My research activities are primarily related to the control of infectious diseases by monitoring the emergence and spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria in hospital settings but also in environenmental areas, characterizing the associated resistance mechanisms and describing the ways of dissemination of these strains. I had the opportunity to work as the associate-director at the National Reference Center of resistance to antibiotics at the Institut Pasteur and I was continuously challenged by the high power of adaptation of bacteria to antibiotics internationally. My research achievements are highlighted by the discovery of a US Staphylococcus aureus strain dependent on vancomycin (antibiotic) for growth, a novel integron-associated GES variant in multidrug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, as well as the countrywide spread of carbapenemases of Ambler classes A, B, and D enzymes that confers resistance to carbapenems, antimicrobial options of last resort.

Since the development of antimicrobial resistance has been progressive and relentless worldwide, I am exploring the use of Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) to combat microbial challenges. Antibiotic resistance is indeed spreading due to the massive and undocumented use of antibiotics. In order to expand the antimicrobial armamentarium, researchers are therefore exploring new molecules. AMPs appear as very promising candidates. These small cationic peptides, which are essential part of innate immunity, have demonstrated direct antimicrobial activity against various bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. I am specifically investigating the mechanisms by which opportunistic bacteria infect humans and examining how AMPs produced by our own immune system can be used to control these infections.

 

Another part of my research is about the characterization of the intestinal mircobiota, a health determining system that has been implicated in a number of disorders including obesity, inflammatory bowel disease as well as necrotizing enterocolitis. The focus of my research is recently to compare the gut microbiota composition of healthy Emirati with normal weight to that of obese individuals and evaluate the effect of microbiota changes on metabolism among obese Emirati patients.

Since the type of feeding significantly affects intestinal colonization in newborns, I am also analyzing the composition of human milk of breastfeeding mothers and I am particularily investigating the influence of human milk oligosaccharides, a complex set of carbohydrates, on milk microbiota.

 

Plus, I am lately examining the potential for recycling organic debris through natural decomposition. This includes the biological processes that transform organic materials into compost. In that context, I initiated the Compost project in Fall 2017 on Zayed University Dubai campus. Different recipes of compost preparation are tested in 18 composting boxes. This project involves, every semester, the direct participation of students and faculty members from the College of Natural and Health Sciences.

All current research projects are funded internally by Zayed University or externally by grants allocated by the Lebanese Council for Scientific Research and Saint Joseph University (Lebanon), Air Liquide (France), and Maastricht University (The Netherlands). These projects benefit from national (UAE University, Dubai Hospital, Latifa Hospital, …) and international (Saint Joseph University in Lebanon, Institut Pasteur in France, Paris Descartes University in France, Maastricht University in The Netherlands) collaborations.