Al-Quds University researcher Dr. Dania Al-Khatib won first place in the IADR Global Hatton Award—Senior Basic Science category at the international organization’s annual conference in Barcelona, Spain.

Her win was a well-deserved recognition of her outstanding research titled “Partial EMT Prognostic Classifier and Drug Repurposing for HNSC.” In this study, she presented an accurate predictive model based on partial epithelial-mesenchymal transition (partial EMT) analysis. The study highlighted opportunities for repurposing existing drugs to target poor prognosis cancers in head and neck cancers.

This award is among the most prestigious global awards in the field of dental research. It recognizes young researchers from around the world for their outstanding research contributions.

Dr. Dania Al-Khatib represented the Palestinian section of the International Organization for Dental Research (IADR) and Al-Quds University. She also noted her research partnerships with the University of London, the University of Cambridge, and other research companies. These partnerships contributed to enhancing research output.

Dr. Dania Al-Khatib, a graduate of the Faculty of Dentistry at Al-Quds University, is the nominee of the Palestinian section of the International Organization for Dental Research (IADR).

The Palestinian section of IADR was established in July 2023 by a distinguished group of Palestinian researchers. The section is led by the Dean of Scientific Research at Al-Quds University, Dr. Elham Al-Khatib, who expressed her delight for this outstanding achievement of Dr. Dania, the newly established Palestinian section, and Al-Quds University.

Dr. Elham Al-Khatib highlighted the Palestinian section of IADR’s pivotal role in providing student and junior researchers with a platform to showcase their creativity. Under her leadership, Palestine has firmly established its name on the global map of scientific research in the field of dentistry and secured its right to international representation in all major competitions.

This recognition was widely welcomed by the research community at the conference, which saw it as a distinguished achievement for Dr. Dania, Al-Quds University and the Palestinian Section.