Provost
Public Health
E-mail: Nael.Alami@mubs.edu.lb
www.naelalami.com
Phone: +961 1 371 885 Ext:102
Mailing Address: Modern University for Business & Science
Spears Campus
Beirut - Spears - Abdul Kader Street

Dr. Alami, Nael

Provost

Public Health

Education

  • Molecular Neurscience, Ph.D.
  • Policy, Organization and Leadership Studies, M.A.
  • Biology, M.Sc.
  • Biology, B.Sc.

Awards

  • CGS Ray Travel Award for Scholarships and Service, The Ohio StateUniversity, 2009
  • The Phi Beta Delta Honor Society, for excellence in academia andleadership, 2007
  • CGS Ray Travel Award for Scholarships and Service, The Ohio StateUniversity, 2006

Short Bio

Dr. Alami started his career as a developmental neurobiologist at St JudeChildren’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, and is a trainedmolecular neuroscientist who received his doctoral degree from theMolecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Program where he studiedslow axonal transport within the Department of Neuroscience at The OhioState University. While at St Jude, Dr. Alami was also a visiting scientist atHarvard University and Columbia University, where he developed noveltechnologies to identify human motor neurons and live neuronal imagingapproaches that contribute to the search of a cure to neurodegenerativediseases like ALS and FTLD. After his work at St Jude, Dr. Alami completeda third graduate degree in Policy, Organization, and Leadership Studies fromStanford University in Palo Alto, where he became interested in the use ofeducation technology and innovative new practices to increase educationalaccess, and its use in promoting global health and cultural understanding.He launched the Student Virtual Exchange Program while at Stanford inpartnership with Stanford educators, allowing students in Lebanon andAmerican Universities to explore and challenge cultural perceptions andstereotypes that skewed their judgment about each other, in a safe,structured, academic environment. He was also a Visiting Professor at SanJose State University in California, teaching at the Connie L Lurie College ofEducation. Dr. Alami is a published author whose work has been cited over588 times, with research interests in Neuroscience, Global Health, andEducation Technology.

Current Research Projects & Grants

  • Growth mindset, motivation, and brain development.
  • The use of innovative technologies in the promotion of educational access, global health, and cultural understanding.
  • Health promotion for at-risk populations: refugees, migrants, rural communities.
  • Parenting styles and parental psychological control.

Publications

  • Bowen, K., Maddah, D., Jowell, A., Barry, M., Goldman, S. & Alami, N. H.(2021). Virtual student exchange in global health: An innovative educationalapproach to foster socially responsible overseas collaboration. InternationalJournal of Educational Technology in Higher Education. 18, 32. DOI:10.1186/s41239-021-00266-x
  • Maddah, D., Saab, Y., Safadi, H., Abi Farraj, N., Hassan, Z., Turner, S.,Echeverri, L., Alami, N. H., Kababian-Khasholian, T., Salameh, P. (2021).The first life skills intervention to enhance well-being among universitystudents in the Arab World: “Khotwa” pilot study. Health Psychology Open,DOI: 10.1177/20551029211016955
  • Alami, N. H., Maddah, D., Rafeh, L., Fadel, M., Abi Ghannam, H., Karam,J., Fakhreddine, N. (2021). Addressing high dropout rates and barriers totertiary education of students from vulnerable communities in Lebanon.Education and Youth Policy Research Program, Issam Fares Institute forPublic Policy and International Affairs, American University of Beirut.
  • Maddah, D., Ghach, W., Abi Farraj, N., Yehya, M., Al Khatib, J., Alami, N.H. (2019). The first community-based intervention to promote safe pesticideuse by developing knowledge, attitudes, and practices among Lebanesefarmers. Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: An International Journal,DOI: 10.1080/10807039.2019.1688639
  • Dawson, H., Alami, N., Bowen, K. & Maddah, D. (2019). The use of virtualreality for public health education with reference to Syrian refugee camps.Proceedings of the Virtual and Augmented Reality to Enhance Learning andTeaching in Higher Education Conference 2018, pp.73-81
  • Alami, N. H., Smith, R. B., Carrasco, M., Williams, L. A., Winborn, C. S.,Han, S. S. W., Kiskinis, E., Winborn, B., Freibaum, B. D., Kanagaraj, A.,Clare A. J., Badders, N., Bilican, B., Chaum, E., Chadran, S., Shaw, C. E.,Eggan, K.C., Maniatis, T. and Taylor, J. P. (2014). Axonal transport of TDP-43 mRNA granules is impaired by ALS-causing mutations. Neuron, 81: 536-543. (Paper highlighted in Neuron and 9 news outlets)
  • Kim, N. C., Tresse, E., Kolaitis, R., Molliex, A., Thomas, R. E., Alami, N. H.,Wang, B., Joshi, A., Smith, R. B., Ritson, G. P., Winborn, B. J., Moore, J.,Lee, J-Y, Yao, T-P, Pallanck, L., Kundu, M. & Taylor, J. P. (2013). VCP isessential for mitochondrial quality control by the PINK1/Parkin pathway invitro and in vivo-a function impaired by pathogenic VCP mutations. Neuron,78: 1-16. (Paper highlighted in Nature Reviews Neurology, 9, 239)
  • Alami, N. H. (2009). The Role of Myosin Va and the Dynein/DynactinComplex in Neurofilament Axonal Transport. Ph.D. dissertation. The OhioState University.
  • Uchida, A., Alami, N. H., and Brown, A. (2009). Tight functional coupling ofkinesin-1A and dynein motors in the bidirectional transport ofneurofilaments. Molecular Biology of the Cell, 23: 4997-5006. (Paperhighlighted in “InCytes from MBC”)
  • Alami, N. H., Jung, P. and Brown, A. (2009). Myosin Va increases theefficiency of neurofilament transport by decreasing the duration of long-termpauses. Journal of Neuroscience, 29: 6625-6634.
  • Alami, N. H. (2003). The Effect of Thymic Serum Factor on theInflammatory Response of Dorsal Root Ganglia in Culture. M.Sc. Thesis.American University of Beirut.