Hala Gali-Muhtasib
Professor
American University of Beirut
Lebanon
Biography
Hala Muhtasib is Professor of Cell Biology at the American University of Beirut. She received her BS and MS in Biology from AUB and her PhD from Kansas State University. She joined AUB in 1994 as Assistant Professor. In 2004 she was promoted to Professor and served as the Chair of Department of Biology in 2006-2009, Acting Director of Office of International Programs in 2013-2014, Chair of the Enrollment Management Unit in 2012-2015, and Interim Associate Provost since July 2015.
Research Interest
Hala Muhtasib research interests are in studying the role of natural products in cancer prevention and therapy. Her research focuses on cancer chemoprevention and chemotherapy, in particular, study of plant-derived compounds. She has explored novel drugs that inhibit the mechanisms involved in colon cancer such as naturally occurring plant tannins, vitamin E, and essential oils of the Lebanese sage plant, thymoquinone extract from black seed and extracts from Lebanese indigenous plants, all of which are ingested regularly by humans and thus may hold promise as anticancer agents. Her efforts have been directed towards understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms of action of various anticancer agents using cellular biology techniques as well as an emerging array of molecular technologies.