Dr. Hazem. Agha is an Assistant Professor of Public Health Nutrition at Al-Quds University, Palestine, with more than 20 years of experience in higher education, public health, nutrition, academic leadership, research, and program development. He holds a PhD in Public Health Sciences with a specialization in Nutrition from Alexandria University, Egypt, an MSc in Public Health from Al-Quds University, and a BSc in Biology with a minor in Medical Technology from Al-Quds University.
Dr. Agha has held several academic and administrative leadership positions at Al-Quds University. He served as Dean of the Faculty of Public Health from September 2021 to August 2026, where he led academic and administrative development, strategic planning, faculty initiatives, partnerships, and efforts to strengthen public health education and research. Prior to serving as Dean, he was Chair of the Department of Public Health Nutrition from 2014 to 2021 and Coordinator of the Bachelor of Public Health Nutrition Program from 2011 to 2014.
A major area of Dr. Agha’s academic contribution has been the development and advancement of public health nutrition education in Palestine. He played a leading role in designing and developing the Bachelor of Public Health Nutrition program at Al-Quds University, which received accreditation from the Palestinian Accreditation and Quality Assurance Commission in 2011. His teaching and academic interests include Principles on Nutrition, clinical nutrition, nutritional assessment, nutrition and chronic diseases, nutrition across the life course, and community-based nutrition interventions.
Dr. Agha’s research interests encompass public health nutrition, nutritional status and dietary behaviors, obesity and chronic diseases, food security, nutrition among vulnerable populations, nutrition during emergencies and humanitarian crises, and the intersection of nutrition with broader public health challenges. His research also extends to health systems, public health policy, environmental health, infectious disease prevention, and the health consequences of conflict and humanitarian emergencies.
He has published research in international peer-reviewed journals, including BMC Public Health, PLOS ONE, Human Nutrition & Metabolism, BMC Pediatrics, Frontiers in Public Health, Frontiers in Nutrition, E Clinical Medicine, Public Health Reviews, Journal of Affective Disorders, and Social Science & Medicine.
Beyond the university, Dr. Agha has actively contributed to national and international public health and nutrition initiatives. His professional development includes specialized training and academic programs in climate and health, disaster medicine, nutrition, public health leadership, food safety, health systems, and research ethics. He has also contributed to professional networks and technical committees addressing public health emergencies, climate and health, vaccination, food safety, and public health policy.
Professional Memberships & Contributions:
Active member of ASPHER’s Public Health Emergencies Task Force and its Vaccination, Climate Health, and War & Public Health working groups (2023–present); Member of the ICESCO Health Consortium & Healthcare Initiative (2022–present).
Dr. Agha is committed to advancing evidence-based public health education and research and to strengthening the capacity of health professionals to address nutrition and public health challenges in Palestine and the wider region.
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?authuser=1&user=scBQBI4AAAAJ
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7568-4986
Publications:
Agha H., Idrees W.M. & Amro R. Weight status, percent body fat, eating habits, depression, and food addiction in Palestinian university students: a cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health (2026). https://doi. org/10.1186/s12889-026-28922-9
Qasrawi, R., Thwaib, S., Issa, G., Al Taweel, R., Abu Ghoush, R., Amro, M., Agha, H., Abu Al-Halawa, D., Al Taweel, H., Amro, R., & Jawaldeh, A. (2026). Cardiometabolic risk pathways in adults with disabilities: A structural equation model of diet quality and functional ability. PLOS One, 21(7), e0354600. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0354600
Qasrawi, R., Thwib, S., Issa, G., Al Taweel, R., AbuGhoush, R., Amro, M., Agha, H., Abu Al-Halaweh, D., Al Taweel, H., Tayyem, R., & Jawaldeh, A. (2026). Growth outcomes and nutrient adequacy in children with disabilities in the West Bank: Associations with disability severity and socioeconomic factors. Human Nutrition & Metabolism, 45, 200373. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hnm.2026.200373
Salameh, S., Murrar, Z., Aburmeleh, B., Agha, H., & Atallah, A. (2026). Dietary challenges and supplement use in children with autism spectrum disorder in the West Bank-Palestine: a cross-sectional study. BMC pediatrics.
Lombatti, S., Magid, A., Davidovitch, N., Middleton, J., Sheek-Hussein, M., Lopes, H., Skhvitaridze, N., Agha, H., Lopez-Acuña, D., Martínez Olmos, J. and Bauernfeind, A., 2024. The COVID-19 Pandemic as a Public Health Teacher—the Lessons We Must Learn. Public Health
Reviews, 45, p.1607232.
Masad, A., Khadoura, K.J., Mustafa, A.A., Agha, H., Allyan, F. and Najjar, S., 2023. Public nutritional knowledge toward the COVID-19 among Palestinian population: a cross-sectional
study. Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science, 22(1), pp.57-67.
Allyan, F., Najjar, S., Agha, H., Massad, A., Mustafa, A.A. and Khadoura, K.J., 2022. COVID-19 Transmission Routes, Protection Aids, and Immunity Enhancement: Community-Based Online Knowledge Survey Among Palestinians. Florence Nightingale Journal of Nursing, 30(2), p.167.
Qasrawi, R., Amro, M., VicunaPolo, S., Al-Halawa, D.A., Agha, H., Seir, R.A., Hoteit, M., Hoteit, R., Allehdan, S., Behzad, N. and Bookari, K., 2022. Machine learning techniques for predicting depression and anxiety in pregnant and postpartum women during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional regional study. F1000Research, 11.
Hoteit, M., Mortada, H., Al-Jawaldeh, A., Mansour, R., Yazbeck, B., AlKhalaf, M., Bookari, K., Tayyem, R., Al-Awwad, N.J., Al Sabbah, H. and Cheikh Ismail, L., 2022. Dietary diversity in the Eastern
Mediterranean region before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: Disparities, challenges, and mitigation measures. Frontiers in Nutrition, 9, p.813154.
De Backer, C., Teunissen, L., Cuykx, I., Decorte, P., Pabian, S., Gerritsen, S., Matthys, C., Al Sabbah, H., Van Royen, K. and Corona Cooking Survey Study Group, 2022. Corrigendum: An evaluation of the COVID-19 pandemic and perceived social distancing policies in relation to planning, selecting, and preparing healthy meals: An observational study in 38 countries worldwide. Frontiers in nutrition, 9, p.989617.
Eskin, M., Baydar, N., Harlak, H., Hamdan, M., Mechri, A., Isayeva, U., Abdel-Khalek, A.M., Rezaeian, M., Asad, N., El-Nayal, M., Al Buhairan, F., Noor, I.M., Khader, Y., Khan, A., Al Sayyari, A., Khader, A., Behzadi, B., Öztürk, C.Ş., Agha, H., Hendarmin, L.A. and Khan, M.M., 2021.
Cultural and interpersonal risk factors for suicide ideation and suicide attempts among Muslim college students from 11 nations. Journal of Affective Disorders, 294, pp.366–373.
Eskin, M., Baydar, N., El-Nayal, M., Asad, N., Noor, I.M., Rezaeian, M., Abdel-Khalek, A.M., Al Buhairan, F., Harlak, H., Hamdan, M., Mechri, A., Isayeva, U., Khader, Y., Khan, A., Al Sayyari, A., Khader, A., Behzadi, B., Öztürk, C.Ş., Agha, H., Hendarmin, L.A. and Khan, M.M., 2020.
Associations of religiosity, attitudes towards suicide and religious coping with suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in 11 Muslim countries. Social Science & Medicine, 265, pp.113390.
Amro, A., Tamimi, H., Dhaidel, H., Agha, H. and Issa, Y., 2018. The effects of electronic waste burning on lead concentration in water and blood in South West Hebron: Descriptive-comparative
study. International Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, 3(2), pp.036–044.
Abdeen, Z., Brunstein-Klomek, A., Nakash, O., Shibli, N., Nagar, M., Agha, H., Hallaq, S., Kanat- Maymon, Y., Juerges, H., Levav, I. and Qasrawi, R., 2018. The association between political violence and the connection between bullying and suicidality among Palestinian youth. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 48(1), pp.95–104.
Massad, S.J., Hamdan, M., Agha, H. and Amr, A., 2017. Sports nutrition supplement use: Comparison between a USA and a Palestinian community. International Journal of Science, Commerce and Humanities, 5(2).
Abdeen, Z., Berman, T., Azmi, K., Abu Seir, R., Agha, H., Ein-Mor, E. and Göend, T., 2016. Urinary organophosphate metabolite levels in Palestinian pregnant women: Results of the Middle East Regional Cooperation Project. International Journal of Environmental Health Research, 26(3).