Originally from Australia, Jason moved to Lebanon in Fall 2017 to join AUB as an Assistant Professor in the Biomedical Engineering Program at the Maroun Semaan Faculty of Engineering and Architecture (MSFEA) and establish the Sleep and Upper Airway Research Group (SUARG). He holds a BE degree in computer engineering and Master’s degree in biomedical engineering from the University of New South Wales in Australia, and attained his PhD from the University of Sydney, Australia, in upper airway modeling (2012). Following his PhD, Jason undertook postdoctoral research at the Westmead Institute for Medical Research (WIMR) and Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA). For more, see Jason’s detailed profile here: https://www.aub.edu.lb/pages/profile.aspx?memberId=ja106.

​Kareem holds MS and BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Ibadan and is currently pursuing his PhD in the Biomedical Engineering Program at MSFEA. His PhD research focuses on developing a non-invasive alternative to electrical stimulation of the hypoglossal nerve for treating obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Such a method would remove the need for invasive surgery and the risks associated with electrical stimulation, such as wound infections, tongue abrasion, and pneumothorax.

Marie-Michèle received her Bachelor’s degree in Life and Earth Sciences from the Lebanese University in 2019 and her Master of Science in Neuroscience in 2021 from AUB. She joined SUARG in 2021 to pursue her PhD in Biomedical Engineering. She is interested in combining her neuroscience background with novel advancements in biomedical engineering for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). In her research, she will be investigating the influence of hypoglossal nerve stimulation (HGNS) on upper airway function in an anesthetized animal model and developing novel approaches to improve HGNS efficacy.

Dana received her Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and minor in Bioengineering Design in 2022 from AUB. She is interested in biomechanics and computational studies for chronic disorders. She joined SUARG in 2023 as a research assistant (RA) and is working on computational modeling and finite element analysis on a model of the upper airway. The aim is to understand the effects of multiple interventions (such as hyoid bone repositioning and tracheal displacement)  on the upper airway mechanics and airway collapsibility.

Wedad received her Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from Beirut Arab University in 2021 and is now pursuing her Masters and Residency in Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics at AUBMC. She is passionate about computational modeling, upper airway obstruction, and the role that the hyoid bone plays in affecting upper airway patency. Her research focuses on studying how the initial position of the hyoid bone affects the upper airway geometry, tissue mechanics, and closing pressure after mandibular advancement and/or surgical repositioning of the hyoid bone in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea.

Sara received her Bachelor of Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering from AUB in 2022 and is currently pursuing her Master of Science degree in Biomedical Engineering at AUB. She is mainly interested in biomechanics of the upper airway, neuromuscular stimulation, and computational modeling. Her research focuses on studying the effect of hypoglossal nerve stimulation (HGNS) on upper airway mechanics through computational modeling. This work aims to further increase the efficacy of HGNS in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Nader graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Biology from AUB in 2020, and is currently a senior medical student in the same institution. His goal is to specialize in Head and Neck Surgery, including those associated with OSA and other abnormalities. He joined SUARG in 2022 and is underatking a clinical project investigating the relationship between smoking, sleep and OSA.

Fares holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from AUB (2022) and has an interest in various fields within mechanical engineering, in particular computational modeling. He joined SUARG in 2022 as a research volunteer and has been involved in working on modeling the carotid artery using finite element analysis (FEA), computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and fluid structure interaction (FSI), with an aim of investigating how snoring-related vibrations impact the carotid wall.

Karim graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering with a Minor in Bioengineering Design in 2023. He has a strong interest in signal processing, instrumentation, and machine learning, including their use in biomedical engineering related applications. Karim joined SUARG in late 2021 as a research volunteer and has since enjoyed learning more about the upper airway, sleep apnea, as well as the research pipeline as a whole. He is currently finalizing the development of a simple device for snoring measurement and signal processing of sleep-related data.

Farah received her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 2018 from the University of Balamand (UOB).  She then became a master’s student in biomedical engineering at the American university of Beirut (AUB). She is interested in biomechanics and is undertaking a research project in computational modeling. The aim of her work was to assess the effects of snoring-related vibrations on the carotid artery in order to better understand the potential role of snoring in the development and progression of carotid atherosclerosis.

Dr. Hiba Tannous received her dental surgeon degree in 2018 from Saint Joseph University (USJ). She then pursued her master’s degree at AUB and her residency in Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics at the AUBMC. Hiba joined SUARG in 2019 with an interest in applying her clinical background to study how mandibular advancement can be used to treat OSA. Her research focused on better understanding the role of the hyoid bone in the effectiveness of mandibular advancement to improve upper airway collapsibility in an animal model.​