Ahmad Abou Tayoun is an American board-certified (ABMGG) clinical molecular geneticist dedicated to advancing genomic medicine through research, innovation, and equitable clinical implementation. His work focuses on genomic discovery and translational research to improve the diagnosis and management of genetic disorders, while building capacity and expanding access to high-quality clinical genomics services, particularly in the Middle East. Professor Abou Tayoun is committed to translating scientific discoveries into clinical practice through multidisciplinary collaboration, innovative technologies, and sustainable implementation
Academic Appointments
Professor of Genetics
Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, UAE
Associate Professor of Genetics
Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, UAE
Assistant Professor of Pathology & Lab Medicine
University of Pennsylvania, USA
Professional Education
Fellowship - Clinical Molecular Genetics
Harvard Medical School, USA
Fellowship - Molecular Diagnostics
Dartmouth Medical School, USA
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) - Genetics
Dartmouth College, USA
Masters of Science (MSc) - Molecular Biology
American University of Beirut, Lebanon
Bachelors of Science - 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
Hamdan Award for Best Arab Research in Healthcare
Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Distinguished Academic Performance
Hamdan Award for Outstanding Clinical Department in the Public Sector in the United Arab Emirates
Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Distinguished Academic Performance
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
- Fellow of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG).
- Diplomate of the American Board of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ABMGG).
- Hearing Loss Expert Panel, The Clinical Genome Consortium (ClinGen), USA
- Sequence Variant Interpretation (SVI) Workgroup, ClinGen, USA
- Sequence Variant Classification (SVC) 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 and epidemiology of rare diseases in the Middle East.
- Developing new diagnostic and screening tools using mutli-OMICs and long-read sequencing technologies.
- Citywide implementation of genomic medicine throughout an individual’s lifecycle, including premarital carrier screening, rapid whole genome sequencing (rWGS) in intensive care units, genomic newborn screening (gNBS), genomic diagnostics in pediatrics, and cancer genomics.
- Discovery and functional characterization of novel disease genes or biomarkers using patients induced pluripotent stems cells (iPSCs) and animal models.
- Preclinical characterization of therapeutic agents.
Clinical and Community Service
- Premarital genomic screening, supporting family medicine at Dubai Health.
- Prenatal genetics (non-invasive screening and diagnostics), supporting OB/GYN at Dubai Health.
- Rapid whole genome sequencing (rWGS) supporting neonatal and pediatric intensive care units (NICU/PICU) at Dubai Health.
- Genomic diagnostics supporting pediatrics at Dubai Health.
- Cancer genomics supporting Dubai Health oncology services.
