Mary E. Deeb, PhD

Associate Professor
Coordinator of Year-Long Project
Epidemiology and Population Health

I am a founding member of the LAU Gilbert and Rose-Marie Chagoury School of Medicine, and currently an Associate Professor and the curriculum coordinator of the Population Health Theme. I teach Epidemiology and Biostatistics to medical students and supervise research projects of first-year and second-year medical students as part of the requirements of a year-long research practicum.

I was previously employed in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Faculty of Health Sciences at the American University of Beirut. I have been the coordinator of the Master of Public Health (MPH) program; I was in charge of supervising and advising MPH graduate students. As a member of the Curriculum Committee, I was involved in the review process of the MPH curriculum and the development of competency-based learning which exposed me to performance of training needs assessment. This is an on-going process leading to the accreditation of graduate programs by the American Association of Schools of Public Health.

I gained substantial experience in conducting original research in the areas of infant and child mortality, nutritional status, chronic diseases, household survey research and reproductive health.

I have been closely involved in the implementation of health strategies at the national level within a long-term goal of development and sectoral policy. I have analyzed statistical data and reported on findings for strategic planning for several projects, such as the National Housing and Population survey undertaken by the Ministry of Social Affairs and the PAPChild survey conducted by the Ministry of Health of Lebanon. I have contributed as part of multidisciplinary expert and task force committees in policy dialogue at the ministerial level on population issues, health sector reform and reproductive health in Lebanon and the region.

I have extensive experience as leader and member of tasks teams in advising ministries, and non-governmental organizations in planning for long—term sectoral investment. As a consultant to UNICEF, WHO and UNFPA I prepared evaluation reports on the health situation in Lebanon that included infant and child mortality, nutritional status, gender and reproductive health analysis and which constituted background material for nationwide situation analysis planning. I am active in many of the regional and national committees that address Health Sector Reform, Primary Health Care, Reproductive Health, Arab maternal health and PAPChild surveys.

I have collaborated as a researcher with international scholars and colleagues in the United States and in Europe, namely in England and France, and in the Arab region. I have participated also on a regular basis in international and regional meetings.

Selected Publications

• Chatila R, Merhi M, Hariri E, Sabbah N, Deeb ME. Irritable bowel syndrome: Prevalence, Risk factors in an adult Lebanese population. BMC Gastroenterology (2017) 17:137. DOI: 10.1186/s12876-017-0698-2.
• Assi C, Kheir N, Samaha C, Deeb M, Yammine K. Optimizing patellar positioning during total knee arthroplasty: An anatomical and clinical study. International Orthopaedics (2017) 41:1. DOI: 10.1007/s00264-017-3557-4
• Ramadan WH, El-Khoury GM. Deeb ME, Sheikh-Taha M. Prescription patterns of benzodiazepines in the Lebanese adult population: A cross-sectional study. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment (2016)12: 2299-2305. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2147/NDT.S113078
• Platt DE, Ghassibe-Sabbagh M, Youhanna S, Hager J, Cazier J-B, Kamatani Y, Salloum AK, Haber M, Romanos J, Doueihy B, Mouzaya F, Kibbani S, ,Sbeite H, Deeb ME, Chammas E, el Bayeh H, Khazen G, Gauguier D, Zalloua PA, Abchee AB. Circulating lipid levels and risk of coronary artery disease in a large group of patients undergoing coronary angiography. Journal of Thrombosis and Thrombolysis (2015) 39(1):15-22.
• Ghassibe-Sabbagh M, Deeb M, Salloum AK, Mouzaya F, Haber M, Al-Saraj Y, Chami Y, Akle Y, Hirbli K, Nemr R, Ahdab R, Platt DE, Abchee AB, El-Shanti H, Zalloua PA. Multivariate epidemiologic analysis of type 2 diabetes risks in the Lebanese population. Diabetology and Metabolic Syndrome. (2014) 6(1):89.
• Awwad J, Sayegh R, Yeretzian J, Deeb ME. Prevalence, risk factors and predictors of pelvic organ prolapse: A community-based study. Menopause-The Journal of the North American Menopause Society (2012) 19(11):1235.
• Youhanna S, Platt DE, Rebeiz A, Lauridsen M, Deeb ME, Nasrallah A, Alam S, Puzantian H, Kabbani S, Ghoul M, Zreik TG, el Bayeh H, Abchee A, Zalloua P. Parental consanguinity and family history of coronary artery disease strongly predict early stenosis. Atherosclerosis (2010) 212(2):559-563.

View Dr. Deeb’s publications on PubMed.

Education and Training

• Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
• Master of Public Health, Health Services Administration, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
• Ph.D., The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.

Professional Memberships and Organizations

• President, Lebanese Epidemiological Association
• Member, International Epidemiological Association
• Nominated by the Lebanese Minister of Health as member of an advisory task force that will assist in the development of Lebanon’s comprehensive health sector reform plan
• Nominated by the Lebanese parliament as member of the “Lebanese National Expert Committee on Population” in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Affairs

Keywords

Population Health, Survey Research, Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Chronic Diseases, Reproductive Health