Faculty Profiles: Dr. Nathalie Khoueiry Zgheib

Dr. Nathalie Khoueiry Zgheib

Dr. Nathalie Khoueiry Zgheib, who joined AUB in the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics in October 2007 as an assistant professor, says she hopes to add value to both her research and academic work by sharing her pharmacogenetic expertise with her colleagues.

A graduate in biology at AUB '94, Zgheib received her MD in general medicine in 1998 before specializing as a family physician in 2002 at AUBMC. She then completed a one-year chief residency in family medicine before pursuing her own practice at a private clinic in Jounieh, when she finally realized her life's ambition to seek a more academic path. She joined an international fellowship program at the University of Pittsburgh, where she finished her post-doctoral fellowship (2003-05) and worked as a faculty member for another year in clinical pharmacology.

A mother of four children, Zgheib finds great pleasure in working with the new generation. She describes AUB students as "highly-motivated, positively competitive, and hard-working." Though "slightly more pampered" than students were during her study years, due to the facilitating instruments of modern technology, she says that medical students at AUB still distinguish themselves with their high standards of education and attention to detail. "They take nothing for granted and aim to excel in their work. Teaching here is a great challenge, because one needs to remain up-to-date and well-informed, "she adds.

Zgheib currently teaches basic pharmacology to second-year medical students and plans to work on introducing a new clinical pharmacology course for third-year students. Her ongoing research concentrates on studying the role of genes in the effectiveness, toxicity, and doses of medication, and her future research aims to focus more on the pharmacogenetic risk of cancer and gene susceptibility to developing cancer, in relation with toxins and the environment. Her interests also include in-hospital drug use and regulations, as well as disease phenotyping.

Zgheib describes the general environment at AUB to be very supportive and receptive to new ideas. She feels optimistic about her long-term plans to accomplish high levels of academic work and research here.