Bio: Ten years ago, I joined the American University of Beirut as an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Medicine. I founded unprecedented and exciting research programs in Lebanon that focus on diabetes and diabetes-induced complications. Throughout my tenancy at AUB, I was able to attract more than 8 million US dollars in funding. Currently, my work is internationally considered as a catalyst for understanding and developing new treatments for diabetes-associated complications through multidisciplinary national and international collaborations.
My research activities are part of advancing efforts to find new treatments that will, hopefully, lead us closer to identifying a potential cure for the most disabling and debilitating complications of diabetes. These complications include nephropathy, neuropathy, cardiomyopathy, and the most recently annexed complication, diabetes-induced cancer. Our work investigates the complications from different standpoints including metabolic alterations, genetic predisposition, and epigenetic influence.
In addition to running an active research laboratory, I co-founded the “American University of Beirut Diabetes Program” (AUB Diabetes) in 2017 where research and practice are integrated to create a state-of-the-art program largely driven by robust innovation in treatments and interventions. Furthermore, I was appointed as the Faculty of Medicine Masters’ Programs Director in 2015. In this capacity, and with an insurmountable commitment to graduate education, I implement the smooth, day-to-day functioning of the program. I also ensure the overall academic excellence and quality of the MSc graduate programs, that is roughly comprised of more than a hundred students currently enrolled. Further to that, I also hold the responsibility of coordinating and teaching several medical modules.
In recognition of my contribution to research, teaching, and training, I was appointed as a Visiting Professor at Paris Descartes University, Paris, France in 2016. In 2017, I joined the International Diabetic Neuropathy Consortium as an international collaborator. Two years later, I became an international associate of the Neuronetwork For Emerging Therapies in 2019. Together, with more than 70 publications and book chapters, 3 patents, and more than 20 national and international extramural research grants, my academic and research achievements were recognized with several honors and scientific awards. I was elected as a member of the Inter-academy Medical Panel - Young Physician Leaders and a Young Affiliate member of The World Academy of Sciences for the developing world. I also won the first prize at the startup competitions held by the Beirut International Healthcare Industry Forum.
As an academic entrepreneur, one of the key missions I whole-heartedly adhere to through my research is to accelerate the development of new treatments. Therefore, in collaboration with multidisciplinary colleagues, we founded 2 startups. Based in the United States of America, the first startup launched is Teucer Biotech, and it is centered for the innovation of medical diagnostic tools for kidney diseases. The second startup is eDiamond, and it is dedicated for the production of biomedical devices such as glucose monitoring devices, catering to the painless needs of diabetic patients worldwide. Finally, all this cannot have been done without the great team working hand-in-hand alongside this mission. My greatest accomplishments, by far, is the training of students and scientists to achieve their brightest potential and career aspirations. I am proud to have set foot in the journey of more than 60 masters and medical students, more than 15 PhD students and 9 postdocs.