Patient Care

Rima Moghnieh, MD

Clinical Professor
Division of Infectious Diseases

Division Head, Infectious Diseases

Professor Rima Moghnieh, an infectious disease specialist and researcher, has practiced medicine in Lebanon since 1996. She has an 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 Professor of Clinical Medicine at the Lebanese American University in Beirut, also heading the Division of Infectious Diseases at the university’s medical center. As 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 and Somalia and UAE. Additionally, she acted as an external consultant for WHO, aiding in developing national IPC guidelines in countries like Lebanon, Iraq, Palestine, and Jordan. Prof. Moghnieh has co-authored over 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,  Prof. 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.

Selected Publications

  1. El Chaar M, Khoury Y, Douglas GM, El Kazzi S, Jisr T, Soussi S, Merhi G, Moghnieh RA, Shapiro BJ. Longitudinal genomic surveillance of multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli carriage in critical care patients. Microbiol Spectr. 2024 Feb 6;12(2):e0312823. doi: 10.1128/spectrum.03128-23.
  2. Moghnieh R, Al-Maani AS, Berro J, Ibrahim N, Attieh R, Abdallah D, Al-Ajmi J, Hamdani D, Abdulrazzaq N, Omar A, Al-Khawaja S, Al-Abadla R, Al-Ratrout S, Gharaibeh M, Abdelrahim Z, Azrag H, Amiri KM, Berry A, Hagali B, Kadhim J, Al-Shami H, Khan MA, Husni R, Heweidy I, Zayed B. Mapping of infection prevention and control education and training in some countries of the World Health Organization’s Eastern Mediterranean Region: current situation and future needs. Antimicrob Resist Infect Control. 2023 Sep 4;12(1):90. doi: 10.1186/s13756-023-01299-9.
  3. Moghnieh R, Husni R, Helou M, Abdallah D, Sinno L, Jadayel M, Diab K, Chami C, Al Rachid M, Awad DC, Zaiter A, Sayegh MH. The Prevalence and Risk Factors of Acute Kidney Injury during Colistin Therapy: A Retrospective Cohort Study from Lebanon. Antibiotics (Basel). 2023 Jul 13;12(7):1183. doi: 10.3390/antibiotics12071183.
  4. Moghnieh R, El Hajj C, Abdallah D, Jbeily N, Bizri AR, Sayegh MH. Immunogenicity and Effectiveness of Primary and Booster Vaccine Combination Strategies during Periods of SARS-CoV-2 Delta and Omicron Variants. Vaccines (Basel). 2022 Sep 22;10(10):1596. doi: 10.3390/vaccines10101596.
  5. Moghnieh R, Abdallah D, Sayegh M, Bizri AR. Immunophenotyping of SARS-CoV-2 and Vaccine Design. Vaccine 40 (2022) pp. 3987-3988
  6. Moghnieh R, Khalil A, Bizri N, Francis N, Imad S, Mezher M, Mrad Z, Ibrahim J, Zahran K, Farroukh F, Itani M, Assaad A, Sinno L, Abdallah D, Ibrahim A. QTc prolongation during levofloxacin and triazole combination chemoprophylaxis: Prevalence and predisposing risk factors in a cohort of hematopoietic cell transplantation recipients. J Oncol Pharm Pract. 2023 Apr;29(3):534-542. doi: 10.1177/10781552221074016.
  7. Moghnieh R, Mekdashi R, El-Hassan S, Abdallah D, Jisr T, Bader M, Jizi I, Sayegh MH, Rahman Bizri A. Immunogenicity and reactogenicity of BNT162b2 booster in BBIBP-CorV-vaccinated individuals compared with homologous BNT162b2 vaccination: Results of a pilot prospective cohort study from Lebanon. Vaccine. 2021 Oct 13;39(46):6713–9. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2021.10.007.
  8. Rizk NA, Moghnieh R, Haddad N, Rebeiz MC, Zeenny RM, Hindy JR, Orlando G, Kanj SS. Challenges to Antimicrobial Stewardship in the Countries of the Arab League: Concerns of Worsening Resistance during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Proposed Solutions. Antibiotics (Basel). 2021 Oct 29;10(11):1320. doi: 10.3390/antibiotics10111320.
  9. Rima Moghnieh, Hani Tamim, Marwa Jadayel, Dania Abdallah, Rasha Al-Kassem, Hind Kadiri, Hani Hafez, Salam Al-Hassan, Lina Ajjour, Rawad Lakkis, Tamima Jisr, Nadia-Lara Samaha, Nicholas Haddad. The effect of temporary closure and enhanced terminal disinfection using aerosolized hydrogen peroxide of an open-bay intensive care unit on the acquisition of extensively drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii. Antimicrob Resist Infect Control 9, 108 (2020).
  10. Moghnieh R, Awad L, Abdallah D, Jadayel M, Sinno L, Tamim H, Jisr T, El-Hassan S, Lakkis R, Dabbagh R, Bizri AR. Effect of a “handshake” stewardship program versus a formulary restriction policy on High-End antibiotic use, expenditure, antibiotic resistance, and patient outcome. J Chemother. 2020 Nov;32(7):368-384. doi: 10.1080/1120009X.2020.1755589.

View Dr. Moghnie’s publications on PubMed.

Professional and Research Interests

Education and Training

Professional Memberships and Organizations

National Membership in Professional Societies and Committees

International Membership in Professional Societies and Committees

 

Keywords

infection, infectious disease, antimicrobial resistance, antimicrobials resistance surveillance, antimicrobial stewardship, HIV/AIDS, COVID-19, infection prevention and control, immunocompromised patients, community acquired infections, vaccine-preventable diseases, treatment guidelines, AMR national action plan