IPE Team

Section of the Interprofessional Education Program, QU Health

Dr Alla El-Awaisi Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, College of Pharmacy Dr Alla received her Master of Pharmacy degree from Strathclyde University in Glasgow (UK), MSc in Prescribing Science from the Robert Gordon University (UK) and PhD in Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice from the Robert Gordon University (UK). She is an experienced academic administrator possessing creativity, innovation and dedication to her field. Prior to her academic career, she practiced pharmacy in Scotland for more than 9 years. She is founding the chair of the Interprofessional Education Committee since 2014 and has led successful IPE initiatives locally and internationally including leading the First Middle Eastern Conference in Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice in December 2015. Her research expertise lies in the area of interprofessional education and collaborative practice, pharmacy education and pharmacy practice and has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals.

Interprofessional Education Pre-Clinical Specialist:

IPE Team | Qatar University - Image1 Ms. Aya El Hage, holds a BS in Environmental Health (2014), and a Master’s degree in Public Health (MPH) with a concentration in Health Management and Policy (2016) from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. Before joining QU, she worked as a public health officer with the World Health Organization (WHO) at the Ministry of Public Health in Lebanon for one year. She coordinated all activities related to Covid-19 in addition to managing the Epidemic Intelligence from Open Sources (EIOS) events, aiming to detect and prevent health threats. She previously worked as a research assistant at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at the American University of Beirut Medical Center for 4 years resulting in a wide experience in research and several publications.

Interprofessional Education Clinical Specialist:

Ms. Sawsan AlMukdad currently serves as an Interprofessional Education (IPE) Clinical Specialist at Qatar University (QU). Prior to joining QU, Sawsan held the position of Research Specialist at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar for nearly three years. During this tenure, her endeavors were focused on conducting epidemiological research, with a primary emphasis on infectious diseases. She adeptly employed cutting-edge epidemiological research methods and advanced statistical techniques, contributing to the advancement of understanding of the epidemiology of infectious diseases. Her scientific research has been published in leading high-impact journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, Nature Medicine, Lancet HIV, and Lancet Regional Health. In 2020, she earned her master's degree with distinction from Qatar University's College of Pharmacy, further building on her earlier accomplishment of obtaining a bachelor's degree from the same institution in 2018. During her bachelor's studies, she successfully completed the Qatar University Honors program and received the Emir of Qatar's Scholarship for Academic Excellence. Throughout her academic journey, she actively engaged in research undertakings, including the Undergraduate Research Experience Program. Moreover, she secured the Graduate Sponsorship Research Award, a prestigious educational scholarship. Recognizing the high caliber of her master's project and its potential for significant research impact, she was awarded the Science and Engineering TAD Boot Camp Award. Beyond her academic achievements, Sawsan presided over the IPE Student Association for three consecutive years, where she orchestrated impactful student-led outreach events, annual forums, and debates.

Interprofessional Education Specialist:

IPE Team | Qatar University - Image3

Ms. Layal Mansour holds a BSc in Computer Science from Qatar University. She worked temporarily as a Project Coordinator at ICT Qatar, before moving to Qatar University in 2015 as a student support specialist at the College of Medicine, where she gained experience working on various projects related to student engagement and activities, in addition to facilitating regular procedures related to students’ admission and registration. Later, she moved on to work at the Office of VP for Research and Graduate Studies (VPRGS), where she worked as an Engagement & Communication Specialist, gaining intensive experience on public relations and event management, supporting researchers activities in VPRGS, right before joining QU Health in the IPE program as Interprofessional Education Specialist.

College Representatives

QU College of Pharmacy Lead Representative:

Myriam Jihad Jaam is an MSc (Pharm) graduate who successfully defended her thesis and graduated with distinction in June 2017. She completed her BSc degree in Pharmacy in the College of Pharmacy at Qatar University in 2015 after which she immediately enrolled into the MSc program. Myriam received a scholarship during her graduate studies and was working as a Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) while completing her MSc project. During this time she was the student representative in the IPEC and was the founder and the president of the IPE Student Association. While president, Ms. Myriam organized a number of events and participated in the ATBH conference held in Oxford representing the student Association. Ms. Myriam is currently working as a Teaching Assistant in the College of Pharmacy and is actively involved in facilitating IPE events.

QU College of Health Sciences Lead Representatives:

Department of Public Health:

Dr Lily O’Hara MPH, PhD, LMAHPA, is Associate Professor of Public Health at Qatar University. She is a public health educator and practitioner with extensive experience in Australia, UAE and Qatar. She has worked on community, workplace and school based programs addressing a broad range of health and wellbeing issues. Her research focuses on methods to assess holistic health and wellbeing, analyzing current public health approaches to body weight, and developing ethical, evidence-based, salutogenic public health initiatives using the social justice based Health at Every Size approach. Her research also focuses on developing the ethical and technical competencies of the health promotion workforce. She is the Chair of the Interprofessional Education Committee in the College of Health Sciences.

Department of Human Nutation:

Ms. Grace ATTIEH

Ms. Grace Attieh is a Teaching Assistant in Human Nutrition Department, College of Health Sciences in Qatar University. She holds a Master’s Degree in Human Nutrition. Ms. Attieh was a Head Dietitian in accredited Hospital and worked for 10 years as a food safety inspector and ISO 22000 lead auditor. Ms. Grace Attieh is a licensed dietitian and a certified tutor by Highfield, lead company in Food safety.

Department of Biomedical Science:

Ms. Sawsan

Dr. Sawsan Said, Ph.D.; Molecular Biology-Genetics and Biotechnology Program. Rich and extensive experiences on a subset of B cells, namely Regulatory B cells in mice models, molecular immunology techniques, Bioinformatics, experimental animal use, and microbiology.

Department of Physical Therapy

Ms. Jennifer Allen is a Lecturer in the Department of Rehabilitation Science (DRS) Physiotherapy program in the College of Health Science at Qatar University (QU). Her research interests involve global health, mental health, vulnerable populations, exercise, leadership and coaching. She has published articles related to cultural humility, physical activity and aerobic capacity in patients with Parkinson’s disease, and rehabilitation in patients with dementia following hip fractures. She has presented at numerous Canadian Physiotherapy Association (CPA) and World Physiotherapy congresses. She is a Past Chair of the Global Health Division of the CPA. She received a CPA Centennial Medal of Distinction in 2021. She has worked in Canada, Mexico, Nepal, Kuwait and Iraq and is currently a Physiotherapist Delegate for the Canadian Red Cross Emergency Response Unit (ERU). She is also a member of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC) ERU Rehabilitation Technical Working Group and represents the QU DRS Physiotherapy program within the Environmental Physiotherapy Association. She leads the Qatar University Department of Rehabilitation Science Physiotherapy program Outreach Committee. In that role, she supports and guides students in leading various outreach initiatives within and outside of Qatar University. She is actively involved, outside of the DRS at QU, in the Interprofessional Education Committee, and the Health Professions Education Research Group.

QU College of Medicine Lead Representative:

Ms. Asma Syed is an epidemiologist who graduated from the MPH program at Qatar University. She is an active member involved in NPRP projects at the Department of Population Medicine, College of Medicine, Qatar University. She has gained excellent experience in conducting systematic reviews and meta-analyses, network meta-analyses, and quality assessments of peer-reviewed articles using MASTER scale. Additionally, she has contributed to various teaching-related tasks related to biostatistics and coordinated MSR projects at the College of Medicine, QU. She has also had great opportunities to deliver research skills at prestigious organizations such as the World Innovation Summit for Health, QF and the Health Protection and Communicable Diseases Division, MOPH.

QU College of Dental Medicine Lead Representative:

Dr. Aala Daud

Dr. Aala is an Assistant Professor at the College of Dental Medicine. She is the College Lead for Continuous Professional development (CPD), and faculty educational mentor. She is instrumental in building the dental curriculum, the simulation Laboratory program and formulating the assessment strategy for the College of Dental Medicine. Dr Aala completed her Dental Masters at the University of Bristol, UK. She was the Director of the pre-clinical dental laboratories/program at Bristol Dental School, leading on assessments & program development and implementation. Moreover, she was the Final Year Clinical program Lead. Being the International collaboration advisor too, her aim was to strengthen the relations with stakeholders worldwide. Dr Aala is an assessment lead for the Royal College of Surgeons of England and a Fellow of the Faculty of Dental Trainers of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, UK. She has received multiple teaching awards. Her research interest lies in the areas of dental material science and dental education.

Weill Cornel Medicine- Qatar Lead Representative:

Dr Stella Major MBBS FRCGP CHSE Associate Professor of Family Medicine in Clinical Medicine Patient Care and Physicianship Unit Lead

Dr. Stella Major MBBS FRCGP CHSE Associate Professor of Family Medicine in Clinical Medicine Patient Care and Physicianship Unit Lead Director of the Clinical Skills & Simulation Lab (CSSL) Division of Medical Education Dr Stella obtained MBBS in 1990, and specialized in General practice-obtaining membership of the Royal College of General Practice (MRCGP). She practices in London and in Doha. Since 1996, she held positions, as educator, researcher and leader at American University of Beirut, United Arab Emirates University and Imperial College School of Medicine. In 2011, her excellence in teaching, research and leadership, she became fellow (FRCGP). Her scholarly interests include areas related to enhancing clinical and communication skills in the clinical setting; communication across cultures and languages, clinical skills acquisition through simulation based learning, and is the task force lead for interprofessional education and collaborative practice at WCM-Q. Education, Patient Safety & Women's Health is her interests.

University of Calgary in Qatar Lead Representative:

Dr. Kristi Yassine is an Assistant Professor (Teaching) from the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Calgary in Qatar. She serves as the Chair of the UCQ Interprofessional Education Committee and an IPEC representative.

University of Doha for Science and Technology Lead Representative:

Mr Norman Wong, Pharmacy Technician Lead Instructor School of Health Sciences Mr Norman is a Canadian licensed pharmacist with the Alberta College of Pharmacists. He has a BSc in Psychology from University of Calgary, and BSc in Pharmacy from University of Alberta, in Edmonton, AB. He has 10 years of Canadian hospital pharmacy experience, 6 years in UAE hospitals, and 4 months in China, before joining CNA-Q. He is the lead instructor in his eighth year with the program. He is a member of Canadian Society of Health System Pharmacists and Canadian Pharmacy Technician.

Interprofessional Education Student Association President

Dr. Jawaher Z A Baraka, Medicine and medical sciences were her passion since childhood. Since she started her preparatory school, she was not only abided to theoretical learning, rather she boosted her skills as well as her practical experience through extracurricular activities. She attended many workshops, moderated some events, and was involved in many other different activities like conferences and educational programs. As the president of the IPE association, she aims to encourage healthcare students to be involved in such activities, as she believes that a good healthcare provider is also a good leader, learner and collaborator.