people affected by rare diseases worldwide. Council members are leaders of relevant industries and sectors, from different regions of the world who bring expertise, resources and networks towards the initial goal of developing 40 new drugs for rare diseases in the next 10 years.
Mr. Jafar is a distinguished business leader serving as Vice-Chairman of the Crescent Group and CEO of Crescent Petroleum, based in the United Arab Emirates.
He is a prominent, global rare disease advocate and philanthropist with a strong commitment to driving positive social change in healthcare and education, with extensive networks and interests in business, investment and philanthropy in the US, Europe and the Middle East. Among his roles, Mr. Jafar is the co-founder, with his wife Lynn, of the Loulou Foundation, a private non-profit foundation dedicated to advancing science and treatments for CDKL5 Deficiency Disorder (CDD), a rare neurogenetic disorder that affects their eldest daughter, Alia. The Loulou Foundation has funded important research projects at leading universities and institutions in the US, Europe and Asia, with a total of over 60 projects at 45 different institutions.
Mr. Jafar also sits on various non-profit boards including the Board of Fellows of Harvard Medical School, where he co-chairs the Discovery Council, and is a member of the Academy of the University of Pennsylvania and the Global Precision Medicine Council of the World Economic Forum, as well as co-chairing the campaign for Cambridge Children’s Hospital in the UK.
David Cameron, Chair of the OHC’s Advisory Council, said: “We are delighted to welcome Majid to the OHC Advisory Council. His extensive experience within the business and investment communities and in policy engagement - alongside his philanthropic efforts in education and healthcare - make him an invaluable addition to our team. Furthermore, as a parent of a child with a rare disease, Majid has a deep empathy with families in similar situations as they seek a diagnosis and treatment. We look forward to his contribution to the Council and to his support of the OHC as it continues its groundbreaking work in rare disease research and development of new treatments for patients worldwide.”
Majid Jafar commented: “I am honoured to join the Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre Advisory Council. Supporting the development of innovative treatments for rare diseases is a cause close to my heart with my family’s own experience deeply shaping my commitment to delivering urgently needed treatments to rare disease patients. I look forward to helping advance the OHC’s mission by fostering key partnerships in new regions and sourcing philanthropic investment that can accelerate progress for the many patients in need.”
Matthew Wood, Director and Chief Scientific Officer of the OHC, added: “Majid brings a unique perspective to our Advisory Council, with his strong leadership background and dedication to advancing healthcare. His commitment to social impact, coupled with his ability to expand the OHC’s reach into new regions, will be instrumental as we work towards delivering rare disease drugs in the coming years. We are thrilled to have him on board and look forward to his contributions to our mission.”
Majid Jafar joins Lord Cameron (Chair of the OHC’s Advisory Council and Former UK Prime Minister), Professor Sir John Bell (President, Ellison Institute of Technology Oxford, and former Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford University), Baroness Nicola Blackwood (Chair of Genomics England and of Oxford University Innovation), John F. Crowley (President and CEO of the Biotechnology Innovation Association (BIO)), Ronald G. Harrington (a renowned entrepreneur and philanthropist, and co-founder of Harrington Discovery Institute), and Jonathan S. Stamler, MD (President and co-founder of Harrington Discovery Institute and Distinguished University Professor of Medicine), on the OHC Advisory Council.
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Notes to Editors
About Majid Jafar
Majid Jafar serves as the Vice-Chairman of the Crescent Group and CEO of Crescent Petroleum, the core oil & gas company that founded the group. He is also the Board Managing Director of Dana Gas (PJSC), a leading publicly listed natural gas company in the Middle East. Prior to this, he gained international oil & gas experience at Shell Exploration & Production and Shell Gas & Power. Beyond his professional roles, Mr. Jafar serves on several influential non-profit boards, including the Queen Rania Foundation, Kalimat Foundation, the Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED), and the Iraq Energy Institute. He is also a member of the Board of Fellows at Harvard Medical School, the Panel of Senior Advisers at Chatham House, and the International Advisory Boards of The Prince's Trust International and The Atlantic Council. He was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.
Mr. Jafar holds a degree in Engineering (Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics) from Cambridge University, an MA in International Studies and Diplomacy from SOAS, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
About Rare Diseases
More than 400 million people worldwide are living with a rare disease, and approximately 50 percent are children. There are about 7,000 known rare diseases, with new diseases being discovered every day. A rare disease affects one in 10 Americans, or 10 percent of the US population. In the Middle East, the prevalence of rare diseases is rising, and many countries in the region are now prioritising research and treatment options. The majority of all rare diseases are genetic in origin, which means they are present throughout a person’s life. Only five percent of rare diseases have a treatment approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and similar estimates have been made for treatments approved by the European Medicine Agency (EMA). Therefore, someone with a rare disease today faces a lifelong, often life-threatening, condition with little hope for a cure, or even an effective treatment option.
About Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre
The Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre (OHC) is a partnership between the University of Oxford, UK and Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals, in Cleveland, Ohio, US. The OHC combines world-leading strengths in research and therapeutics development from across these organizations to set the science and innovation agenda and drive cutting-edge rare disease breakthroughs to address the unmet need in rare diseases across the globe to deliver major clinical impact for patients. For more information, visit: OxfordHarrington.org | LinkedIn | X
About the University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is rated the best in the world for medicine and life sciences, and it is home to the UK’s top-ranked medical school. It has one of the largest clinical trial portfolios in the UK and great expertise in taking discoveries from the lab into the clinic. Partnerships with the local NHS Trusts enable patients to benefit from close links between medical research and healthcare delivery. For more information, visit: www.ox.ac.uk
About Harrington Discovery Institute
Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio aims to advance academic discoveries into medicines to address unmet need. It was created in 2012 with a $50 million founding gift from the Harrington family and has supported more than 200 scientists throughout the US, UK. and Canada. Harrington Discovery Institute uses an innovation model that surrounds scientists with drug development and business expertise and employs both philanthropic funding and catalytic investment capital to advance projects into the clinic and through commercialization. For more information, visit: HarringtonDiscovery.org| LinkedIn | X
Media contacts:
UK/ EU – MEDiSTRAVA
Sylvie Berrebi / Mark Swallow
OHC@medistrava.com
US – For University Hospitals
Ansley Kelm
ansley.kelm@UHhospitals.org
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