NNA - American University of Beirut (AUB) Ph.D. student in cell and molecular biology, Amani Audi, has been named one of six recipients of the 2024 L'Oreal – UNESCO For Women in Science Levant Regional Young Talents Program. This program aims to promote the participation of young women in science from the Levant region. It recognizes outstanding early-career female scientists in the life and physical sciences who have made significant contributions to addressing today's global challenges.
Audi's research explores the interactions between the major African malaria mosquito, Anopheles gambiae, and several infectious agents. Her doctoral research focuses on characterizing the immune defense mechanisms utilized by the Anopheles gambiae mosquito against invading pathogens at the molecular level. By examining the immunity of the African malaria mosquito, Audi aims to identify novel candidate anti-parasitic genes that could be manipulated for future mosquito transgenesis. The ultimate goal is to block the development of the malaria parasite inside the mosquito and prevent its transmission to humans.
Audi has received numerous scholarships and academic honors throughout her career, including the UNRWA University Scholarship for Palestinian refugees (2009-13), the Jamal Abdel Nasser Award for Academic Distinction (2013), and the Master's scholarship (2013-17), both from the Beirut Arab University. She also won first prize for best postgraduate poster presentation at the first Student Innovation and Research Conference for Arab Universities and Schools (2018), and a fellowship to complete her PhD in cell and molecular biology from AUB (2020-25).
She has published three peer-reviewed articles and presented her research at multiple national conferences in Lebanon. More recently, she presented her PhD research project at the Vector Kolymbari meeting in Greece.
It is noteworthy that Amani Audi's achievement follows those of fellow AUB scholars Rim Wehbe and Rachel Njeim, who received the award in 2023 and 2022, respectively.
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