Dear Members of the AUB Community,
It is my sincere pleasure to announce the appointment of Dr. Abla Mehio Sibai as dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) at the American University of Beirut, effective July 1, 2022. Professor Sibai has been serving adroitly as interim dean of FHS since September 2020.
After an international search co-chaired by Trustee José Zaglul and Provost Zaher Dawy, Dr. Sibai emerged as an exceptional candidate for this important leadership position, being a scholar of enormous renown who has proven her commitment to the faculty and to this university and who has the trust and support of her colleagues in FHS and across campus.
Abla Sibai is a dual AUB graduate, having earned a bachelor’s of science in pharmacy followed by a master’s in epidemiology and biostatistics from FHS. She went on to earn her PhD in epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in the UK. Having already served as an instructor at FHS while pursuing her doctorate, she joined the faculty as an assistant professor, moving on to associate professor, professor, and now tenured professor, becoming in the process a world leader in her field.
The recipient of numerous awards and accolades, Dr. Sibai has been honored as one of the top woman scientists globally with the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science International Award, as the 2020 laureate for Africa and the Arab States. One of the most cited scholars at AUB, she has been among the world’s top two percent most-cited scholars for the past two years, and has authored over 200 papers in refereed journals and nearly 100 book chapters, scientific and technical reports, and briefs.
With a global reputation in public health research and practice, Abla Sibai is a giant in the fields of healthy aging and disease prevention, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, and with an emphasis on the MENA region. Dr. Sibai has spearheaded numerous groundbreaking initiatives, including Lebanon’s first nationwide study of the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) as well as addressing the challenges of NCD management among refugee populations. She conducted the three regional mapping reviews of policies and programs on aging in Arab countries and co-led the development of the National Strategy for Older Persons in Lebanon (2020-30), for the country’s Ministry of Social Affairs. She co-founded Lebanon’s Center for Studies on Aging in 2008, has served on the advisory board of the WHO-Geneva Expert Advisory Panel on Ageing and Health and is a board member of HelpAge International, UK. She also serves on the World Economic Forum-Global Future Council on Healthy Ageing and Longevity and on the recently established WHO Science Council.
Dr. Sibai’s services to the profession and to society at large are matched by her outstanding service to the faculty and the university. One of her crowning achievements at AUB is co-founding and directing our magnificent University for Seniors, allowing hundreds of older adults to stay energized intellectually and engaged socially, while bringing much-needed age diversity to our campus.
Professor Abla Sibai is an accomplished, committed, and thoughtful leader, one who will serve the Faculty of Health Sciences and the university to the utmost of her considerable abilities. Please join me in congratulating Dean Sibai and wishing her all the best in her new position.
Sincerely,
Fadlo R. Khuri, MD
President