The American University of Beirut is proud to announce that Professor Abla Mehio Sibai from the Faculty of Health Sciences has received one of the five L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards for 2020.
These awards announced on the International Day for Women in Science, are “awarded every year to five women, one from each world region (Africa and the Arab States, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and North America) in recognition of their scientific accomplishments".
It is particularly interesting that this award is given to an AUB woman professor for the second year in a row. AUB's first awardee (2019) was Professor Najat Saliba.
Dr. Abla is 100% AUB homegrown and a self-made researcher who matches top researchers in any leading university or research center in the world in the field of public health. Her research has focused on non-communicable diseases, aging and health of older population, and the intersection between the two in Lebanon and the region.
Abla has authored or co-authored over 270 papers, book chapters, briefs and reports. More importantly, Abla has realized that the health of older people is beyond biology and disease. Rather than interrogating the aged population as a burden on society and the health system, she valued them as an asset. This paradigm shift allowed Abla to examine and challenge the social, cultural, and structural barriers that marginalize older people and prevent them from being fully engaged in their families and communities. Towards this goal, she co-founded the Center for Studies on Aging and the AUB University for Seniors (UfS), impacting policy and practice.
Click Here for the UNESCO-L'Oreal press release