To recognize individuals whose scientific research has made or has the potential to make significant contributions towards the improvement of human health, distinguished researchers, students, faculty and notables from various scientific disciplines gathered at the Halim and Aida Daniel ACC Building for the 9th Annual AUB Biomedical Research Day on Saturday, March 9, 2019.
In attendance were Executive Vice President for Medicine and Global Strategy and Raja N. Khuri Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Dr. Mohamed H. Sayegh, Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Research, Dr. Samia Khoury, Assistant Dean for Graduate Studies and Interdisciplinary Programs and Chairperson of the organizing committee, Dr. Ayad Jaffa and Mr. Wissam Jabre, on behalf of Trustee Farouk Jabre, donor of the Farouk Jabre (FJ) awards.
The awardees of the 2019 Farouk Jabre awards were announced. The prestigious Farouk Jabre Award is a one-year grant that brings together faculty members from different backgrounds that identify a common area of interest and, using their different fields of knowledge, collaborate on a research topic. The awardees were:
Dr. Rihab Nasr, FM, Dr. Sally Temraz, FAS, and Dr. Rabih Talhouk, FAS for “Microfluidic Herringbone Chip for the Isolation of Tumor-derived Extracellular Vesicles: A New Liquid Biopsy Platform in Colorectal Cancer”.
Dr. Ali Eid FM, and Dr. Tarek Ghaddar FAS for “7-O-methylpunctatin
: a novel homoisoflavonoid
with antihypertensive potential”.
Dr. Marlene Chakhtoura, FM and Dr. Lara Nasreddine, FAFS for “Liraglutide and Mediterranean diet: a Randomized Controlled Trial in Patients with Obesity”.
After the FJ award distribution, Dr. Samia Khoury introduced the keynote speaker, Dean of the College of Medicine and Health Sciences at the United Arab Emirates University, Dr. Charles B. Cairns, who gave a presentation on “Recent Scientific Advancements in Precision Medicine”.
Following the presentations, poster sessions were held throughout the day. The day ended with a lunch where awards were granted to outstanding posters. A group of 26 jury members of faculty members across campus judged the posters based on their scientific content, delivery, and the presenter’s handling of questions. This year's Biomedical Research Day included 168 inspiring abstracts covering various topics ranging from cancer, biomedical engineering, neurology, and epidemiology, to name a few. The competition was held for students, post graduates, fellows, trainees and residents. Winners of the top 13 posters were:
- Basic I: Cynthia Tannous, FM: Vitamin B3: The New Promising Drug of Myocardial Infarction Management
- Basic II: Layane Nakib, FM: Serum Exosomes from Multiple Sclerosis subjects express EBV-derived proteins and activate Monocyte-Derived Macrophages
- Basic III: Mona Karout, FM: Microglia Activation in the Hippocampus After Traumatic Brain Injury
- Biomedical Engineering: Zeina Habli, MSFEA, Biomimetic Sulfated GAGs maintain differentiation markers of breast cells and preferentially inhibit proliferation of cancer cells
- Clinical I: Lina El-Taha, FM: Efficacy of Dienogest versus Oral Contraceptive Pills (OCPs) on pain associated with Endometriosis: Randomized Controlled Trial
- Clinical II: Zeinab El Moussawi, FM: Prevalence of Refractive Errors among Pediatric Patients in a Hospital-Based Setting
- Clinical III: Nasrine Anais El Salloukh, FM: Efficacy of Intravitreal Adalimumab compared to Subcutaneous Adalimumab for the treatment of non-infectious uveitis
- Clinical IV: Nancy Abdo, FM: Association between Orthodontic Treatment and Dietary Intake in Adolescent Patients
- Clinical V: Madeleine Yehia, FM: Corneal Topography Changes Using a Dual Scheimpflug-Placido System: Visual Axis versus Geometric Center of the Cornea
- Epidemiology: Evelyne Baroud, FM: Suicidality among Lebanese Adolescents: Prevalence, Predictors and Service Utilization
- Cancer [award offered by Amalouna]: Amani Al Outa, FM: Modeling Chronic Myeloid Leukemia in Drosophila melanogaster
- Diana Tamari Sabbagh Scholars Program (DTSSP) – Basic: John Saliba, MSFEA: Novel 3D In Vitro Blood-Brain Barrier Model
- DTSSP – Clinical: Samer Hamamji, FAFS: Intake of fat and free sugars among Lebanese children and adolescents: Evidence from national surveys in Lebanon
This annual event, which first started in 2011, continues to grow and serve as a platform to bring together the research community of different AUB faculties, showcase the biomedical research performed at AUB, and provide an intellectual environment and platform for scientific exchange among various AUB researchers; it also fosters collaboration within AUB.