Hajera Mahtab

Mahtab was born on 22 September 1941 in Calcutta, West Bengal, British India.^[1] Her father was Muhammad Ibrahim, founder of BIRDEM, and her mother was Nilima Ibrahim.^[9][10][11] She married Fasihuddin Mahtab, son of Pakistan National Assembly member Mahtabuddin Sarker.^[10] Her sister was actress Dolly Anwar who was married to Anwar Hossain, a photographer.^[12][11] Her other sister is Professor Kishwar Azad who is married to professor AK Azad Khan.^[13]

Mahtab finished her Senior Cambridge with first division.^[1] In 1964, she finished her Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery at the University of Liverpool.^[1] She then did a Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene at the University of Liverpool in 1965.^[1] She did her Fellowship of the College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1970 at the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan.^[1] She studied at King's College Hospital in 1972 as a Commonwealth Fellow.^[1]

From 1962 to 1972, Mahtab was a research assistant at the Bangladesh Medical University.^[1] She was an assistant professor of medicine at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University from 1973 to 1976.^[1] From October 1976, she was a Senior Consultant in Medicine at BIRDEM.^[1] In 1977, she was the Project Manager of the diabetic programme of the World Health Organization.^[1] From 1979 to 1980, she was the head of the Bangladesh Institute of Research and Training on Applied Nutrition.^[14] In 1982, she was appointed director of the Collaborating Centre for the Prevention and Control of Diabetes of the World Health Organization.^[1] From 1983 to 1986, she was member of World Health Organization's Advisory Council for Health and Medical Research of the South-East Region.^[1]

Mahtab was the associate professor of medicine at the National Institute of Diseases of the Chest and Hospital from 1980 to 1990.^[1] She was a consultant of the Ministry of Health Oman from 1989 to 1991.^[1] She was a professor of medicine at the Mymensingh Medical College when she retired on 21 September 1998.^[1] From November 2000 to August 2003, chairperson of the International Diabetes Federation's South-East Asia Regional Council.^[1] She served as the director of clinical services, research and academy at BIRDEM till September 2003.^[1] From September 2003 to December 2004, she was an advisor of the National Healthcare Network project of the Diabetic Association of Bangladesh.^[1]

In January 2005, Mahtab was elected member of the National Council of the Diabetic Association of Bangladesh.^[1] She was the chairperson of the National Healthcare Network.^[1] She was a management board member of BIRDEM.^[1] In January 2006, she was appointed a board member of Ibrahim Medical College.^[1] She founded the Under 30 Clinic of BIRDEM.^[1] She was editor of the Diabetes and Endocrine Journal which is published by the Endocrine Society of Bangladesh and Diabetic Association of Bangladesh.^[1] In 2018, she was awarded the Mohammad Ibrahim Memorial Gold Medal.^[15]