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Fadlo R. Khuri

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Fadlo R. Khuri is the 16th and current president of the American University of Beirut. He assumed office in September 2015[1] and was officially inaugurated on January 25, 2016.[2] Khuri is also a professor of the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Emory University School of Medicine and editor-in-chief of the medical journal Cancer.[3]

Khuri was formerly executive associate dean of research and chair of the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Emory University’s School of Medicine. He also served as deputy director of the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University.[3]

Leadership at AUB

Khuri was motivated to return to Lebanon to assume the position of university president by his and his family’s strong personal connections to the country and the University,[4] his appreciation of the enormous impact that AUB has on the Arab world, and its role as “a fundamental driver of the American liberal arts ethos in the region.”[5]

In his inaugural address as AUB president,[6] Khuri outlined his vision for the University: to increase the financial aid budget so that an AUB education is affordable for all academically qualified students; to develop the service and leadership aspects of the curriculum and imbed them in the basic teaching of undergraduate and graduate students; to strengthen AUB’s research mission; to invest in infrastructure; and to develop a sustainable global health sciences initiative. In a speech he gave in March 2017, Khuri asserted: “Our vision for the University is nothing less than restoring AUB to the rank of world-class universities.”[7]

The president’s priorities have informed the $650 million BOLDLY AUB fundraising campaign that the University launched in January 2017. The University’s renewed focus on medicine and health is also reflected in AUB’s Health 2025 Vision “to establish the first Health Sciences campus in the Arab region that will allow AUB to become a global player in health with global relevance and impact.”[8]

Throughout his tenure, Khuri has repeatedly stressed the importance of transparency and accountability: “We have to have transparency, we have to have accountability, and we have to have agreement on what the joint mission of the place is.”[9] Starting September 15, 2016, Khuri has sent twice-monthly messages to the AUB community entitled President’s Perspective[10] to provide both “regular updates on my administration’s activities and . . . the opportunity to feed back about the developments that are taking place.” The messages typically address three topics per issue related to student life and campus events, research, grants, initiatives, etc.

Under his leadership, AUB has formed partnerships with other universities in Lebanon, and strengthened long-standing relationships with institutions in Lebanon and around the world. AUB is collaborating, for example, with the Lebanese American University (LAU) under the auspices of Lebanon’s Civic Influence Hub (CIH) to provide recent graduates from AUB and LAU with paid internships at Lebanon’s Chamber of Commerce and its Ministries of Economy, Finance, and Industry.[11] AUB and Saint Joseph University work together to organize an annual NGO Fair.[12]

These and other initiatives speak to the president’s strong commitment to make AUB a university that helps “change the discourse on citizenship, on knowledge, on responsibility, and on research and our society.”[13]

Early life and education

Khuri was born in Boston, Massachusetts and raised in Beirut, Lebanon. He attended AUB in 1981-82, received his bachelor's degree from Yale University in 1985, and his MD from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1989. He completed his residency in internal medicine at Boston City Hospital. Although he entered medical school with the intention of becoming a psychiatrist, he decided to instead specialize in oncology after meeting a rabbi with cancer on the first day of his surgery rotation.[14]

Academic career

Dr. Khuri was a faculty member at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas from 1995 until 2002. In 2002, he joined the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia. He was appointed the Roberto C. Goizueta Chair in translational research in 2007.[15] Khuri was instrumental in leading the development of some of the most important cancer-related programs in the United States[16] and was the principal investigator on a number of National Cancer Institute grants.[17] Khuri is particularly well known for the research projects he led to develop molecularly targeted therapy for lung and aerodigestive cancer prevention and treatment.[18]

Khuri has authored more than 350 peer-reviewed articles and more than 50 editorials and perspectives in leading journals. He has also written more than 100 reviews and book chapters. Among his most important and most frequently cited publications are “A controlled trial of intratumoral ONYX-015, a selectively-replicating adenovirus, in combination with cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil in patients with recurrent head and neck cancer,” Nature Medicine (6:879-885, 2000),[19] “Cyclooxygenase-2 overexpression is a marker of poor prognosis in stage I non-small cell lung cancer,” Clinical Cancer Research (7:861-867, 2001),[20] “Phase I study of the farnesyl transferase inhibitor lonafarnib with paclitaxel in solid tumors,” Clinical Cancer Research (10:2968-76, 2004),[21] “Activation of Akt and eIF4E survival pathways by rapamycin-mediated mammalian target of rapamycin inhibition,” Cancer Research (65:7052-7058, 2005),[22] and “Randomized phase III trial of low-dose isotretinoin for prevention of second primary tumors in stage I and II head and neck cancer patients,” Journal of the National Cancer Institute (98:441-450, 2006).[23]

He has received many awards in recognition of his scholarly achievements including the 2006 Nagi Sahyoun Award of the Middle East Medical Assembly, the 2013 Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Memorial Award by the American Association for Cancer Research,[24] and TAKREEM’s Scientific and Technological Achievement Award in 2015.[25]

Dr. Khuri has been a trustee of the American University of Beirut since 2014, a member of the Naef K. Basile Foundation Board of Trustees since 2005, and a member of the Atlanta International School Board of Trustees since 2009. He has chaired the American University of Beirut Medical School International Advisory Committee since 2010.[26]

Honors and awards

In 2013, Khuri received the Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Award from the American Association for Cancer Research. Khuri was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2014. In 2015, he was elected a full member of the Lebanese Academy of Sciences.[3]

Personal life

Fadlo Khuri is married to Lamya Tannous-Khuri, PhD, who attended AUB from 1981 to 1984. They have three children: Layla, Raja, and Rayya. Fadlo and Lamya Khuri’s AUB roots run deep. Both of his maternal great grandfathers graduated from AUB: Jirjis El-Khoury El-Makdisi obtained his diploma from AUB in 1888; Fadlo Hourani earned his diploma in 1894. His paternal grandfather, Najib N. Khuri, obtained his BA in mathematics from AUB in 1910. His father, the late Raja N. Khuri, graduated with high distinction, winning the Penrose Award, the University’s highest scholastic honor, on two occasions (1955 and 1959). He was named chairman of the Physiology Department in 1968, dean of medicine in 1979, and acting president in 1984-85.[27] Dr. Khuri’s mother, Soumaya Khuri, graduated from AUB with high distinction in mathematics in 1959. She went on to earn an AM from Harvard and a PhD from Yale University before returning to AUB where she was a professor in the Department of Mathematics from 1974 to 1986.[28]

Lamya Khuri’s grandfather, Dr. Izzat Tannous, earned his undergraduate and MD degrees at AUB. Her parents, Dr. Raja and Lydia Tannous, also attended AUB. Dr. Raja Tannous was founding chair of the Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences at AUB’s School of Agriculture (later renamed the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences) and also served as acting dean of the school on two occasions.[29]

References

  1. ^ "AUB website, biography of Fadlo R. Khuri". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  2. ^ "AUB website, Inauguration of Fadlo R. Khuri". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  3. ^ a b c "Emory Winship Cancer Institute, Fadlo R. Khuri biography". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  4. ^ "The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Long Road Home, November 1, 2016". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  5. ^ "The ASCO Post, Charting a New Course: From Clinical Investigator to University President - A Conversation With Fadlo R. Khuri, MD, FACP". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  6. ^ "AUB website, inaugural address, January 25, 2016" (PDF). {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  7. ^ "AUB website, presidential address, March 16, 2017" (PDF). {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  8. ^ "AUB President's Perspective, September 15, 2016" (PDF). {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  9. ^ "interview with Outlook, President-elect Fadlo Khuri promises dialogue and accountability, April 15, 2015". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  10. ^ "AUB website, Office of the President, AUB President's Perspective". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  11. ^ "AUB website, Civic Engagement at Core of New Partnership Agreement, March 24, 2017". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  12. ^ "AUB website, AUB-USJ NGO Fair: A timely collaboration for service and citizenship, April 27, 2017". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  13. ^ "AUB website, president's speech, President's Club Reception, November 23, 2016" (PDF). {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  14. ^ "Sunday Conversation with… Dr. Fadlo R. Khuri Clinical researcher dedicated to eradicating cancer". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  15. ^ "LinkedIn profile". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  16. ^ "Emory University, Winship Cancer Institute website". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  17. ^ "ASCO website". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  18. ^ "American Cancer Society website". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  19. ^ "Nature Medicine website". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  20. ^ "Clinical Cancer Research website". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  21. ^ Khuri, FR; Glisson, BS; Kim, ES; Statkevich, P; Thall, PF; Meyers, ML; Herbst, RS; Munden, RF; Tendler, C; Zhu, Y; Bangert, S; Thompson, E; Lu, C; Wang, XM; Shin, DM; Kies, MS; Papadimitrakopoulou, V; Fossella, FV; Kirschmeier, P; Bishop, WR; Hong, WK (2004). "NIH National Center for Biotechnology Information website". Clin Cancer Res. 10: 2968–76. PMID 15131032.
  22. ^ Sun, SY; Rosenberg, LM; Wang, X; et al. (August 2005). "NIH National Center for Biotechnology Information website". Cancer Res. 65: 7052–8. doi:10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-05-0917. PMID 16103051. {{cite journal}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |last4= (help)
  23. ^ Khuri, FR; Lee, JJ; Lippman, SM; Kim, ES; Cooper, JS; Benner, SE; Winn, R; Pajak, TF; Williams, B; Shenouda, G; Hodson, I; Fu, K; Shin, DM; Vokes, EE; Feng, L; Goepfert, H; Hong, WK (2006). "NIH National Center for Biotechnolgy Information website". J Natl Cancer Inst. 98: 441–50. doi:10.1093/jnci/djj091. PMID 16595780.
  24. ^ "Newswise website". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  25. ^ "CSR Lebanon website". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  26. ^ "AUB website". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  27. ^ "The New York Times, obituary, Raja N. Khuri, 61, Educator in Beirut". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  28. ^ "AUB website, AUB appoints its 16th president, Fadlo R. Khuri, MD". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  29. ^ "AUB website, Office of the President, About the President". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)

External links

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