Souhaila Al Khodor, MSc, PhD

Dr. Al Khodor received her Bachelor’s degree in Medical Lab technology from the Faculty of Public Health at the Lebanese University in 2001. Soon after, she started her master’s degree in microbiology and Immunology at the American University of Beirut (2002-2004). Dr. Al Khodor received her second master’s degree and PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA (2005-2008). Before joining Sidra, Dr. Al Khodor worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the Signaling systems Unit, laboratory of Systems Biology, at the National Institute of Allergy and infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Maryland, USA. Dr. Al Khodor’s laboratory at Sidra Medicine focuses on using multi-omics (metagenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics) and computational biology aiming to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying various diseases. Her primary goal is to identify early biomarkers for disease prediction. With a special focus on pregnancy complications (mainly preterm birth and Gestational Diabetes Mellitus) and complex pediatric disorders such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease, her research at Sidra Medicine has attracted around 17 million QAR in external funds. Dr. Al Khodor is an adjunct Faculty at the College of Health & Life Sciences in Hamad Bin Khalifa University. She has over 77 peer-reviewed publications. She currently serves as the Section Editor for Metagenomics in the Journal of Translational Medicine and a speciality chief editor at Frontiers journal.

Dr. Al Khodor’s research group uses omics and computational biology aiming to understand the role of the microbiome and the complex microbial-immune cross-talks in pregnancy and chronic diseases. Her research focus spans over the aeras below:

• Building a large mother-baby cohort: “The Omouma Study”: where pregnant women are followed every trimester until delivery and one-year post-partum. Using the biological samples collected from the mother-baby pairs, we aim to understand the developmental origins of health and disease and identify the molecular mechanisms of pregnancy complications which may pave the way for a personalized intervention.
• Understanding the microbial-immune interplay in chronic disorders: Investigating the intricate crosstalk between the microbiota and the immune system in children with chronic disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease, nephrotic syndrome among others, aiming to uncover novel avenues for disease prediction and therapeutic modulation.
• Saliva diagnostics to predict chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes: Using noninvasive samples such as saliva, we aim to develop tools and identify early-stage biomarkers.

Manoj Kumar, PhD