Ahmad Abou Tayoun is a board-certified clinical molecular geneticist bringing genomic diagnostic services to underserved populations like those in the Middle East, working with local and international teams towards building regional genomic training and research programs, and establishing novel diagnostic tools and evidence-based guidelines for the broader implementation of human genomics.
Academic Appointments
Associate Professor, Genetics
College of Medicine, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai Health, Dubai, UAE
Director
Genomics Center of Excellence, Al Jalila Children’s Specialty Hospital, Dubai Health, Dubai, UAE
Assistant Professor of Pathology & Lab Medicine
University of Pennsylvania, USA
Director
Division of Genomic Diagnostics, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, USA
Post-Doctoral Clinical Molecular Genetics Fellow
Harvard Medical School, USA
Post-Doctoral Fellow, Molecular Diagnostics
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, USA
Professional Education
FACMG
Fellow of the American College of Medical Genetics, USA
DABMGG
Diplomate of the American Board of Medical Genetics and genomics, USA
PhD (Genetics)
Dartmouth College, USA
MSc (Molecular Biology)
American University of Beirut, Lebanon
BS (Biology)
American University of Beirut, Lebanon
Teaching Experience
- Teaching Genetics and Molecular Biology to undergraduate medical students.
- Teaching Molecular Genomics to postgraduate students.
- Mentoring and co-supervising master’s and PhD students.
Honors and Awards
Advisor on Genomics
World Health Organization (WHO)
Hamdan Award for Outstanding Clinical Department in the Public Sector in the United Arab Emirates
Hamdan Award, UAE
Weekly Fellow Competition Winner
Harvard Medical School, USA
Graduate School Student Scholarship
Dartmouth College, USA
Suaad Al Sabbah Award, Best Master’s Thesis in Biomedical Sciences,
American University of Beirut, Lebanon
Top three student in national high school exam.
Prime Minister Rafic Hariri Scholarship Award, Lebanon
Publications
Membership of Professional Bodies/Associations
- American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG)
- Hearing loss Expert Panel, The Clinical Genome Consortium (ClinGen), USA
- Sequence Variant Interpretation (SVI) Workgroup, ClinGen, USA
- Interpreting Sequence Variants (ISV) Workgroup: ACMG, ClinGen, AMP (Association for Molecular Pathology), CAP (College of American Pathologists)
- Human Pangenome Reference Consortium (HPRC), USA.
- World Health Organization (WHO), Geneva
Research Interest
- Characterizing the genomic landscape of rare diseases in the Middle East
- Developing new genomic diagnostic tools using novel technologies such as long read sequencing
- Establishing the utility of several genomic applications in the UAE, including rapid whole genome sequencing (rWGS), genomic newborn screening (gNBS), carrier screening, pharmacogenomics, and genomic-based blood typing for transfusion medicine.
- Characterizing the epidemiology of rare genetic diseases, mainly Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA).
- Contributing to the discovery of novel disease genes.
Clinical and Community Service
- Genomic diagnostics, Al Jalila Children’s Specialty Hospital, UAE.
- Genomic Surveillance for COVID-19, Dubai Health, UAE.
