Niveen Khashab

Niveen M. Khashab is a Lebanese chemist and a Professor of chemical Sciences and engineering at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia since 2009. She is a laureate of the 2017 L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science "for her contributions to innovative smart hybrid materials aimed at drug delivery and for developing new techniques to monitor intracellular antioxidant activity." She is also a fellow of the Royal Chemical Society, and a member of the American Chemical Society.

Education Niveen M. Khashab received her B.S. in Chemistry from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon, followed by her PhD in chemistry at the University of Florida.

Research & Career Professor Khashab's research focuses on the design, synthesis, and use of "smart" programmable nanomaterials, emphasizing the systems' controlled release and delivery characteristics. These synthetic materials are applied for biomimetic biological (distribution, sensing, and imaging), industrial (nanocomposites), and environmental (synthesis of membranes) applications, respectively. Niveen's research interests include leveraging the natural microporosity of supramolecular assemblies for energy-intensive separations. Her research team is particularly interested in the separation of benzene derivatives employing macrocycles and cages designed for optimal separation via molecular recognition. Her team has produced a variety of self-assembled capsules (SACs) for the encapsulation and transport of RNA, DNA, and proteins. She focuses on the encapsulation and delivery of CRISPR-Cas9 to enhance targeted gene editing.

With more than ten years of professional experience, Prof. Niveen M. Khashab is presently a Full Professor and Head of the Chemistry Program at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology.