Scientific Council

Dr. Salma Afifi is a senior technical specialist working for the eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network (EMPHNET). She holds a Bachelor of Medicine from Cairo University, a Master of Epidemiology, a Diploma of Occupational Health from Ain-Shams University, Cairo, a Non-degree Certificate in Zoonotic Diseases, Public Health Laboratory and Applied Epidemiology from Aiwa University, USA, and a Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP) certificate from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC). She has extensive experience in setting up communicable disease surveillance systems, healthcare associated infections (HAI) and antimicrobial resistance (AMR), communicable disease surveillance and community-based interventions. Her research interests include respiratory infections, HAI and AMR, meningitis and viral hepatitis. She is also experienced in analyzing large data sets, for example, she has analyzed the data of “the Point Prevalence Survey on Antimicrobial Use and Healthcare Associated Infections in five countries in the EMR” and “the National Egyptian Survey for Prevalence of Viral Hepatitis” and “the National Egyptian Disease Surveillance System” (NEDSS). She also has experience in developing training curricula and materials for postgraduate training courses, such as the Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP), the One Health FETP for Egypt and the Infection Control and Prevention (IPC) training module for EMR. In addition, she has developed guidelines, manuals and standard operating procedures (SOPs), such as the injection safety guidelines and the NEDSS manual. She also has experience in developing study proposals and protocols and designing national studies, e.g. the National Viral Hepatitis Survey and NEDSS.

She has worked for the US Naval Medical Research Unit No.3 (NAMRU-3), US CDC, WHO EMRO, and Egypt Ministry of Health and Population. She also worked as a medical writer and has served as an Associate Editor for the BMC Public Health Journal and as a reviewer for many international peer-reviewed journals. She has published over 30 articles in international peer-reviewed journals.

Rana Alkhatib

Dr. Othman Beni Yonis, is an associate professor and consultant physician of family medicine at JUST University and King Abdullah University Hospital-Jordan. He is the head and the program director of JUST family medicine residency program. He had graduated from JUST University/Jordan(1999) and The University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria UICOMP/USA (2012). Dr. Beni Yonis was granted an "Award In Recognition for Excellence in Teaching" from UICOMP/USA in 2011.

Faris Lami

Nour Abodo

Dr. Yousef Khader is a Distinguished Professor of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Medical Education, and the Director of the Center of Excellence for Applied Epidemiology at the Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network (EMPHNET). He holds master's degrees in Public Health (Tulane University), Epidemiology (Jordan University of Science and Technology), and Medical Education (Maastricht University), as well as a doctoral degree in Biostatistics from Tulane University. He is also a Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the United Kingdom, recognized through distinction.
Dr. Khader has made substantial contributions to the scientific and public health communities, with an outstanding portfolio of over 800 published scientific papers in high-impact journals. His work spans a wide array of topics including advanced epidemiologic and statistical methods, field epidemiology, maternal and child health, digital health, non-communicable diseases, and mental health.
His achievements have earned him national and international recognition, including the prestigious King Abdullah II Award for Excellence, the Khalifa Award, the Distinguished Behavioral Scientist Award, the Distinguished Professor Award, the Shoman Award for Young Arab Researchers, the Ali Mango Award, and the SCOPUS Award for Scientific Contribution. Among his many accolades, Dr. Khader has been ranked as the top scientist in Jordan—a testament to his sustained impact and leadership in the field of public health.

Rana Jawad Asghar

An expert in Emergency Management and a specialist in Training and Capacity-Building. He is the Director of the Public Health Emergency Management Centre (PHEMC) in Jordan. He was the Executive Director of the International Academy of Public Health (IAPH) in Jordan. He worked as an Assistant Professor at the School of Medicine, National University in Sudan. He served as the Director of Teaching and Education at the Public Health Institute and the Director of the Emergency and Humanitarian Action at the Federal Ministry of Health, Sudan. His published work primarily focuses on emergency management, capacity building, and training.

El Sheikh Badr

Dr. Musa Taha Ajlouni

1. Scientific qualifications: Ph.D. in Public Health/Hospital Management (Alexandria University), Master in Public Health/Hospital Management (AUB, Beirut), Master in Health Planning (Leeds University, England).
2. Previous experiences:
• Retired as Major General and senior consultant in health management from the Jordanian Royal Medical Service in 2003.
• Former Dean for Princess Muna College for Nursing, Muata University.
• Former university professor in hospital management for 15 years.
3. Currently:
•  Part-time consultant and technical advisor in health systems development for WHO/EMRO and other international and local healthcare organizations.
• Member and senior advisor at the Jordanian Public Health Forum.
• Chairman of the Advisory Committee for Health Management and Leadership, International Academy for Public Health (IAPH)
4. Publications: Published many studies in international journals and wrote three books on health management and health information systems.

    

Nour Abodo