Clinical Research BMT

CLINICAL RESEARCH

BMT RESEARCH BACKGROUND

Cutting-Edge Research

The BMT Program is well-recognized nationally and internationally for its cutting-edge basic, clinical, and translational cancer research, particularly in the field of hematological malignancies. The research activities focus on developing targeted therapies for human leukemia. Research results are published in leading scientific journals, including “The New England Journal of Medicine”, “Science”, “The Lancet Oncology”, “Blood”, and “Cancer Research”.

Dr. Ali Bazarbachi has received the French Ligue Contre le Cancer Prize for Cancer Research, the Hafez Kobeissi Prize for Excellence in Scientific Research, Lebanese National Research Council, Beirut, May 2002, Erwin Diwan Award, 10th International Conference on Human Retrovirology: HTLV and related viruses, Dublin, Ireland, June 2001. the CEDRE Award (French-Lebanese Intergovernmental Research Program) for Excellence in Scientific Research, Beirut, June 2002, the 2008 award of the French National Academy of Medicine, the Award for Distinguished Researchers of the Lebanese National Council for, French national prize for cancer research in 1996. His groundbreaking research into treatment of adult T-cell leukemia (ATL), published its findings in the Journal of Clinical Oncology in 2010 lead to an a novel treatment now the standard of care for patients with ATL, increasing five-year survival rates from 10% to nearly 50%.

Dr. Miguel Abboud is a peer-reviewer for major international journals and is a member of the Editorial Board of Transplantation. Dr Abboud was a member of the Executive Committee and Steering Committee of the Stroke Prevention Study in Sickle Cell Disease, the Steering Committee of the BABYHUG Clinical Trial, and the Executive Committee of STOP II. Dr, Abboud has published >150 publications in prestigious journals and is a member of the editorial board of Blood Cells Molecules and Disease and is on the Board of Reviewers of Transplantation, is regional associate editor for Cancer and Regional Editor for Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, in addition to being a reviewer for premier publications in his field, as well as the Lancet and the New England Journal of Medicine. His awards include the Mitchell Rubin Research Award in Pediatrics in 1993.

Dr. Jean el Cheikh’s has published more than 160 PubMed indexed articles, he is considered an expert in malignant hematological diseases with particular interests in developing haploidentical transplant, the reduced-toxicity conditioning regimens, immunomodulation, and large experience in infectious diseases and supportive care in the context of intensive therapy for hematologic malignancies. He continues to add to the existing medical literature particularly working on studies targeting the Middle Eastern population.

Dr. Dolly Noun has coordinated the scientific activities of the Pediatric Oncology East Mediterranean Group (POEM). She has a special interest in immune deficiency patients and has co-authored a few articles related to Primary Immuno-Deficiency (PID) and is currently researching AUBMC experience with transplant in pediatric PID patients .

Dr. Iman Abou Dalle authored and co-authored more than 40 publications at peer reviewed journals of high impact in hematologic malignancies. She presented more than 20 abstracts at both national and international hematology meetings during which she received both ASH achievement abstract award in 2018, and ASCO merit award by the Conquer Cancer Foundation in 2019.

Dr. Nour Moukalled has been quite active in research, co-authoring more than 20 publications in peer-reviewed journals so far. She presented several abstracts at the Society of Hematologic Oncology (SOHO) and the American Society of Hematology (ASH).

HISTORY

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) has been accessible to the population residing in Lebanon and surrounding countries since 1997. HSCT programs were developed at a major hospital in Beirut: the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC).

Between 2012 and 2016, HSCT activity in Lebanon reached a total of 897 transplants, among which 303 (33.8%) were allogeneic HSCT and 594 (66.2%) were autologous HSCT. Mostly performed at the Bone Marrow Transplantation program at AUBMC.

Overall, autologous HSCT activity has remained stable over the past 5 years, whereas allogeneic HSCT activity has seen a steep increase between 2012 and 2013 followed by a modest increase later. Haploidentical transplantation has mushroomed and represented almost half of allogeneic HSCT activity in 2016.

The past 5 years have seen an increase in HSCT-related research and publications, mainly stemming from AUBMC’s Bone Marrow Transplantation Program. These research activities were predominantly focused on personalized conditioning for allogeneic HSCT and post-transplant maintenance therapy.

PUBLICATIONS

RESEARCH ACTIVITY BY FACULTY AND STAFF:

Kindly click on the links to access the BMT program medical team research publications:

RESEARCH PROGRAMS

About Research Programs

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What we offer:

The clinical research unit, with its renowned researchers aims to attract the most prominent research investigations including Phase I (planned), Phase II /III studies, prospective and retrospective analysis. This unit is formed of a research team that includes research fellows, nurses, data managers and research coordinators.

Adult Hematology Oncology research

Pediatric Hematology Oncology research


Covid-19 Research	CAR T-Cell Therapy

CURRENT CLINICAL TRIALS


Adult Hematology Oncology clinical trials	Pediatric Hematology Oncology clinical trials

RESEARCH NETWORK

The BMT program’s clinical research unit is a member of the following research networks:

The European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT)

The EBMT is a non-profit medical and scientific organisation established in 1974 which hosts a unique patient registry providing a pool of data to perform studies and assess new trends. We aim to be the connection between patients, researchers and other stakeholders to anticipate the future of cellular and stem cell-based therapies. Our community of healthcare professionals is focused on innovation, research and the advancement of these fields to save and improve the lives of patients with blood-related disorders.

Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR)

The CIBMTR (Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research) is a research collaboration between the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP)/Be The Match® and the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW). The CIBMTR collaborates with the global scientific community to advance hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) and other cellular therapy (CT) worldwide to increase survival and enrich quality of life for patients. The CIBMTR facilitates critical observational and interventional research through scientific and statistical expertise, a large network of transplant centers, and a unique and extensive clinical outcomes database.

La Société Francophone de Greffe de Moelle et de Thérapie Cellulaire (SFGMTC) – The Francophone Society of Bone Marrow Transplantation and Cellular Therapy

The Francophone Society of Bone Marrow Transplantation and Cellular Therapy brings together more than 500 members who come from very different backgrounds but have in common the desire, each with their specificity, to allow adult patients to be accessing all the possibilities of transplantation. of hematopoietic stem cells which we continue to affectionately refer to as the “marrow claw”. Our goal is to bring forward and develop all the aspects of this transplant which remains for a certain number of patients a hope of a cure.

The Bone Marrow Transplant Program’s Research Collaborations:

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Clinical Trials: New York – USA
MD Anderson Cancer Center Clinical Trials: University of Texas – USA
King Hussein Cancer Foundation Cancer Center Clinical Trials Unit: Jordan

Facility of research:

The Clinical Research Institute (CRI) was established in 2010 to provide the required infrastructure to support and promote innovative clinical research and collaborative activities at the Faculty of Medicine (FM) and AUBMC, thus leading to discoveries, advancement of clinical practice, and improvement in patient care outcomes. The CRI offers a wide range of services to investigators through its various units, programs and centers. Visit the CRI’s webpage at: https://www.aub.edu.lb/fm/cri

MEET OUR TEAM

The BMT Clinical Research Unit team includes research fellows/assistants, data managers, clinical research coordinators and is headed by Dr. Ali Bazarbachi.

Ms. Monita Darazi, RN, MSN

Monita Darazi joined the Naef K. Basile Cancer Institute on February 2014 as a clinical trial coordinator. She holds her BS in nursing and Master of Science in nursing administration from the American University of Beirut. Mrs. Darazi had 9 years’ experience (in direct patient care (Neonatal ICU) and 3 years’ experience in genetic research in pediatric cardiology) as well as operation and quality management at Children heart center at AUBMC. She completed her Master’s residency at johns Hopkins University hospital internal medicine nursing administration. Currently, she is managing ad coordinating phase II and III clinical trials (Sponsor initiated and Investigation sponsored trials) a NKBCI in term of study project management: conception and initiation, planning, execution, performance/monitoring, and project close. In addition, she is coordinating and assisting clinical research fellows in observational, prospective and retrospective studies. Finally, she is building, developing, coordinating and integrating the oncology database with the help of EPIC team into the EPIC system.

Ms. Maya Charafeddine, MPH

Maya Charafeddine joined the Naef K. Basile Cancer Institute as a Data manager in 2013, she currently supervises and manages research, clinical trials and data analysis in Oncology. Maya holds a teaching diploma in health education and a Master’s degree in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from the American University of Beirut. Before joining AUBMC, she worked in London (United Kingdom) as a data quality consultant/analyst at the National Health Services (NHS), and in Data monitor/ Informa Healthcare as an Epidemiologist. In addition to her data analysis and involvement in biostatistics, Mrs. Charafeddine has co-authored many peer-reviewed publications particularly in epidemiology.

Lama Zahreddine, MSc

Lama holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the American University of Beirut (AUB) with a Major in Medical Laboratory Sciences and a Minor in Public Health (2008); and a Master of Science degree in Microbiology and Immunology (2011) from AUB. Lama also completed one semester of the PhD program in Clinical-Bioanalytical Chemistry/Cellular and Molecular Medicine Specialization at Cleveland State University, OH in 2012.

After returning to Lebanon, she joined the Anesthesiology Department at the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) in 2013 as a Clinical Research Assistant. She then moved to the Children’s Cancer Institute (CCI), AUBMC in 2014 and served as the Clinical Trials Coordinator.

Through her work at AUBMC, she has established herself in the healthcare sector and has been involved in Clinical Trials coordination as well as Healthcare, Research and Medical Programs Management. She is skilled in Programs Coordination and Administration, Clinical Data Management, Patient Recruitment and Follow-up, Medical Programs’ Financial Planning and Budget Preparation, as well as other tasks related to Healthcare Administration and Clinical Research field.

Lama has joined the Palliative and Supportive Care Program as the Program Coordinator since September 2020. She enthusiastically works with the Palliative care team to coordinate the administrative tasks and to develop the program including services’ expanding, performance improvement and research activities.