Introducing New 2017 Futures Fellows
Health Security Partners is pleased to introduce the 2017 Health Security Futures Fellows from the Middle East and North Africa region. This cohort brings together a diversity of experiences, including expertise in antimicrobial resistance (AMR), microbiology, cellular and molecular biology, genetics and nano biotechnology.
The Futures Fellowship kicked off with a weeklong Training Institute, held in Valencia, Spain on July 8-13 so as to coincide with the Federation of European Microbiological Societies (FEMS) 7th Congress of European Microbiologists. Over the course of the week, the Fellows learned about health security issues through HSP lectures and mentorship, and by attending conference sessions. This informed the development of their innovative projects to address a health security challenge.
Following the Training Institute, the Fellows will engage in a yearlong virtual curriculum and continue to develop their projects for implementation. We look forward to working with these future health security leaders!
Nada Ahmed
Alexandria University
Alexandria, Egypt
Nada is a PhD student in microbiology at Alexandria University. Her master’s degree focused on antimicrobial resistance (AMR), in particular vancomycin-resistant S. aureus, and she is interested in fighting the global problem of AMR. Through her participation in the Futures Fellowship, she hopes to get in touch with peers with mutual interests in an international multidisciplinary environment and develop a national project to address the challenge of AMR in Egypt.
Ashraf Saied Abdelghany
Faculty of Medicine – Al-Azhar University
Cairo, Egypt
Ashraf is pursuing his M.D. at Faculty of Medicine – Al-Azhar University. He has always been interested in basic research, specifically cancer research, and is passionate about science diplomacy. Therefore, he is currently working as a research fellow at the Spanish National Cancer Center in Madrid. Mr. Abdelghany also is the Chairman and a board member of a non-profit organization called EAMTAR (Egyptian Association for American Medical Training and Research). He has organized and/or moderated several events and medical courses for the past three years in the IRC at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo and EducationUSA Center at AMIDEAST, targeting other young Egyptians medical students and graduates interested in pursuing medical studies in the United States. His interest in this Fellowship is in science diplomacy, public and global health, biodefense and counter-terrorism and evidence-based policymaking. As a Futures Fellow, he hopes to learn about the causes of and solutions for global health problems, with a particular focus on bioterrorism and science diplomacy.
Manal Atwi
American University of Beirut
Beirut Arab University
Beirut, Lebanon
Manal received her Bachelor Degree in Medical Laboratory Sciences from the American University of Beirut in 2013. Currently, she is a fourth year medical student at Beirut Arab University pursuing her Bachelor Degree in Medicine and Surgery M.B.B.Ch. During her previous years, she was trained in different medical laboratory departments at American University of Beirut Medical Center, including microbiology and hematology. As a part of her medical curriculum, she rotated at different hospitals and she was introduced to many serious health issues encountered in the Middle East, especially infectious, endocrinological and oncological ones. She applied to the Futures Fellowship Program for the opportunity to learn from experts in her field. She also hopes that HSP can aid her in serving her community through identifying a health challenge, finding a solution, and learning more about health security policies.
Nihan Aktas
Izmir Institute of Technology
Izmir, Turkey
Nihan graduated from the biochemistry department and she is pursuing a Master’s Degree in Molecular Biology and Genetics at Izmir Institute of Technology in Turkey. She works on drug resistance in leukemia. As a Fellow, she would like to create new ideas about current health issues and wants to share these ideas with people to create awareness.
Farah Nassar
American University of Beirut
Beirut, Lebanon
Farah is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Cell Biology at the American University of Beirut (AUB). She received her PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biology, her Master’s in Microbiology and Immunology, and her Bachelor in Biology from AUB, Lebanon. Her main research interests are disease prevention and control, biomarkers for early cancer detection, and molecular epidemiology of cancer. Besides research, she is an active member in AMALOUNA, an AUB-affiliated educational organization that raises awareness about the importance of cancer research and prevention. Through her fellowship she hopes to develop and implement a public health project in Lebanon and address related challenges with the help of experts in the field and in a teamwork setting. This valuable opportunity will advance her career by expanding her experience in non-cancer related topics and allow her to meet colleagues from other countries.
Ekrem Darendelioglu
Institute of Science, Bingol University
Bingol, Turkey
Ekrem graduated with a Master’s Degree from University of Leicester and his master’s topic was related to neuroscience and Parkinson diseases. He is a PhD student at the Bingol Institute of Science in Bingol, Turkey where he focuses on apoptosis mechanisms in cancer diseases. Through the Futures Fellowship, Ekrem hopes to contribute to solving global health problems and advance solutions in these areas in partnership with Health Security Partners.
Musa Tartik
Bingol University
Bingol, Turkey
Musa holds a Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree from the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics in Istanbul Technical University. He is currently at the end of his PhD education in Bingol University where he has been a research assistant since 2011. His research interests are in cancer biology, microbial biotechnology and yeast genetics. He explains, “Since my childhood, I had a huge dream to make the world a better place for a peaceful life. I seem to hear voices like this: ‘Come on! Be realistic…I am aware of the challenges on my way. However, if you work with accurate methods and are part of the right group, it is possible to make your dreams come true.” He says, “I trust my energy and interest to be part of HSP’s organization and also hope that it opens my mind with its vision.”
Cansu Tunc
Yeditupe University
Istanbul, Turkey
Cansu is pursuing a PhD in Biotechnology at Yeditepe University, where her research focuses on Nanobiotechnology. She is currently working on a project on designing biocompatible drug delivery vehicles. She is specifically interested in the toxicity of drugs and materials to which people are exposed. She believes that the Futures Fellowship is a great opportunity to meet, collaborate, and exchange ideas with other scientists. She is expecting to increase her knowledge about safety issues and how to contribute solutions.
Ahmed Magdi Elsayed
Mansoura University
Mansoura, Egypt
Ahmed Magdi is a Chemistry and Zoology undergraduate at Faculty of Science, Mansoura University. He is interested in research of biology and life sciences. In addition, he is also interested in entrepreneurship and science communication. During this Fellowship he hopes to learn about health science and develop his experiences in the life sciences. He would like to contribute to solving the health problems that face the world, share his experiences with his community, and complete his postgraduate at Harvard University.
Dr. Mohi Badr
Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture and Cairo University
Giza Governorate, Egypt
Mohi Badr is currently working as an assistant researcher at Egyptian National Research Center (Department of Epidemiology, Public Health and Zoonotic Diseases). He graduated from Cairo University School of Veterinary Medicine. He is interested in medical and biological topics such as surgery, infectious diseases, science diplomacy, biotechnology, genetic engineering, and clinical pharmacology. He applied to be a Futures Fellow to learn more about the principles and practices of global health security. In addition, FEMS will provide him a substantive advancement to his research and career. The primary reason that he would like to be part of this program is his passion towards implementing and transferring the knowledge, skills, and experiences gained from the Futures Fellowship to the scientific society in Egypt. One of his great future goals is to win a Nobel Prize in medicine.
Dr. Arslan Sarwar
University of the Punjab
Lahore, Pakistan
Dr. Arslan Sarwar earned his Ph.D. in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics from University of the Punjab. His research project was selected for the Erasmus Mundus (EXPERTS III) Research Fellowship Grant and he was given an opportunity to conduct research at the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), Spain for 10 months. During his PhD, Arslan was the only Pakistani awarded the Robert S. McNamara (RSM) World Bank Fellowship among 144 participating countries. Additionally, he was also granted an HEC-IRSIP fellowship for his PhD research and got an opportunity to attend University of Freiburg, Germany for 6 months. His research interests are focused on characterization of many Salmonella and Streptomyces pathogens, and he has extracted and purified rare antibiotics from Streptomyces by using different chromatographic techniques, HPLC, HRMS, GC-MS, 1-D and 2-D NMR studies. Moreover, he analyzed the draft genome sequence of Streptomyces by different bioinformatics tools and identified 72 potential secondary metabolites gene clusters. His research interests are focused on Bacteriology, Medical Microbiology and Cell Biology.
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