Rima Moghnieh, MD

Dr. Rima Moghnieh, an infectious disease specialist and researcher, has practiced medicine in Lebanon since 1996. She has extensive experience in treating immunocompromised patients in the field of hematology, oncology and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation at multiple tertiary-care hospitals for more than 20 years, as well as in general infectious diseases clinical practice for more than 25 years. She held leadership roles in infection prevention and control (IPC) and antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) in several tertiary-care hospitals. Currently, she serves as a professor of clinical medicine at LAU, also heading the Division of Infectious Diseases at the LAU Medical Center–Rizk Hospital. As a former president of the Lebanese Society for Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, her dedication to enhancing IPC practices in Lebanon spans since 2011, focusing on hand hygiene, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and AMS. Since 2018, she has been a part-time consultant for the WHO, developing National Action Plans for AMR control in several Middle Eastern countries, including Lebanon, Syria, Kuwait, Libya, Tunisia, Somalia, and the UAE. Additionally, she has acted as an external consultant for the WHO, aiding in developing national IPC guidelines in countries like Lebanon, Iraq, Palestine, and Jordan. Dr. Moghnieh has been nominated as a member of the Strategic and Technical Advisory Group for Antimicrobial Resistance (STAG-AMR) at the WHO for the 2024–2027 term. She has co-authored more than 50 publications in reputable journals, notably contributing to national clinical guidelines for managing community-acquired pneumonia, febrile neutropenia, urinary tract infections, and complicated intra-abdominal infections. Her research interests encompass various fields of infectious diseases, including epidemiological studies, AMR surveillance, hospital-based IPC and AMS, and COVID-19 vaccinology. As an educator, Dr. Moghnieh has provided strong clinical mentorship to fellows, residents and medical students rotating through tertiary care hospitals she has worked in from multiple reputed medical schools in Lebanon.