Political Leaders 2007 Profile: Imad Damaj

Name: M. Imad Damaj
Born: Beirut, Lebanon
Current Digs: Richmond, Virginia
Occupation: Associate Professor of Pharmacology at Virginia Commonwealth University
Favorite part about the job: Being a researcher and an educator. Finding new cures for neurological diseases is a very important and rewarding job.  Training future researchers for our nation is a tremendous fulfillment.  It is wonderful to be a part of such a great work.
Favorite book? The Children of Abraham by F.E. Peters. It is a historical survey of the formative development of the shared traditions of Jewish, Christians and Islamic thought and practice.  His premise: dialogue among them is imperative for peace in the world.
Favorite movie? Several: Forest Gump, Gettysburg, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, Cold Mountain, and many others.
Must-see TV?  PBS and History channel
What's in your car CD player right now? A CD with old French songs.
Favorite vacation spot?  Anywhere in the mountains.
Last gift you received? A book.
Best advice you ever got? We the People!
Whom do you admire and why? Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. A model of a positive faith-based moral leader to uplift the nation.
If you could have dinner with anyone currently living, whom would it be? Jimmy Carter and Bill Moyers.
Describe a perfect day. Vacationing in the mountains.
One thing most people might be surprised to learn about you?  I lived my teenage years through a civil war.
Ambition, political or otherwise?  To continue working on advocating a more fair, just and compassionate Commonwealth.  To continue working to affect change for others through the civic process.