The Gilbert and Rose-Marie Chagoury School of Medicine Celebrates Accreditation Success and Faculty Excellence

Dean Bahous sharing the school’s milestones from the past year at the annual faculty promotions event.

LAU’s school of medicine celebrates faculty promotions and marks a milestone year of accreditations, reaffirming its commitment to innovation, student success, and global standards in medical education.

On August 20, 2025, faculty, residents, staff, and students from the LAU Gilbert and Rose-Marie Chagoury School of Medicine gathered to honor a dual achievement: An international accreditation and the promotion of faculty members whose work has contributed to the institution’s success.

“This is unprecedented and a moment of great pride for our school,” said Dean Sola Aoun Bahous, highlighting this year’s breakthrough in which six residency programs were accredited simultaneously by ACGME-I, the first time the body has approved so many programs from a single institution.

This milestone rests on the foundation of the MD Program’s accreditation process. After securing a two-year provisional status in 2021, the program earned full accreditation in July 2023 from TEPDAD, an accreditation agency recognized by the World Federation for Medical Education, which extends to 2027. That achievement positioned the school to pursue and win broader residency program accreditations.

According to Dean Bahous, accreditation is not a box to be checked but a promise to the faculty, staff, and students who drive the school forward. It signifies a process of continuous improvement, ensuring that curriculum, training, and assessments consistently meet international standards.

The impact of this commitment is evident in student outcomes, as the comprehensive curriculum blending clinical rigor with research and technology resulted in an overall 85 percent residency match rate this year, and a 100 percent match rate among MD seniors for the second consecutive year. Residents earned placements at world-renowned institutions, such as Johns Hopkins, the University of Chicago, the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), and the University of Massachusetts (UMass).

Faculty promotions announced during the celebration highlighted the research, innovation, and dedication that drove accreditation success and warranted professional advancement. The school’s investment in faculty excellence, in turn, attracted top-tier students, reinforcing the intrinsic link between institutional achievement and individual growth.

This synergy was reflected in this year’s admissions figures. Out of a record 438 applicants, 73 students were admitted with an average GPA of 3.88, the highest in the school’s history. Although international enrollment dipped amid Lebanon’s challenges, the diversity of backgrounds expanded, with entrants from fields such as bioinformatics, psychology, and neuroscience.

Building on these successes, the school is introducing the newly named INSPIRE Curriculum. Designed to be student-centered, practice-driven, and research-oriented, it integrates digital health and artificial intelligence across four years while renewing focus on global health, disaster medicine, and the humanities, and as part of its mission to continuously evolve and adopt the latest learning techniques, the school strives to provide the highest quality medical education for its students.

Grounded in Lebanon’s realities, the curriculum equips students to address complex challenges, including conflict medicine, on an international stage. “Every time we present in global forums, there is attention to how we educate in times of crisis,” the dean explained.

Furthermore, the school will be expanding its network of affiliated hospitals, building core faculty, and aligning contracts with LAU’s long-term vision. For Dr. Bahous, the year’s achievements are less a conclusion than a catalyst. Accreditation, promotions, match rates, and admissions are all chapters in the same story: a medical school determined to advance education, research, and service both at home and abroad.

Faculty honored at the event included:

Dr. Eliane Chouery – promoted from Associate Professor to Full Professor with tenure
Dr. Rajaa Chatila – promoted from Clinical Associate Professor to Clinical Professor
Dr. Michele Cherfane – granted tenure as Associate Professor
Dr. Alfred Khoury – promoted from Clinical Assistant Professor to Clinical Associate Professor
Dr. Georges Yared – promoted from Clinical Assistant Professor to Clinical Associate Professor
Dr. Hanane Barakat – promoted from Clinical Assistant Professor to Clinical Associate Professor
Dr. Mariana Helou – promoted from Clinical Assistant Professor to Clinical Associate Professor
Dr. Nadia Al-Asmar – promoted from Clinical Assistant Professor to Clinical Associate Professor
Dr. Raghid Kikano – promoted from Clinical Assistant Professor to Clinical Associate Professor
Dr. Anwar Shayya – promoted from Clinical Instructor to Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr. Caroline Chahine – promoted from Clinical Instructor to Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr. Ramzi Nakhle – promoted from Clinical Instructor to Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr. Robert Fakhoury – promoted from Clinical Instructor to Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr. Samar Abbas – promoted from Clinical Instructor to Clinical Assistant Professor