About ATA

Dr. Hadil Al Muhisen currently serves as the toxicologist/study director at Inotiv Inc. in the United States, overseeing a broad spectrum of toxicology studies, including general, developmental, and reproductive aspects. Her multifaceted role harmonizes with her extensive academic background. Demonstrating a profound commitment to her field, she initiated the Arab Toxicologists Association (ATA) in 2019, a distinguished special interest group within the Society of Toxicology (SOT). Beyond founding the ATA, Dr. Al Muhisen has played pivotal roles within the association, serving as interim Treasurer, Secretary, Councilor, and presently as the website liaison. Her professional journey also encompasses practical experience at Wyeth Nutrition (a division of Nestle Global), where she served as a nutrition delegate. In 2016, she further refined her expertise through toxicology training at the Regional Poison Control Center in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. Dr. Al Muhisen earned her PhD in Toxicology from Texas A&M University (TAMU) in 2023, following her MSc. in Toxicology from the same institution in 2018. Before her postgraduate studies, she obtained a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from King Faisal University’s College of Science. In recognition of her exceptional contributions, 2023 brought honors as she received the Celebrating Women in Toxicology Award from the Women in Toxicology (WIT) Special Interest Group, a distinguished subset of SOT. This accolade recognizes her exceptional dedication, leadership, and influence in the toxicology field.

Dr. Mohamed Ghorab is a toxicologist scientist at the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP). Dr. Ghorab has performed human and environmental hazards and risk assessments for a variety of industrial chemicals and pesticides to aid in evaluating and to determine safe levels for chemical use in dietary, residential and occupational settings. He has also participated in multiple national and international efforts including the development of methods, guidance, and policy for validation and reducing the use of animals in chemical testing and the development of approaches for human and ecological risk assessment. Dr. Ghorab plays an exceptional role in advancing the One Health approach within the US EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD). Prior to his current role, Dr. Ghorab’s tenure at the National Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL), Office of Research and Development (ORD) in Cincinnati, Ohio, he was marked by leadership and innovation. As a research toxicologist and team leader, he made significant contributions to the development and validation of acute and chronic toxicity testing methods to enhance our understanding of exposure, effects, and distribution of emerging contaminants, highlighting his leadership and research capabilities. Dr. Ghorab holds a PhD in Environmental Toxicology from Michigan State University and Alexandria University. He also completed postdoctoral fellowship training in environmental toxicology at Michigan State University’s Wildlife Toxicology Lab, and has been part of cleanup efforts under the Pine River Superfund program in Michigan for 2017–2019. Dr. Ghorab serves as a visiting faculty/Mentor at the University of California, Davis, guiding a diverse group of STEM students, emphasizing career development in toxicology. Internationally, Dr. Ghorab’s expertise is recognized through his selection as an expert toxicologist for the WHO’s Joint FAO/WHO Meeting on Pesticide Residues (JMPR). In 2024, Dr. Ghorab was selected to serve as High Education Ambassador for Harvard University. Mohamed has been a member of SOT since 2015, SETAC since 2014. He has over twenty peer-reviewed articles and has served as a reviewer on several National Institute of Health and multiple peer-reviewed toxicology journals.

Dr. Wafa Harrouk is a Master Reviewer in the Division of Pharmacology and Toxicology for Infectious Diseases supporting Antiviral Products at the US Food and Drug Administration's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER). Dr. Harrouk holds a Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry from the University of North Texas, a Master's degree in Pathology, and a PhD in Pharmacology and Therapeutics from McGill University.

She is an adjunct professor at George Washington University, where she teaches genomics and toxicology courses, and has also taught at Taif University in Saudi Arabia. Dr. Harrouk has an extensive list of scientific publications and has held leadership roles within the FDA and in professional organizations. As a member of the Society of Toxicology (SOT), she has served as councilor for the Arab Toxicology Association (ATA) for the past three years, where she organized and moderated multinational webinar series relevant to scientists in the Arab world, and supported the newsletter and business meeting for this subgroup. She is a member of the SOT Mid-Atlantic Regional Chapter. She is the current Vice President-Elect of the Society for Birth Defects Research and Prevention and is an active member of the American College of Toxicology.

Dr. Wasel is a professional services toxicologist for Apple, Inc, where she performs toxicological evaluations of chemical substances to support biocompatibility assessments. She received a doctorate in Toxicology from the School of Health Sciences at Purdue University in 2022. For her PhD. dissertation, she investigated how early-life exposure to legacy and emerging perfluoroalkyl substances affect the development of an organism using the zebrafish model. Earlier in 2018, she earned an MS in Toxicology from Purdue University, where she assessed the effects of developmental exposure to tungsten mixtures and validated the use of mathematical models to predict mixtures’ toxicity. She is author/co-author of six peer-reviewed articles and one book chapter. She has been a member of the SOT since 2016 and was a founding member of the Arab Toxicologists Association, ATA. She was awarded the Best Graduate Student Abstract award from the Neurotoxicology Specialty Section and ATA of SOT in 2022. Dr. Wasel served as a mentor for five undergraduate students and visiting scholars during her time at Purdue. She was selected to participate in the Global Ambassador Program at Purdue University, representing her home country, Egypt.

Dr. Kadry is an adjunct Professor at the University of Maryland, School of Public Health. Dr. Kadry is a former senior science advisor at the Center for Computational Toxicology and Exposure (CCTE) in the Office of Research and Development (ORD) of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA).

Dr. Kadry’s experience in toxicology and risk assessment spans over thirty-five years and includes academic research, drug safety and efficacy, food safety and environmental risk assessment. He served for seven years as a senior advisor for Scientific Organizational Development and International Activities at the US EPA’s National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA). For five years he led US EPA’s risk assessment development activities as the Director of the US EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS). Before joining US EPA in 2006, he was Chief of the Technical Analysis and Evaluation Branch, Risk Assessment Division, Office of Public Health Sciences, Food Safety and Inspection Service, at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). Additionally, Dr. Kadry spent 12 years on the faculty of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.

Dr. Kadry published a number of peer reviewed journal articles and book chapters. He trained large numbers of graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and other professionals in the United States and several countries on the principles and applications of toxicological research and risk assessments. Dr. Kadry collaborated with two Egyptian professors and together established an international global graduate course on the application of risk assessment to ensure food safety and security. This course is web based and very popular in both the University of Maryland and Cairo University. Dr. Kadry's roots are in Egypt where he was born and grew up. He is very interested in Egyptian ancient history, culture, and the effect of ancient Egypt culture on the current Egyptian society. He is very active in community service, offering mediation as a lead mediator in Shared Neutral of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

Dr. Saleh is a physician and academician. She currently lectures in the forensic medicine and clinical toxicology department at the Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, and is a senior research member of the Forensic Chemistry and Clinical Toxicology lab. In addition, she is an adjunct lecturer of Environmental Toxicology at the Molecular Biology Research Institute at Assiut University, Egypt. In 2022 Dr. Saleh earned her PhD in Nanotoxicology from Nagoya City University, Japan where she performed multiple risk assessment experiments using (TIPS) techniques in animal models and applied for a patent for validation of this novel research technique. Dr. Saleh brings approximately 12 years of experience in conducting toxicology and risk assessment studies, including academic research on environmental toxins in Egypt and Japan. She is the author/co-author of 6 publications and has been a member of the SOT since 2019.

Dr. Afaf H. Al-Nadaf is a Professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy, Mutah University, Jordan, with over two decades of experience in toxicology, pharmaceutical safety, regulatory science, and academic leadership. She received her PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Jordan and integrates toxicological principles into teaching, research, and regulatory practice.

She has served extensively as a Technical Consultant and Expert with the Jordan Food and Drug Administration (JFDA), contributing to national committees on drug registration, re-registration, post-approval changes, and quality control. Her research addresses toxicological and pharmacological evaluation of bioactive compounds, nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems, and safety-driven pharmaceutical development, and she has authored or co-authored more than 30 peer-reviewed publications.

Dr. Christina Awada is a Postdoctoral Toxicologist at Combe, where she supports global product safety and regulatory compliance for OTC products, cosmetics, and medical devices. In her role, she conducts human health risk assessments, oversees testing strategies, and prepares documentation for regulatory submissions under US FDA, EU MDR, and UK MDD frameworks.

She earned her PhD in Environmental Medicine with a focus on Systemic and Molecular Toxicology from the NYU Grossman School of Medicine in April 2025. Her research investigated how e-cigarette exposure induces epigenetic alterations that influence cancer pathways. She is an active SOT member and participates in multiple specialty sections and professional groups.

Ms. Lila Bazina is a PhD Candidate in Environmental and Occupational Health at Rutgers University School of Public Health, conducting research in nanotoxicology and environmental health. Her work focuses on wildfire-emitted particulate matter and inhaled environmentally relevant micro- and nanoplastics, with emphasis on oxidative stress, macrophage function, and particle translocation.

She received her MS in Bioengineering from Harvard University (2020) and her BS in Biology from The American University in Cairo (2015). She has more than nine peer-reviewed publications and is a recipient of the NIH/NIEHS F31 NRSA Predoctoral Fellowship (2026).

Dr. Nabila Saber Ahmed completed her doctorate degree of Pesticides Chemistry and toxicology from agriculture faculty, Alexandria University, Egypt. Where she started her academic career and serves now as Professor of pesticides chemistry & toxicology. She is currently working as consultant of Egyptchem International of Agrochemicals Company. She is experienced in pesticides registration in Middle East and African market. She is external auditing for the acute, and eco toxicity studies reports from GLP labs to support pesticide dossier registration.

Dr. Ahmed supervised a number of MSc & PhD thesis with research interest in eco toxicity as in quail, algae, frog; monitoring environmental pollution as pesticides, heavy metals (Pb) and study the biochemical effect of pesticides; delayed neurotoxicity of certain organophosphate; Oxidative stress and tissue damage induced by pesticide. She is PI of the project of study the efficacy of some nematicides to be register in Egypt. She has published research in reputable specialized national & international Journals.

Dr. Alharris is a medical doctor and lecturer at the college of medicine in the University of Alqadiseyah where she works as a researcher and lecturer. She received her doctorate in biomedical Sciences from the University of South Carolina in 2018. Dr. Alharris got her bachelors in Medicine and general surgery in 1998 and her masters degree in human pathology at 2008 from the University of Alkufa. She is the author of three publications and co-author of two publications including peer-reviewed articles (two). She has been a member of the SOT since 2017 and has presented at SOT for three consecutive years.

Dr. Sahar Issa is a Professor of Clinical Toxicology & Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University-Egypt, and a Consultant Toxicologist and Medical Director in the Regional Poison Control Centre. She got her MSc (2001) and doctorate degrees (2009) in Clinical Toxicology and Forensic Medicine from Alexandria University-Egypt. Her research work exceeds 35 publications. She is interested in Drug Poisoning, Substances of Abuse, Designer Drugs, Forensic Toxicology, and Electronic Health in Toxicology & Forensic Medicine. She has been an SOT member since 2018.

Dr. Mouna Zachary is a UK-based toxicologist who joined ToxServices in mid-2009 after completing her postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Hull, England. She specializes in QSAR software, chemical hazard assessments, and SDS compliance. She is a member of the Society of Toxicology (SOT) and the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).