Abou-Kheir Wassim

Dr. Wassim Abou-Kheir, a tenured-professor at the American University of Beirut-Faculty of Medicine, specializes in cell biology and cancer research focusing on stem cells and cancer stem cells in solid tumors. He holds degrees from the Lebanese University (BS) and AUB (MS), and completed fellowships at Albert Einstein College of Medicine (PhD) and the NCI/NIH (Post-doc). In 2011, he established The WAKers research group at AUB, which investigates cancer progression, therapeutic targeting of cancer stem cells, disease modeling with patient-derived organoids, and neurogenesis. Dr. Abou-Kheir has mentored over 120 trainees and secured numerous grants and high-impact publications. He actively participates in international scientific communities (AACR, ISSCR, SFN, EACR) and holds key administrative and teaching roles at AUB (teaching and coordinating courses for undergrads, MS and PhD, Med I and Med II students). He is the director of graduate student affairs. His work bridges research, education, and leadership in biomedical science.