Keynote Speakers

Dr Ayoub Al- Jawaldeh, Jordan National born on February 1960, He is an International expert in Nutrition, holding PhD, MSc, PGD, and BSc in Nutrition. He is working with the World Health Organization as a Regional Adviser in Nutrition in the Eastern Mediterranean Region since 2009 supporting 22 Countries. He is working with three key departments: NCDs, Health Protection and Promotion and Emergency Departments. He worked more than 20 years with World Food Programme as Deputy Country Director, Head of Programmes and International Expert in many countries i.e. Egypt, Iran, Afghanistan, Sudan, Malawi, Jordan and Iraq. He worked also with Public sector for more than 8 years as Food Quality Control Officer and Clinical Dietitian. He was associated with Vienna University as lecturer for 10 years (2011 – 2020).

He is programme manager who simultaneously manages multiple international executive functions including nutrition policies and strategies, research and capacity building programme; addressing double burden of malnutrition, and diet related non-communicable diseases in Eastern Mediterranean Region.

Dr Ayoub published more than 150 in scientific prestigious journals.

George Grimble, currently an Emeritus Professor of Medicine in the Division of Medicine at UCL, holds a notable academic background. He completed his BSc in Biochemistry at UCL and obtained his PhD from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, specializing in "RNA metabolism in skeletal muscle." Throughout his career, he has received recognition for his contributions, including the ESPEN-Clintec Fellowship and the ESPEN Prize for Best Scientific Paper. Since 2008, Dr. Grimble has served as a Principal Teaching Fellow and later as a Professor in the Division of Medicine at University College London. His primary areas of expertise in teaching encompass metabolism and biochemistry in relation to nutrition, nutrition throughout the life cycle, body composition and energy expenditure, dietary analysis, micronutrients, GI physiology, critical-care nutrition, malnutrition in the community (covering all aspects), institutional catering provision, historical aspects of public health nutrition, and dietary reference values. He has also supervised numerous research projects, including 6 PhD and 150 MSc Nutrition projects, covering a wide range of topics. Prof. Grimble has made significant contributions to curriculum development, such as leading the development of the BSc Nutrition and Medical Sciences program at UCL in 2015-2016. Additionally, he initiated and led the UCL MSc in Clinical & Public Health Nutrition, which included a specialized MSc program in Eating Disorders in 2011. Dr. Grimble's research interests encompass various areas, including food poverty and the nutritional status of Foodbank clients, nutritional status of critically-ill patients, the impact of FAD diets on health, and nutrition and intestinal diseases. His extensive research output includes a total of 298 publications, consisting of 6 books, 69 papers and reviews, 96 book chapters, 125 abstracts, and 2 patents.

University Professor, Specialist in Nutrition and Food (University Ibn Tofaïl- Morocco). President and founder of the Francophone African Nutrition Leadership Program. Vice-President of the Moroccan Society of Nutrition, Health and Environment. Involved with the Ministry of Health in national health, nutrition and food programs since 1994. Most of his group's research work focuses on isotopic techniques applied to nutrition.

She earned her PhD degree in Nutrition from the “Université de Bretagne Occidentale” in France.   Since joining AUB in 2007, she has been heavily involved in research, teaching, and community service.  She served as the coordinator of the Nutrition and Dietetics undergraduate program between 2009 and 2016, as chairperson of the Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences between 2014 and 2016, and is currently serving as the co-chair of the Institutional Review Board (Social and Behavioral Sciences) at AUB. Dr. Nasreddine’s main research interests focus on dietary assessment and the investigation of diet-disease relationships. She has published more than 110 manuscripts in internationally renowned journals in addition to several book chapters. Her service efforts in the community reflect her research interests, whereby she has led the development and drafting of food-based dietary guidelines, conducted national population-based surveys, and developed various culture-specific nutrition education manuals. She  has worked on numerous occasions as a nutrition consultant for the WHO and FAO, and has won the Abdul Hameed Shoman Award for Arab Researchers (2014).

He is a Professor at Weill Cornell Medical College, Qatar & New York-USA. Adjunct Professor, College of Health Services, Qatar University He is also a Distinguished Visiting Scientist at Boston Children’s Hospital-USA. He contributes to the body of published knowledge in clinical and metabolic genetics, with over 150 published articles in peer reviewed journals, book chapters and abstracts. He is reviewer for many clinical genetics journals. He is an active clinical researcher, collaborating on projects with local, regional & international communities.  He is a lead primary investigator in many high profile research projects & clinical trials.

She has a wealth of experience in pediatric and adult dietetics, having worked as a clinical dietetic specialist for almost 20 years. Her involvement in all aspects of IMD has spanned almost all her working life. As director of the Department, she helps oversee the inpatient/outpatient management of all IEM patients, diet and formula instruction, computer diet analysis, and the medical foods distribution center. Ms. Al-Saadi is one of the most trusted dietitians to Classical Homocystinuria (HCU) patients in Qatar and the Region. Her main research interests include maximizing the benefits of the early diagnosis through newborn screening (NBS) and pre-symptomatic treatment with diets to improve health outcomes and prognosis in children with IMD. In addition, Ms. Al-Saadi has contributed to many publications surrounding nutrition management and HCU. Ms. Al-Saadi participates in several projects that help with the development of translational clinical research. She is the Co-founder of MEMU (Middle East Metabolic University), which provide an academic training as well as practical aspects of dietetic management of IMD. She has also participated as a speaker in many national, regional and international IMD conferences. Her outstanding dedication and hard work in improving newborn screening and more specifically the HCU community.

Professor Aayed Alqahtani is currently a professor and a consultant of MIS and Obesity Surgery and the Founder & Owner of New You Medical Center. He is the Director of King Saud’s University’s Obesity Chair and one of the prominent bariatric surgeons worldwide. Prof. Alqahtani is the Past President of The International Pediatric Endoscopy Group (IPEG); Founder & Past President of its Middle East Chapter. Past President of Pan Arab Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (PASMBS). He is the Director of International Bariatric Club (IBC) Middle East & Africa. Prof. Alqahtani is currently the President of Saudi Arabian Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (SASMBS) and President of Gulf Obesity Surgery Society (GOSS).

He received his medical education with honors from King Saud University, Riyadh. He underwent postgraduate training at McGill University and attained fellowship statuses with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada as well as the American Board of Surgery in General and Pediatric Surgery. Prof. Alqahtani also had specialized training in minimally invasive surgery in Montreal, Quebec and Denver, Colorado. He was featured in the Dean's Honors List in Postdoctoral Training at the University of Montreal.

He has published many articles, chapters and books. He has been the guest speakers in more than 300 international events and over 200 peer-reviewed presentations at national and international meetings. He is very active in numerous national and international societies, and he is a reviewer and sits on the editorial board of many respected medical journals.