Women In Science
Hall of Fame - 2012
Dr.
Wejdan Abu-Elhaija
Dean of the King Abdullah II School, Princess Sumaya University for Science and Technolog.
Dr. Wejdan was the valedictorian of her electrical engineering class at the Jordan University of Science and Technology. She earned her PhD in Electrical Machines from Queen’s University of Belfast. Dr. Wejdan won several awards for her research, including the Hisham Adeeb Hijjawi Applied Science Award in 2004 and the King Abdullah II Design and Development Bureau Award for the Best Design Model in 2008. The University of Jordan Center for Women's Studies gave her the Award for Academic Women Leaders in 2007. Dr. Wejdan is the first female Dean of Engineering in any university in Jordan.
Dr.
Nadia Al-Mudaffar Fawzi
Head of Research and Development , Marine Science Centre, University of Basrah.
Dr. Nadia obtained her BSc at the Marine Science Center in Iraq and her PhD in Marine and Environmental Pollution from the University College of Wales (UK). Over the last twenty years, she has researched and lectured at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand; Sana’a University, Yemen; and Basrah University, Iraq. She has worked on projects with international organizations including UNESCO, UNICEF, and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission. Dr. Nadia is co-drafting Iraq’s biodiversity strategy, and is versed in environmental restoration, management, and community awareness, with a focus on the Iraqi marshlands.
Dr.
Meshgan Mohammed Al Awar
Director, Research and Studies Centre, Dubai Police Academy.
Dr. Meshgan received her BSc with Distinction in Chemistry and Geology from UAE University and her PhD in Physical Chemistry from the University of Wales College of Cardiff. She has been a visiting professor at Boston University’s Remote Sensing Center since 2006. She is the Secretary General of the Zayed International Prize for the Environment and the Managing Editor of Zayed’s Society & Environment Magazine. Dr. Meshgan is on UAE’s national steering committee to measure and understand the country’s ecological footprint. She also serves as the President of Dubai’s Women’s Police Council for Community Services.
Ms.
Manar Al-Hashash
Entrepreneur and Secretary General, e-award contest at the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences.
Engineer Manar has been promoting information and communications technology (ICT) in Kuwait in the media since 1999, and hosts weekly television shows in both Arabic and English. She also co-founded a software development company, and launched an IT magazine. She is an advisor to the Global Alliance for ICT and Development at the United Nations. In 2010, she was one of three Kuwaitis chosen to join President Barack Obama for the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship. Her passion lies in bridging the technical and social arenas, enabling Kuwaitis to share their ideas around the world.
Dr.
Abeer Ali Alharbi
Nuclear Physics Assistant Professor, Physics Department at Princess Nora University (PNU) and Chairwoman, Committee on Radiological Protection.
Dr. Abeer studied Nuclear Physics and Nuclear Reactor Physics at Riyadh University and earned her PhD in 2007. She received a Fulbright scholarship to lecture and conduct research at Texas A&M University. She has published numerous articles in international scientific journals on the production and use of medical radioisotopes for diagnosis and therapy for tumors and cancers. She also has co-authored a book titled “Radioisotopes - Applications in Bio-Medical Science.” She received the Prince Khalid Al-Faisal Prize for Distinct Achievement, and has organized conferences for the Saudi Society of Physical Sciences.
Dr.
Amal Ayoub
Founder, Metallo-Therapy.
Dr. Amal received her PhD in Biomedical Engineering. She founded Metallo-Therapy, a company which focuses radiation on tumor cells through the use of gold nanoparticles. Her company holds three patents in the field of radiotherapy and has attracted venture capital. Dr. Amal is a mother of two, so she relates well to the young scientists who tour her lab and are enthused by her research that yields real-world applications. Prior to starting her business, she was a researcher in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and a medical physicist at the Sheba Medical Center.
Ms.
Bushra Ali Ahmed
Director General of the Radiation Protection Center, Ministry of Environment.
Ms. Bushra obtained her BSc and MSc from Baghdad University, where she is currently pursuing her Ph.D. She has worked at the Radiation Protection Center (RPC) in Baghdad since 1987. She has managed radiation source investigations, transportation and occupational safety, and nuclear waste storage. Ms. Bushra directed RPC’s Laboratory of Radioactivity Analysis until 2002, was appointed Deputy Director in 2003, and promoted to her current position of Director General in 2004. She is a member of the Iraqi Atomic Energy Committee and chairs the committee responsible for drafting Iraq’s nuclear regulations.
Dr.
Mona Mostafa Mohamed
Director, Cancer Biology Research Laboratory, Cairo University.
Dr. Mona heads Cairo University’s Cancer Biology Research Laboratory, the first center of its kind in Egypt. Her groundbreaking research aims to find new targets for drug development by exploring how inflammatory cells induce breast cancer progression. In addition to authoring 11 international peer-reviewed publications, Dr. Mona has taught molecular biology and related subjects at Cairo University for over 20 years. She has received several distinguished research awards, including the 2005 Avon Foundation International Scholar Award in Breast Cancer Research.
Dr.
Ghadeer Ibrahim Omar
Assistant Professor, Department of Biology & Biotechnology, An-Najah National University.
Dr. Ghadeer received her BSc, MSc, and PhD from the University of Jordan, and is a scientific leader in the Palestinian Territories. She is the only Palestinian expert in the field of plant taxonomy. She created the West Bank’s first herbarium -- a collection of preserved plant species. She is leading other Palestinian scientists in collecting and classifying plants, and creating a seed bank. Her innovative research will determine which plants are endangered, and how she and other environmentally-minded stakeholders may best advise the Palestinian Authority on the ecological impact of development projects in the West Bank.
Professor.
Rajae El Aouad
Director, National Institute of Hygiene.
Prof. Rajae holds a PhD in Medical Studies from the School of Medicine of Rabat and two master’s degrees. She has published more than 60 peer-reviewed articles and has strengthened public health laboratory services in Morocco by developing infectious disease protocols. As Director of the National Institute of Hygiene, Rajae’s current focus is to build research capacity, and then translate that research into action, public policies, and practices. She implemented the Field Epidemiology Training Program in Morocco in collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Dr.
Ghada Al Haboub
Director, Expanded Program for Immunization.
Dr. Ghada Al Haboub is the national focal point for measles surveillance in Yemen. Dr. Ghada has oversight responsibility for conducting successful anti-polio and measles campaigns. She has coordinated various Pioneering Health Communities work streams, including the introduction of the pentavalent vaccine in 2005 and pneumococcal vaccine in 2011. She has earned many awards from governmental and non-governmental organizations, which recognize her special challenge of being in the field during turbulent times. The WHO’s 2009 declaration of Yemen as a country free of polio was largely attributed to her efforts.
Dr.
Amel Jrad
Laboratory Department Chief, Tunis International Center for Environmental Technologies - CITET.
Dr. Amel has 25 years of experience in the fields of environmental science and sustainable development. She obtained her PhD in Hydrology from the University of Paul Sabatier in Toulouse, and began her career with the National Sanitation Authority where she was responsible for the development and monitoring of remediation projects and research for seven years before moving to CITET. She is a sought-after presenter, technical auditor, trainer, and consultant. She has given presentations at regional and international conferences on dry lands management, pollution, and environmental technologies.