Faculty Biographies and Research Interest

Prof. Elham Abu Alhaija is the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. She has completed a combined program PhD and clinical training in orthodontics from Queen’s University of Belfast after obtaining her undergraduate degree in dentistry from Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST). She was awarded her PhD in 1997 and passed the MOrth RCS (Ed.) examination in 1998. Currently, she teaches orthodontics for undergraduate students at the college of dental medicine/ Qatar university and supervising PhD students. During her work at JUST, she was involved in teaching orthodontics for undergraduate and postgraduate students, conducting research and supervising postgraduate research projects. She has more than 80 publications and supervised more than 42 Master theses. Prof. Abu Alhaija was awarded 2 international prizes namely; Shoman award for Arab young researchers- Medical Sciences (2004) and Arab Dental Faculties Association award in the field of Orthodontics (2007). Administratively, she served as Dean of Faculty of Dentistry/ JUST, Director of the Dental Teaching Center/DTC-JUST, Vice- dean of Scientific Research, Acting Dean of Scientific Research/JUST, Vice- Dean of Faculty of Dentistry/JUST, Chairman of the Preventive Dentistry Department/JUST and Assistant Director DTC-JUST for Clinical Affairs.

Kamran Ali is a Professor of Oral Surgery. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons England, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons Glasgow. He did his PhD from the Universities of Exeter, Plymouth (UK), and Master in Medical Education from the University of Dundee (Scotland). He was working as a Professor and Consultant in oral Surgery at the Plymouth University UK before moving to Qatar University. Prof. Kamran has received international recognition in Dental Education and was awarded the Excellence in Dental Education, Mature Educator Award by the Association of Dental Education in Europe in 2017. He is one of the few dental academics who are recognized as a Principal Fellow of Higher Education Academy UK; Fellow. He is also a Fellow of Faculty of Dental Trainers, Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh; and National Teaching Fellow of Advance Higher Education, UK. He received the “Best Teacher” award by the Student Parliament, Faculty of Health at Plymouth University and the NHS Clinical Excellence Award in 2019. Prof. Kamran is an Associate Editor of the European Journal of Dental Education and is on the Editorial Board of Evidence-based Dentistry published by Nature. He has published over 100 papers on educational and clinical research in oral surgery and has edited a book entitled “Essential Physiology for Dental Students” published by Wiley and Sons; he has also authored over 50 chapters in multiple books on Dentistry.

Prof Khaled Q. Al Hamad is the Department Head of Clinical Oral Health Sciences, College of Dental Medicine. He obtained his undergraduate degree from the Jordan University of Science & Technology (JUST), master’s degree in Prosthodontics from the University of Edinburgh, specialty in prosthodontics (MRD RCSEd) , and the fellowship (FDS RCSEd) from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh/UK. He has held an academic career for over 20 Years in JUST, and worked also in King Saud bin Abdulaziz for Health Sciences, Saudi Arabia. Administratively, He served as the chairmen of prosthodontic department (2015-2018), and as the vice dean of the faculty of dentistry (2019-2022). Prof Khaled was involved in many strategic committees including higher education, study plan, strategic plan, and graduate studies committees in JUST, and also examiner in the Prosthodontic board committee in the Jordanian Medical Council. Prof Khaled is a member of several academic colleges and associations worldwide, and serves as a reviewer for highly reputable journals in his field. He has published several scientific articles in highly indexed journal.

Prof. Guzeldemir earned her DDS degree from Hacettepe University, Turkey, and completed her PhD in Periodontology at Ankara University in 2005. Her PhD thesis focused on the role of genetic polymorphisms in localized juvenile periodontitis. During her PhD studies, she also served as a research and teaching assistant in the Department of Periodontology. Prof. Guzeldemir worked at Boston University Goldman School of Dental Medicine, USA, under the supervision of Prof. T. Van Dyke from 2004 to 2005 and at the University of Louisville School of Dentistry, Oral Health and Systemic Disease Research Group, USA, in 2007 under the supervision of Prof. Denis F. Kinane. Prof. Guzeldemir was appointed Associate Professor at Kocaeli University in 2011 and was promoted to Tenure-Track Full Professor in 2016. She is a licensed specialist periodontist and holds privilege in Implantology. She founded and led the Department of Periodontology at Kocaeli University Faculty of Dentistry for 14 years and served as Vice Dean of the Faculty of Dentistry from 2019 to 2022. She has been teaching periodontology and implantology for over 20 years. She has supervised 10 graduate theses, co-author of five books, published over 60 highly cited articles.

Dr. Sadeq is the Acting Department Head of Pre-clinical Oral Health Sciences at the College of Dental Medicine and an Associate Professor of Oral Medicine, and the Section Head of Research and Graduate Studies at the College of Dental Medicine, Qatar University. Dr Al-Maweri completed his Master degree (Oral Medicine) at the University of Science Malaysia in 2009, and his doctorate degree at Witten/Herdecke University, Germany in 2013. Dr Al-Maweri has been teaching Oral Medicine and diagnostic Sciences for over 8 years in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. In addition to teaching, Al-Maweri has been actively engaged in research, and has authored/co-authored over 90 articles in highly reputed dental and medical journals, with over 2600 citations in Google Scholar and h-index of 31. Furthermore, Al-Maweri serves as an editorial board member and a reviewer for many renowned dental/medical journals.

Dr. Abeer Almashraqi is an Associate Professor of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology at the College of Dental Medicine, Qatar University. Dr. Al-mashraqi completed her Master's degree (Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology) in 2010, and her Ph.D. degree with clinical residency in 2014 at Cairo University, Egypt. She completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Medical Education (PGDip MedEd) from the University of Warwick, United Kingdom. She also holds a Fellowship in Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (FDS RCSEd) and a Fellowship in Higher Education (FHEA) from Advanced Higher Education, United Kingdom. Dr. Al-mashraqi has been teaching basic radiology, oral and maxillofacial radiology, dental implants, temporomandibular disorders, and comprehensive care clinics for over a decade. She published many articles focused on dose management protocols and MRI/CT imaging of temporomandibular joints.

Dr. Dilek (Helvacioglu) Yigit is an Associate Professor of Endodontics at the College of Dental Medicine, Qatar University. Prior to joining Qatar University, Dr. Yigit served as the Chair of the Dept. of Endodontics, and also executive board member at Kocaeli University, Faculty of Dentistry in Turkey for 10 years. She graduated with a BDS in 2001 and a Ph.D. Degree in the field of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics in 2009, both from Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkey. She became an Assistant Professor in 2011 and an Associate Professor in 2016. She has over 10 years of clinical experience as a specialist in endodontic practice. Since 2011, she has been involved in both undergraduate and postgraduate teaching in Endodontics. She has authored or co-authored 3 chapters in national books and more than 30 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals.

Dr. Raidan Ba- Hattab is an Associate Professor of Endodontics at the College of Dental Medicine, Qatar University. She has completed her specialty training in Endodontics and has been awarded her doctorate degree from Rostock University, Germany. Ba- Hattab has teaching experience in Germany and Saudi Arabia (Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University- PNU, KSA). Her role included preclinical and clinical teaching, building curricula, designing courses, holding workshops and conducting research besides some administrative activities. She was awarded a grant for a project “Artificial intelligence for early diagnosis of oral cancers: A Bayesian deep neural network” from Qatar University, 2021. Ba- Hattab has several publications in peer-reviewed journals.

Dr Lamyia Anweigi is an Associate Professor of prosthodontics in the College of Dental Medicine at the University of Qatar. Dr Anweigi is a dental graduate of College of Dentistry, University of Benghazi Libya. She holds a PhD in "Clinical performance and subjective assessment of adhesive bridges in patients with Hypodontia" and Master of Medical Sciences in Restorative Dentistry (MMedS) from University College Cork, Ireland. She got a Membership of the Faculty of Dental Surgery Royal College of Surgeon Ireland (MFDSRCSI). Dr Anweigi moved to Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University and then joined the College of Dental Medicine, Qatar University in August 2019; she was the first academic staff contributed heavily on established the first Dental School in Qatar.

Dr. Nebu Philip is an Assistant Professor of Paediatric Dentistry at the College of Dental medicine, Qatar University. Dr. Philip completed his specialty training in Paediatric Dentistry from India and was subsequently granted the International Postgraduate Research Scholarship by the Australian government for doctoral training at the University of Queensland School of Dentistry. His PhD thesis consisted of a record 12 published peer-reviewed papers in high-impact journals. Dr. Philip has been practicing and teaching Paediatric Dentistry in India, Qatar, and U.A.E for over 12 years. His clinical practice focuses on implementing evidence-based guidelines. He was recently awarded a competitive research grant on ‘2D Diphosphate Nanocrystalline Hydrogel for Biomedical Applications’.

Dr Aala is an Assistant Professor of Restorative Dentistry at the College of Dental Medicine. She is the College Lead for Continuous Professional development (CPD), and Interprofessional Education (IPE). She is instrumental in building the dental curriculum, the simulation Laboratory program including haptics, and formulating the assessment strategy for the College of Dental Medicine. Dr Aala completed her Dental Masters at the University Of Bristol, UK. She was the Director of the pre-clinical dental laboratories/program at Bristol Dental School, leading on assessments & program development. Dr Aala is an Assessment lead for the Royal College of Surgeons of England and recently awarded Fellow of the Faculty of Dental Trainers of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, UK. She has authored and co-authored multiple peer-reviewed scientific papers, published a Restorative book.

Dr Manal Matoug-Elwerfelli is an Assistant Professor of Pre-Clinical Oral Sciences at the College of Dental Medicine, Qatar University. Dr Manal has successfully completed her Clinical Masters in Restorative Dentistry with Distinction followed by her PhD in Regenerative Endodontics in 2018, both from the University of Leeds, UK. Dr Manal holds a UK Dental License and a Membership Diploma in Royal College of Surgeons England (MJDF). She has presented her PhD thesis titled “Decellularisation of the Dental Pulp for Use as a Scaffold in Regenerative Endodontics” in several conferences and won several awards including Young researcher of the year award at the European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry, 2016.

Dr. Faez Saleh Al Hamed is an Assistant Professor in oral surgery department at the College of Dental Medicine, University of Qatar. Dr Al Hamed is a dental graduate of College of Dentistry, Aleppo University, Syria in 2011. He moved to Mansoura University, Egypt to complete his specialty training in oral surgery (2012-2016). He pursued his PhD in Craniofacial Health Sciences at McGill University, Canada (2017-2021). His PhD thesis focuses on the role of changes in plasma composition on bone healing and implant osseointegration. He received a highly competitive PhD Training Award from FRQS, McGill Excellence Award, and CADR Student Research Presentation Award. He completed a Post-Doctoral Fellowship on temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) at McGill University.

Dr. Waleed Alhawiti is a clinical academic and Assistant Professor at the College of Dental Medicine, Qatar University, and a Consultant Endodontist in Doha. He combines advanced clinical practice with academic leadership in dental education and training. He qualified with a Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) from King Saud University and subsequently undertook extensive postgraduate education and specialist clinical training in the United Kingdom. He completed five years of structured clinical training, with a focus on endodontics alongside comprehensive exposure to restorative dentistry, gaining broad experience in the management of complex and multidisciplinary cases within advanced clinical settings. He was awarded a Master of Dental Science in Endodontics from University of Dundee, followed by a Master of Clinical Dentistry (Endodontology) from Cardiff University.

Dr. Alhawiti holds Membership in Endodontics (MEndo) and has been awarded specialty fellowships from both Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and Royal College of Surgeons of England, reflecting a high level of professional and clinical distinction in the field. His clinical expertise includes advanced endodontic procedures, surgical endodontics, minimally invasive techniques, microscopic dentistry, and their integration within restorative treatment planning.