Dr. Shaheen is working on improving the health care system response to gender based violence (GBV) in Palestine. She investigates the readiness of the health care system to identify and refer women victims of violence. Her primary goal is to improve identification and referral of victims by health care providers, in order to improve women’s health overall.

Dr. Shaheen’s research interests are related to population health, and particularly to women’s health, child health, injuries, violence, environmental health, and mental health. Her research has appeared in many leading international journals including the Lancet, the International Journal of Public Health, European Journal of Pubic Health, JAMA Paediatric, PLoS One, and Archives of Suicide Research. She has successfully supervised several master students, including many women. She also helps to facilitate the development and advancement of young women in public health research careers as a mentor of young research assistants. She is a member of her university’s research ethics committee, and is also an active member of several scientific communities including Child Healthcare Information For All and the International Epidemiological Association.

Most recently, Dr. Shaheen together with collaborators from Brazil, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom, was awarded a grant from the British National Institutes of Health Research to enhance identification and referral of GBV cases in reproductive health settings within marginalized Palestinian populations.

Dr. Shaheen was born in East Jerusalem, Palestine. She received her PhD in Epidemiology and Population Health from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in 2009. Since returning to Palestine in 2011, Dr. Shaheen has carried out her research as an Assistant Professor at An-Najah National University, where she also teaches graduate students in the Masters of Public Health degree, as well as undergraduate students in health sciences.

Dr Ghada Dushaq is a Postdoctoral Associate in the Photonics Research lab of NYU Abu Dhabi. As a researcher in applied physics, she investigates new and innovative materials, structures and process technologies to improve the performance of high-speed optoelectronics, nanoelectronics and photonics devices. Her research on the use of silicon, germanium, III-V compound semiconductors, and other 2D materials is intended to improve the efficiency of current technologies and address their limitations.

Ghada received her bachelor’s degree in Physics and Mathematics from Birzeit University, Palestine, with distinction in 2009. She went on to graduate with an MSc in Physics from the University of Jordan in 2012, funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). She then pursued a PhD in Microsystems Engineering at the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, Khalifa University, in Abu Dhabi under a cooperative program with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, graduating in 2017.

Ghada has received several awards for her research, including the International Association of Advanced Materials (IAAM) Scientist Medal for 2018, the Post-Doctoral Conference and Travel Award from New York University Abu Dhabi in 2018, and the Falling Walls Lab prize in 2020, for her work on “Breaking the Wall of High-Speed Optical Communication,” awarded at the World Science Summit in Berlin, 2020.

She has published over 35 papers in international peer-reviewed scientific journals and conference proceedings. She is also a reviewer for several scientific journals including Optics Express, Advanced Optical Materials, Scientific Reports, Applied Optics, Optical Materials Express, Journal of Applied Physics, Photovoltaic Specialist Conferences (IEEE PVSC) and the Journal of Materials Science.

Haneen Dwaib has a background in Nutrition and Public Health, and a PhD in Biomedical Sciences. She is investigating dietary interventions to tackle obesity as a case of disguised hunger, since the lack of a decent, well-balanced diet causes deficits in the majority of micronutrients and occasionally macronutrients. Her research focuses on studying the gut microbiota and to find non-invasive early detection biomarkers of premature cardiovascular dysfunction and adipose tissue inflammation in pre-diabetic laboratory rats.

Manal Badrasawi is a clinical nutrition scientist from Palestine whose expertise lies in clinical nutrition, women’s health, geriatric nutrition, and public health. As a prolific researcher, she has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles in high-impact journals, covering topics such as dietary behaviors, nutritional epidemiology, chronic disease management, and the psychosocial aspects of health. Her work frequently integrates innovative approaches, such as machine learning, to analyze complex nutritional and health data. Dr. Badrasawi has been instrumental in advancing research on food insecurity, aging, and nutritional health in Palestine. She has led and participated in several funded projects, including the Pal-Age Project, which focuses on aging populations, and the development of the Palestinian Food Atlas, a tool for improving nutrition assessment and education. Her commitment to community-oriented research is further exemplified by her role as the principal investigator in studies addressing food insecurity and malnutrition among vulnerable populations. In addition to her academic and research contributions, Dr. Badrasawi has developed educational resources, including illustrated food exchange lists, nutritional modules for specific patient populations, and a photographic food atlas. These tools are widely recognized for their cultural relevance and practical application in clinical practice and public health interventions.