L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Fellowship
2 November 2018
A Cardiff University MSc and PhD graduate has won a prestigious L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Fellowship for her work on the association between magnesium levels and mental and body well-being.
Currently Associate Professor of Neurological Physical Therapy at the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences at Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST), Dr Hanan Khalil completed both her MSc and PhD in the School of Healthcare Sciences at Cardiff University.
Her MSc lead to the development of a physiotherapy framework for Huntington’s Disease (HD) which now underpins global clinical guidance and her PhD work, , supported through a Cardiff University Overseas Research Student award, and co-funding from JUST, involved the first ever randomised trial of a DVD- based exercise intervention in Huntington’s Disease which is now used globally as a critical component of evidence based clinical management of the disease (currently available in English, Arabic and Chinese).
Since Dr. Khalil left Cardiff, she has additionally published several peer-reviewed articles and successfully obtained seed funding (as a principal investigator) for a number of studies (both observational and interventional) in the field of neurological rehabilitation for people with neurodegenerative diseases.
Dr Khalil won the L'Oréal-UNESCO Levant regional fellowship based on her project on the association between magnesium levels and mental and body well-being in community-dwelling adults and people with neurodegenerative disease. The ceremony to announce Fellowships was held in Beirut in October 10th 2018.
Dr Khalil commented: “Winning this fellowship is very exciting and motivating to me indeed. One thing that I would like to mention is that a lot of this credit goes back to what I have learned from Professor Monica Busse during the 5 years in Cardiff. I believe that having her as a mentor during my PhD study has had a long term impact on my career.
My mentors are the people who influenced me the most in my career. In fact, my PhD mentor was a very strong woman from whom I learned, not only science and research, but a lot of other skills that are important to a successful researcher.
Monica Busse, Director of Mind, Brain and Neuroscience for the Centre for Trials Research, added: “I am especially proud of what Hanan has achieved both during her time in Cardiff and since she left. It is wonderful to see how she has applied what she has learned during her time with us in Cardiff to develop into an internationally renowned rehabilitation researcher.
“This is a real tribute to the cross-university collaborative approach that is embedded in the activities of the Cardiff University Huntington’s Disease Research and Management Centre. It is thoroughly well-deserved and shows the positive international impact of our research and student support.”
