“ My relationship with Dr. Ali Dastmalchian started back in 2015. I congratulated him in becoming the President of GLOBE and Chairman of the Board of GLOBE Foundation for Research and Education. And also, I informed him of successfully completing my research which was related to GLOBE studies.
In response to my note, Dr. Dastmalchian congratulated me and shared me of the plan of conducting Phase 4 of GLOBE research, which is underway in 165 countries! In his email, he wrote, “I am sure we will be contacting you for ideas and participation.” Though the Phase 4 of GLOVE research did not materialize as planned, we kept communicating.
True to his word, he broke the long-awaited news of starting GLOBE 2020 in an email sent in April 2019! In May 2019, I received a formal invitation letter to join the research team as Country Co-Investigator (CCI) in Ethiopia.
These and the ensuing steps until his passage showed me that Dr. Dastmalchian was humble, forthright, transparent, and responsible person!
My sincere condolences to the entire family of Ali! ”