Dr. Nahla Al Afifi

Dr. Nahla Maher Afifi is the Director of Qatar Biobank, a long-term health initiative that gathers biological samples and information on the health and lifestyle of Qatar’s citizens. Dr. Afifi’s expertise and research lie in biobanking, biomedicine and health sciences.

Dr. Afifi started her academic career as a medical researcher in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) in New York. She then served as assistant professor of anatomy and embryology at Ain Shams University, Egypt, and at Dubai Medical College for Girls, UAE. Dr. Afifi joined Qatar University's Biomedical Sciences Program in 1999 and was promoted to associate professor of anatomy and embryology, and then to full professor in 2007. Dr. Afifi served as head of the Department of Health Sciences from 2007-2009. In December 2013, she joined Qatar Foundation as education and scientific manager at Qatar Biobank, and in 2017, she was appointed director of Qatar Biobank. Dr. Afifi has published numerous research studies in her field of expertise. She is a member of several international societies, including the AAA, ASIP, ISBER, and ESBB.

Dr. Afifi earned her MBBCh with honors from Ain Shams University, Egypt, where she also received her Master of Anatomy and Embryology, as well as a Diploma of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Dr. Afifi received her Ph.D. in Anatomy and Embryology in 1996 from the same university, under a program that was jointly supervised by the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ), US.