Bio: Dr. Nasr is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anatomy, Cell Biology and Physiological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, at the American University of Beirut (AUB). Dr. Nasr is the Director of Basic Research Core Facilities. She is also leading the Cancer Prevention and Control Program at Naef K. Basile Cancer Institute at AUB-Medical Center (AUBMC). Dr. Nasr’s main research interest focuses on the role of microRNA in cancer pathogenesis and as potential diagnostic and prognostic minimally invasive biomarkers. She has published the first study of microRNA expression in Breast cancer tissues in the Lebanese population. Currently, she is investigating the role of circulating microRNA as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in solid cancers. Cancer Biology and therapeutics is the second axis of research in her lab. She specifically works on the development of targeted therapies for human leukemias and on the potential modeling of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) in the Drosophila melanogaster as an in vivo model for studying CML pathogenesis and drug screening.
At AUB, Dr. Nasr is heavily involved in course coordination and teaching students with diverse educational backgrounds (Undergraduate, Graduate-MSc and PhD, and Med I). She has trained, mentored and advised more than 100 students. Dr. Nasr is an active member of many international scientific societies and serves on many different committees and taskforces at AUB, nationally, regionally and internationally. Dr. Nasr is actively engaged in raising awareness of the public and the young generation about cancer, cancer prevention, and cancer research. In March 2014, she founded “AMALOUNA” a non-profit AUB-affiliated educational organization whose aim is to fight cancer by focusing on education, prevention, and research. Dr. Nasr established through AMALOUNA, the “Students as Researchers Initiative” and the "STREAM into College" programs that aim to engage secondary school students in small research projects to give them insights into what scientists do in the real world and the possibility to consider a career in science.