| Dr. Mariam Arabi, a fellow at AUBMC’s Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine since 2006 and a member of the team at the Children’s Heart Center dedicated to treating children born with congenital heart disease, was appointed instructor in Pediatric Cardiology in September.
“In general, 1 percent of newborn babies have congenital heart diseases. In Lebanon, this comes out to about 600 babies a year,” stated Arabi.
“As early as I can remember, my father was calling me ‘doctor,’ and at some point I stopped being able to imagine myself being anything else,” said Arabi. But her father’s dream was quickly transformed into a realization of her own.
A graduate of the Lebanese University, Arabi obtained her medical degree in 2001. At AUB she completed her residency in pediatrics in 2005, followed by one year as chief resident in pediatrics focusing on pediatric cardiology care, and then a three-year fellowship in pediatric cardiology 2006 to 2009.
Arabi champions AUB’s Congenital Heart Disease Research Program, which is focusing on genetic mutations in congenital heart disease, pulmonary hypertension in patients with sickle-cell anemia, and heart changes in patients with familial hypercholesterolemia. “The earlier we can diagnose heart defects, the better the outcome of treatment, Arabi said.
Currently involved with clinical practice and teaching as well as research, Arabi instructs third and fourth year medical students (who are “capable and willing to do their best to save lives”), supervises residents on the pediatrics floor, gives lectures, and sees pediatric patients in her clinic. Arabi called AUBMC a place where everyone “learns by osmosis, in the sense that patients’ care is contagious, and each member tries to raise his or her own standards to challenge and elevate that of the other.”
Arabi, the proud new mother of a baby boy, enjoys fishing and swimming in the summer, listens to classical music and oriental songs by Fairuz, and walks everyday on her treadmill. |
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