The Team
Dr. Hasan Al-Nashash
Professor and Director of the Biomedical Engineering Graduate Program
Interim Director, Biosciences and Bioengineering Research Institute
PhD in Electronic Engineering, Kent University, UK
Hasan Al-Nashash is chair of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (IEEE EMBS) UAE chapter. He has participated in establishing several electrical engineering departments in Jordan, Oman and the UAE. He has established the biomedical engineering specialization at Yarmouk University and at AUS. He worked closely with Johns Hopkins University and the American and Medcare Hospitals in Dubai. His research themes are in neuroengineering and analog microelectronics. He is the author of 90 papers and a book chapter, and has two US patents.
Dr. Abdulrahim Shamayleh
Assistant Professor
PhD in Industrial Systems and Operations Engineering, Arizona State University, USA
Abdulrahim Shamayleh's research interests are operation research in healthcare, scheduling, supply chain management, and facilities planning and design. He is a Certified Supply Chain Professional and instructor from the American Association for Operations Management (APICS).
Dr. Abdulsalam Jarrah
Professor
PhD in Mathematics, New Mexico State University, USA
Abdul Salam Jarrah's current research interests include biomathematics, discrete dynamical systems, computational systems biology and computational commutative algebra. Before joining AUS, Dr. Jarrah taught graduate and undergraduate mathematics at US institutions such as Virginia Tech, East Tennessee State University and New Mexico State University.
Dr. Amani Al-Othman
Assistant Professor
PhD in Chemical Engineering, University of Ottawa, Canada
Amani Al-Othman’s research is directed toward the development of high-temperature membranes for fuel cells. She worked on the development of nano-composite membranes for direct hydrocarbon fuel cells and fuel cells applications. Her earlier work included research on the regeneration of hydrochloric acid and the production of gypsum from spent calcium chloride solutions. Dr. Al-Othman’s research interests also include catalysts and electrodes for fuel cells.
Dr. Amer Zakaria
Assistant Professor
PhD in Electrical Engineering, University of Manitoba, Canada
Amer S. Zakaria is a registered Professional Engineer with the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Manitoba, Canada. He was a post-doctoral fellow with the Electromagnetic Imaging Laboratory at the University of Manitoba, where he also taught courses in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. Dr. Zakaria also worked as an RF test and verification engineer at Infineon Technologies AG in Munich, Germany. His research interests include inverse problems, optimization algorithms, computational electromagnetics and the development of microwave imaging (MWI) systems.
Dr. Amin Fathi Majdalawieh
Professor
PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Dalhousie University, Canada
Amin Majdalawieh served as an instructor at several universities in Halifax, Canada and pursued a post-doctoral fellowship in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Dalhousie University. His teaching interests are in biochemistry, genetics, immunology, cell and molecular biology, cell signaling, general biology, human anatomy and physiology. He received several research awards. His main research interests include cardiovascular disease (atherosclerosis), cancer, obesity, signal transduction, inflammation, natural products and nutritional immunology.
Dr. Assim Sagahyroon
Professor
Interim Director, Smart Cities Research Institute
PhD, University of Arizona, USA
Assim Sagahyroon has taught at the University of Arizona, Northern Arizona University and California State University. He joined AUS in Fall 2003 and served as Head of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering from 2009 to 2016. During his tenure as a head, the computer science and computer engineering undergraduate programs were reaccredited by ABET and the Commission for Academic Accreditation of the UAE Ministry of Education, with the computer science ABET self-study report being selected as an exemplary study for display in ABET international workshops and conferences. In industry, he worked with Zhone Technology in California. He has published in international conferences proceeding and journals. His teaching and research interests include digital systems design, power consumption in VLSI circuits, computer architecture, FPGA based solutions, innovative applications of emerging technologies, and medical informatics.
Dr. Dana Abouelnasr
Professor
Chair, Mid-States Re-Accreditation
PhD in Chemical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA
Dana Abouelnasr worked for several years with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the field of Environmental Engineering and Health. She joined AUS in 2002 and served as Department Head of Chemical Engineering for several years. After a two-year hiatus spent teaching Engineering Sciences at the California State University at Bakersfield, she rejoined AUS in 2014. Her areas of research interest are the fate and transport of environmental contamination, waste recycling, adsorption and biomedical engineering.
Dr. Gerassimos Barlas
Professor
PhD, National Technical University of Athens, Greece
Gerassimos Barlas' research interests include parallel computation, high-performance computing, grid computing, multimedia systems, compression of biomedical signals and images, and medical informatics. Dr. Barlas is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Computer Society.
Dr. Ghaleb Husseini
Professor
Associate Dean, Graduate Affairs and Research, College of Engineering
PhD in Chemical Engineering, Brigham Young University, USA
Biography and Publications | Lead Investigator
Dr. Ghaleb A. Husseini graduated with a PhD in Chemical Engineering (Biomedical Engineering emphasis) from Brigham Young University in 2001. He joined American University of Sharjah as an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering in January 2004, and was promoted to associate professor and professor in 2008 and 2013, respectively. Dr. Husseini spent a sabbatical at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) working in Dr. Jeffrey Hubbell's laboratory.
Dr. Hasan Mir
Associate Professor
PhD in Electrical Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, USA
Hasan Mir was previously with the Air Defense Technology Group at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, where he was responsible for several projects related to adaptive radar signal processing for both airborne and maritime radar systems. He has authored or co-authored more than 50 papers in various peer-reviewed journals and conferences. He serves as an Associate Editor for the IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems.
Dr. James Gannon
Professor
Interim Director, Gulf Environments Research Institute
PhD in Biological Sciences, University of Houston, USA
Biography and Publications
James E. Gannon has taught and conducted research in the field of microbiology at the University of Montana, Missoula and most recently at the American University of Integrated Science, School of Medicine, Sint Maarten. He has also served as associate and assistant dean of academics at each university, respectively. He has received several awards for teaching and research throughout his career including three Fulbright Senior Scholar Awards. His research interests are centered in applied microbiology. He teaches parasitology, medical microbiology and environmental microbiology.
Dr. Lotfi Romdhane
Professor
Director, Mechatronics Graduate Program
PhD in Mechanical Engineering, University of Florida, USA
Biography and Publications
Lotfi Romdhane has held academic positions at King Saud University, KSA, and the University of Monastir and Sousse, Tunisia. He has also been a visiting professor in France and Poland. His research interests are in robotics, mechanisms, machine design, biomechanics of motion and mechatronics. He has taught several undergraduate and graduate courses in these fields and supervised over 10 PhD students and 30 master’s students. Dr. Romdhane is a member of the Technical Committee for Computational Kinematics and Robotics and Mechatronics of the International Federation for the Promotion of Mechanisms and Machines (IFToMM).
Dr. Lucia Pappalardo
Associate Professor
PhD in Biophysics, Syracuse University, USA
Lucia Pappalardo has an extensive research background on the analysis of three-dimensional structures of biologically active molecules by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). She has worked as Research Associate and Fellow at the Scripps Research Institute, Max Planck Institute, CNR, Stockholm University and Syddansk University. At AUS, she has worked on the removal and recovery of heavy metals from wastewaters by using local sand. She started a collaboration program with Princeton University on metabolomics studies by NMR. Her teaching interests are physical chemistry, general chemistry and biophysics/biochemistry.
Dr. Mohammad Al-Sayah
Professor
PhD in Organic Chemistry, University of Alberta, Canada
Mohammad Al-Sayah had post-doctoral research experience in chemical biology and bioorganic chemistry at the Scripps Research Institute, USA. His current areas of research are focused on supramolecular chemistry, including chemical sensors and nanoscience, while his teaching interests are general chemistry, organic chemistry and nanotechnology.
Dr. Rana Sabouni
Assistant Professor
PhD in Chemical Engineering, University of Western Ontario, Canada
Rana Sabouni has published several research papers in high impact factor refereed journals, in addition to a number of conference proceedings and presentations. Dr. Sabouni's main research interests include fluidization, nano-materials and their application to carbon dioxide capture, drug delivery and wastewater treatment. During her graduate study, she was awarded several scholarships and merit awards including the Ontario Graduate Scholarship and Mitacs. Prior to joining AUS, she worked as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Western Ontario.
Dr. Reem Khalil
Assistant Professor
PhD in Neuroscience, City University of New York, USA
Reem Khalil pursued a postdoctoral fellowship in the biology department at City University of New York, USA. Her teaching interests include general biology, human anatomy and physiology, as well as neurobiology. Her main research interests lie in examining the neurophysiology and neuroanatomy of the mammalian visual cortex, with a specific focus on the developmental refinement of visual circuits. She has expertise in performing anatomical tracer injections, as well as immunohistochemical staining methods on frozen brain sections.
Dr. Salam Dhou
Assistant Professor
PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
Dr. Salam Dhou’s areas of expertise include computer vision, medical imaging and informatics, robotics, machine learning and data mining. Prior to joining AUS she was a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at University of Missouri, St. Louis, USA. She worked also a post-doctoral research fellow for three years in the School of Medicine at Harvard University where she published and participated in multiple research projects. Dr. Salam is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Computer Society, and the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM).
Dr. Sarah Dalibalta
Assistant Professor
PhD in Cell Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Leichester, UK
Biography and Publications
Sarah Dalibalta pursued her post-doctoral training at the University of Oxford, UK. Her research areas of interest lie in investigating the structure and function of ion channels by using novel electrophysiological and mutagenesis techniques. She has expertise in a broad spectrum of electrophysiological recordings that she has used to study cardiovascular disorders such as Long QT syndrome as well blood diseases such as sickle cell anemia. Her teaching interests are in the areas of physiology, pharmacology, genetics, molecular biology and biochemistry.
Dr. Valerie Lindsay
Professor
Director, Graduate Programs, School of Business Administration
PhD in International Business, University of Warwick, UK
Valerie Lindsay has taught in the areas of international business, strategic management, and entrepreneurship for more than 20 years. Her research interests include international strategy, international entrepreneurship, and services internationalization. She has published in leading journals, including Management International Review, Organizational Dynamics, Industrial Marketing Management, and Journal of World Business.
Dr. Yassir Taha Makkawi
Associate Professor
PhD, Herriot-Watt University, UK
Before joining AUS, Yassir Makkawi worked for 13 years as a researcher and faculty member at several UK universities (Heriot-Watt, Edinburgh, Sheffield and Aston). During the early years of his career, he worked for eight years as a process engineer serving the oil and gas industry sectors in the Middle East. He is currently pursuing research on energy recovery from waste, computational fluid dynamic modelling of multiphase flow, hydrogen production, solar thermochemical conversion, applications of fluidized bed reactors and gas separation and purification by adsorption/desorption.
Dr. Mehdi Ghommem
Assistant Professor
PhD in Engineering Mechanics, Virginia Tech, USA
Mehdi Ghommem worked as a research scientist with Schlumberger for three years. He was involved in conducting and supporting research projects along with recommending scientific approaches, novel concepts and technical solutions to monitor and control well stimulation operations. Prior to joining Schlumberger, he had a postdoctoral experience in the Center for Numerical Porous Media at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia. His research interests include nonlinear dynamics, model reduction of large dynamical/energy systems and flow in porous media. Dr. Ghommem has published more than 40 refereed journal papers and holds a couple of patents.
Dr. Mohamed Abdelgawad
Associate Professor
PhD in Mechanical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
Prior to joining AUS, Mohamed Abdelgawad worked as a post-doctoral fellow with the Department of Surgical Oncology at University of Toronto, Canada, where he was part of a team developing a lab-on-a-chip device to diagnose bladder cancer based on measuring mechanical stiffness of bladder cells exfoliated in urine. In 2010, Dr. Abdelgawad joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Assiut University, Egypt, as an assistant professor. He established the first microfluidics lab in Egypt and built strong collaborations with colleagues from the faculties of medicine, pharmacy and veterinary medicine in the fields of medical diagnostics, nanoparticle synthesis and computer-assisted sperm analysis.
