Niveen Khashab

Niveen M. Khashab
Born	Lebanon
Occupation(s)	Chemist, Professor of Chemical Sciences and Engineering
Years active	2009–present
Known for	Research on smart hybrid materials for drug delivery; CRISPR-Cas9 delivery mechanisms
Notable work	Carbon Nanomaterials Sourcebook: Graphene, Fullerenes, Nanotubes, and Nanodiamonds, Volume I

Niveen M. Khashab is a distinguished Lebanese chemist who has been serving as a Professor of Chemical Sciences and Engineering at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia since 2009. In 2017, she was honored with the L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science for her pioneering research on advanced smart hybrid materials designed for drug delivery, alongside innovative methods to track antioxidant activity within cells. Khashab holds fellowship status at the Royal Society of Chemistry and is affiliated with the American Chemical Society.

Education

Khashab completed her undergraduate studies in Chemistry at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon. She then pursued and obtained her doctorate in chemistry from the University of Florida.

Research & Career

Professor Khashab’s expertise lies in the creation and synthesis of programmable "smart" nanomaterials, with an emphasis on systems for controlled release and targeted delivery. The synthetic materials she develops have applications across biomimetic biological fields—including distribution, sensing, and imaging—as well as industrial uses such as nanocomposites, and environmental applications like membrane fabrication. Her investigations exploit the inherent microporous characteristics of supramolecular assemblies to enable energy-efficient separation processes, specifically focusing on molecular recognition of benzene derivatives.

Her research group focuses on engineering self-assembled capsules (SACs) capable of encapsulating nucleic acids (RNA, DNA) and proteins, particularly aiming to improve CRISPR-Cas9 delivery mechanisms for precise gene editing purposes. With more than ten years of research experience, Khashab currently holds the position of Full Professor and leads the Chemistry Program at KAUST.

Bibliography

• Carbon Nanomaterials Sourcebook: Graphene, Fullerenes, Nanotubes, and Nanodiamonds, Volume I.

Patents

Professor Niveen M. Khashab is credited with multiple patents covering a range of innovative technologies including:

Publications

• Jonas G. Croissant, Yevhen Fatieiev, Niveen M. Khashab. "Degradability and Clearance of Silicon, Organosilica, Silsesquioxane, Silica Mixed Oxide, and Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles". Wiley Online Library.
• Jonas G. Croissant, Yevhen Fatieiev, Abdulaziz Almalik, Niveen M. Khashab. "Mesoporous Silica and Organosilica Nanoparticles: Physical Chemistry, Biosafety, Delivery Strategies, and Biomedical Applications". Wiley Online Library.
• Shahad K Alsaiari et al. "Endosomal Escape and Delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Editing Machinery Enabled by Nanoscale Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework". ACS Publications.
• Jonas G. Croissant, Xavier Cattoën, Michel Wong Chi Man, Jean-Olivier Durand, Niveen M. Khashab. "Syntheses and applications of periodic mesoporous organosilica nanoparticles". Nanoscale.
• Jonas G Croissant et al. "Protein-gold clusters-capped mesoporous silica nanoparticles for high drug loading, autonomous gemcitabine/doxorubicin co-delivery, and in-vivo tumor imaging". Journal of Controlled Release.
• Mram Z Alyami et al. "Cell-Type-Specific CRISPR/Cas9 Delivery by Biomimetic Metal Organic Frameworks". ACS Publications.

Awards

In 2023, Niveen was awarded the Great Arab Minds Award in Natural Sciences, acknowledging her significant impact in the fields of chemistry, bioengineering, and biology.

External links

• Khashab Laboratory official site