A Lifetime Achievement Ceremony Held for Two Scientific-Cultural Figures: Dr. Abolghassem Soltani and the Late Dr. Ali Zargari

A lifetime achievement ceremony was held at the Elites Foundation of Tehran for two scientific-cultural figures, Dr. Abolghassem Soltani and the late Dr. Ali Zargar, with the collaboration of National Council for Science and Technology Development of Medicinal Plants and Traditional Medicine, Vice-presidency for Science and Technology.
At the beginning of the ceremony, after the Iranian national anthem and the recitation of some verses of the Quran, Yadollah Ordokhani, the head of Elites Foundation of Tehran province, pointed out the importance of honoring the notable scientific and cultural figures and that one of the essential deeds of the elites society is to consider those figures as their role models and mentors.
The head of Elites Foundation of Tehran province then proceeded to deliver a speech about Dr. Abolghassem Soltani and the late Dr. Ali Zargar’s live and their impact on the field of medicinal plants.
In this ceremony, Mohammad Hassan Assareh, the secretary for National Council for Science and Technology Development of Medicinal Plants and Traditional Medicine, Vice-presidency for Science and Technology, said, “Honoring the prominent figures in science, is considered a valuable and praiseworthy action. We, Iranians, must be more appreciative towards our country’s effective people.”
Referring to other countries’ more acknowledgment of Iranian thinkers, he added, “A large number of Iranian students and even physicians may not have even browsed through Avicenna’s The Canon of Medicine, however, this is a book that should be known as the history of medicine.”
Assareh went on to say, “The reason that today we have over several hundred knowledge-based companies, active in the field of natural and herbal based medicine and products in the country, is that we have universities on traditional medicine besides other universities, we have promotions of the revival of natural and herbal based medicine in the public, our researchers have expanded their research in laboratories in the field of natural compounds, in the pharmacies, natural-based medicine is formally being dispensed and finally, the different ministries such as the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, the Ministry of Industries and Business etc, are all working together in this respect, and we owe all these to the work and efforts of those who have tried to keep the light burning despite the hardships and deprivations.”
Pointing out the ancient history of traditional medicine in Iran and the Iranian scientists’ long experience in the field of medicinal plants he indicated, “From the period of after Islam to the contemporary era, Our scientists have kept the traditional medicine and medicinal plants alive and today it is in the hands of Dr. Abolghassem Soltani to help keep the light burning. Moreover, the late Ali Zargari has written the first valuable reference book of medicinal plants which is considered an outstanding resource.”
In this ceremony several notable figures such as Yadollah Ordokhani, the head of Elites Foundation of Tehran province, Gholamreza Amin, professor of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, School of Pharmacy and member of National Council for Science and Technology Development of Medicinal Plants and Traditional Medicine as well as Mohammad Hosein Salehi Sormaghi, faculty member of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, all delivered a speech in honor of these two great professors.
In another part of this ceremony, the scientific committee of the Lifetime Achievement Ceremony for Dr. Abolghassem Soltani and the late Dr. Ali Zargari, presented a statement in support of the field of medicinal plants and traditional medicine.
Efforts of Scientific Professors Leading to Sustenance of Medicinal Plants Science
According to this report, the late Dr. Ali Zargari was the professor of the plant biology doctorate degree of Tehran University and member of Medical Science Academy. The five volume book of “Medicinal Plants” was written by Dr. Ali Zargari as the first Iranian scientific and academic reference in the field of chemical compound identification and the pharmacognostic properties of medicinal plants.
Dr. Abolghassem Soltani is the professor and founder of Research Institute on Medicinal Plants in Tehran University of Medical Sciences, School of Pharmacy. Apart from implementing Iranian plants phytochemistry mosaic studies, he is the author of Iranian Traditional Medicine and Medicinal Plants Encyclopedia, devoting 60 of his fruitful years to study the various resources on Iranian traditional medicine and medicinal plants in different languages such as Farsi, Arabic, English, French, Russian, Chinese, Japanese and Indian, and having gathered 80,000 microfiches throughout these years, he has been able to publish 5 volumes of the 24 volumes of this encyclopedia.
At the end of this ceremony, Dr. Sorena Sattari, head of Iran’s National Elites Foundation and the vice-president for Science and Technology, presented each of the two families of the aforementioned figures with an award signed by himself and a prize by Elites Foundation of Tehran province (due to Dr. Abolghassem Soltani’s age and feebleness and Dr. Ali Zargari’s passing away, their families received the awards, on their behalf) and these two prominent scientific and cultural figures were honored for their outstanding work in the field of medicinal plants.
The Lifetime Achievement Ceremony in the field of medicinal plants for Dr. Abolghassem Soltani and the late Dr. Ali Zargari was held in Tehran’s Elites Foundation on November 2nd, 2016, with the collaboration of National Council for Science and Technology Development of Medicinal Plants and Traditional Medicine, Vice-presidency for Science and Technology, National Network of Research and Technology in Medicinal Plants and the related professors from Tehran University and Iran’s University of Medical Sciences.

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