Rare Diseases Day 2026

Program

Earn CME Credits | Free Registration:

An application has been made to the Lebanese Order of Physicians to grant CME credits. 

Saturday, March 7, 2026

8:00 - 8:45 Onsite registration - LAU Beirut campus, Irwin Hall Auditorium
8:45 - 9:00  Welcome and Opening Remarks
Andre Megarbane, MD, PhD - Chair Department of Human Genetics, LAU Gilbert and Rose-Marie Chagoury School of Medicine, LB
9:00 - 9:40

Keynote Lecture: Early Diagnosis and Preventive Screening for Rare Diseases in the Middle East
Presented by
Ahmad Abou Tayoun, PhD,  - Director, Dubai Health Genomic Medicine Center

Session 1: Early Detection Matters: Newborn Screening for Rare Diseases

 9:40 - 10:30

Lecture 1: 30 years of Newborn Screening in Lebanon: Challenges, Perspectives and the Impact of the Recent of Economic Crisis and War
Presented by
Issam Khneisser, MS - Saint Joseph University of Beirut, LB 

Lecture 2: SMA: Newborn Screening for SMA in France
Presented by
Isabelle Desguerre, MD, PhD - Paris, France

Lecture 3: Genetic Carrier Burden Assessed in Neonatal Screening Genes: Evidence of Elevated Pathogenic Variant Frequency in the Lebanese Population
Presented by
Cybel Mehawej, PhD - LAU Gilbert and Rose-Marie Chagoury School of Medicine, LB
10:30 - 11:00 Coffee Break
11:00 - 11:30 Non-CME Satellite Symposium: (Roche) 

Session 2: Clinical Trials
11:30 - 12:00

Lecture 4: Addressing Bottlenecks in Gene Therapy Trials and an Opportunistic Window for Advancing Accessibility in the MENA Region
Presented by 
Joy Ismail, PhD - Sano Genetics, UK

Lecture 5: From Diagnosis to Trial Enrollment: Where Do We Lose Rare Disease Patients?
Presented by
Diana Hanna, MD, PhD - Phoenix Clinical Research, LB

Session 3: Genetic Advances in Heart Disorders: What’s New?
12:00 - 12:40

Lecture 6: Hypercholesterolemia and Sitosterolemia 
Presented by
Georges Nemer, PhD - Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar

Lecture 7: Cardiogenetics in Pediatrics
Presented by
Christelle Tayeh, MD - LAU Gilbert and Rose-Marie Chagoury School of Medicine, LB

Session 4: New Trends in Genetics
12:40 - 13:00

Lecture 8: New Concepts Shaping Genetics: Rethinking What we Thought we Knew
Presented by
Eliane Choueiry, PhD - LAU Gilbert and Rose-Marie Chagoury School of Medicine, LB
13:00 - 14:00  Lunch

Session 5: Genetic Advances in Neuromuscular Disorders: What’s New?
14:00 - 15:00 

Lecture 9: Genetic Landscape of Charcot-Marie-Tooth in Lebanon: Results from a 25-year Cohort Follow-up Study
Presented by
Valerie Delague, PhD - Aix-Marseille University, France

Lecture 10: Expanding the clinical, myopathologic, and genetic landscape of Congenital Myopathies (CMYO)
Presented by
Edoardo Malfatti, MD, PhD - UPEC University, INSERM, France

Lecture 11: Towards accessible innovative therapies? the example of SMA
Presented by
Andoni Urtizberea, MD, MSc - Institut de Myologie, Paris, France  

Session 6: Genetic Advances in Cancer: What’s New?
15:00 - 15:20 Lecture 12: Rare Cancers at the Intersection of Genetics, Burden, and Family Risk: From Molecular Insight to Genetic Counseling
Presented by
Soha Yazbeck, PhD - American University of Beirut, LB 
 
15:20- 15:50   Coffee Break
15:50 - 16:20 Non-CME Satellite Symposium 
Presented by
Abeer Hani, MD - LAU Gilbert and Rose-Marie Chagoury School of Medicine, LB

Session 7: Genetic Advances in Eye & Ear Disorders: What’s New?
16:20 - 16:55

Lecture 13: Genetic Eye Diseases: Diagnosis, Management, and Therapeutic Perspectives
Presented by
Ama Sadaka, MD - LAU Gilbert and Rose-Marie Chagoury School of Medicine, LB

Lecture 14: Genetic Advances in Hearing and Balance Disorders
Presented by
Myrna Mustapha, PhD - University of Sheffield, UK

Session 8:
16:55 - 17:35

Part I - Psychology


Lecture 15: Communicating Diagnosis: Clinical and Emotional Challenges
Presented by
Melanie Wardan - Psychologist, SESOBEL
 

Part II - Poster Presentations by LAU Medical Students

  1. Update on Consanguinity in Lebanon
  2. Knowledge About Rare Diseases Among Lebanese Medical Students 
  3. Knowledge of the Lebanese Population Towards Neonatal Screening
  4. Knowledge About Genetic Predisposition to Cancer in Lebanon
17:35 - 17:40 Closing Remarks:
Andre Megarbane, MD, PhD - Chair Department of Human Genetics, LAU Gilbert and Rose-Marie Chagoury School of Medicine, LB
Andoni Urtizberea, MD, MSc - Institut de Myologie, Paris, France  
17:40  Networking

For more inquiries, please contact:

Office of Faculty Affairs & Development
LAU Gilbert and Rose-Marie Chagoury School of Medicine
Email: cmeoffice@lau.edu.lb
Phone: + 961 786456, Extension: 5830 - 1831