Speakers

Kazem Abdul-Hussein Zibara

Place of Birth : Lebanese, British, French
Position : Professor, Biology Department, Faculty of Sciences, Lebanese University; Team Leader, ER045 Laboratory of Stem Cells: Maintenance, Differentiation and Pathology, PRASE Platform, Lebanese University.
Field of study : Molecular and Cellular Biology, specializing in Stem Cell Biology (hematopoietic, mesenchymal, neural, induced pluripotent stem cells), Cancer (particularly Acute Myeloid Leukemia), Cardiovascular Research (atherosclerosis, vascular lesions, diabetes-related vascular complications, renin-angiotensin system, inflammation), and Neuroscience (traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis). Key methodological areas include genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics.

Professor Kazem Zibara graduated from the American University of Beirut (AUB) in 1992 and obtained his Ph.D. in Molecular & Cellular Biology with high distinction from Lyon-I University, France, in 1999. His doctoral research involved cloning new genes implicated in cardiovascular diseases. He undertook post-doctoral fellowships in France (EZUS, Lyon), focusing on hyperglycemia and diabetes, and in London at the Thrombosis Research Institute, where he established a functional genomics lab working on vascular lesions, and at Cancer Research UK, developing expertise in stem cell biology and transcriptomics. Upon returning to Lebanon, he developed an in vivo stem cell lab at AUB.

Currently a full Professor at the Lebanese University since October 2011 and Director of the ER045 Stem Cells Research team (Laboratory of Stem Cells: Maintenance, Differentiation and Pathology) at the PRASE platform since January 2013, Professor Zibara holds three patents and has received five international young investigator awards. He co-founded two drug discovery companies, Arteria and CliniGenetics. With over 156 publications (H-index 41, >5500 citations), he has secured numerous research grants as Principal Investigator or co-PI. He has supervised 26 Ph.D. and over 50 M.Sc. students. Professor Zibara is an active member of scientific societies, a reviewer for international journals and funding agencies, and has significantly contributed to organizing the BioBeirut International Meeting for several years.

Experiences

Professor, Biology Department, Faculty of Sciences, Lebanese University, Lebanon (October 2011 – Present)

(Concurrent) Team Leader, ER045 Laboratory of Stem Cells: Maintenance, Differentiation and Pathology, PRASE Platform, Lebanese University (January 2013 – Present)

Associate Professor, Biology Department, Faculty of Sciences, Lebanese University, Lebanon (October 2008 – September 2011)

Post-doctoral Fellow, American University of Beirut (AUB), Lebanon (January 2007 – December 2008)

Assistant Professor, Biology Department, Faculty of Sciences, Lebanese University, Lebanon (October 2006 – September 2008)

Post-doctoral Fellow, Cancer Research UK (CRUK), London, UK (October 2002 – September 2006)

Post-doctoral Fellow / Lecturer, Thrombosis Research Institute (TRI), London, UK (January 2001 – September 2002)

Post-doctoral Fellow, EZUS, Lyon, France (November 1999 – December 2000)

Research Assistant, SERVIER pharmaceutical company, France (July – September 1996, 1997, 1998)