Rita Feghali, MD

Clinical Assistant Professor

Acting chair, Department of Laboratory Medicine

Dr. Rita Feghali is a full-time Clinical Assistant Professor and Acting Chair of the Department of Laboratory Medicine at the LAU Gilbert and Rose-Marie Chagoury School of Medicine and LAU Medical Center-Rizk Hospital. She earned her Doctor of Medicine degree from Saint Joseph University (USJ) in 1993, followed by a specialty in Clinical Pathology. In 2001, she obtained a Master’s in Public Health from the Lebanese University in collaboration with the University of Bordeaux II, France, and later specialized in Transfusion Medicine at University Paris VI. With over 20 years of experience, including six years as Chair of the Laboratory Medicine Department at Rafik Hariri University Hospital, Dr. Feghali is recognized for her contributions to public health, particularly through her oversight of the national reference laboratory and her work in monitoring communicable diseases such as arboviruses and coronaviruses. Since 2011, she has coordinated the National Committee of Blood Transfusion, helping develop good transfusion practices and standardize blood bank qualifications in Lebanon. She has also been a medical consultant for the Lebanese Red Cross blood services since 2015. Dr. Feghali has provided consultancy to international organizations, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank, particularly in the fields of laboratory and transfusion medicine. She is an active speaker at national and regional meetings and has held leadership roles in professional organizations, serving on the executive committee of the “Syndicat des Biologistes” in Lebanon. She is a member of the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB), the International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT), and serves on the executive committee of the “Société Francophone de Transfusion Sanguine.”

In recognition of her contributions to improving transfusion practices in Lebanon, Dr. Feghali was awarded by the Ministry of Public Health in 2017.

Education and Training

• M.D. Degree, Faculty of Medicine, Saint Joseph University, Beirut, Lebanon, 1993
• Master’s Degree in Biological and Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Saint Joseph University, 1997
• Master in Public Health (MPH), Faculty of Public Health, Lebanese University in collaboration with Université de Bordeaux II, 2001
• University Diploma in Blood Transfusion (DUTS), Subspecialty in Transfusion Medicine, Pierre et Marie Curie Paris VI University-Institute National de Transfusion Sanguine, 2015

Professional Memberships and Organizations

• Association for advancements of blood and biotherapies (AABB)
• International society of blood transfusion (ISBT)
• Member of executive committee, Société Francophone de transfusion sanguine
• Lebanese Syndicate of Biologists

Selected Publications

• Feghali R, Raouf M, Gebril N. Transfusion in humanitarian emergencies and disaster settings. In: Global Perspectives and Practices in Transfusion Medicine. AABB publication; 2023.
• Khalil A, Feghali R, Hassoun M. The Lebanese COVID-19 Cohort; A Challenge for the ABO Blood Group System. Front Med (Lausanne). (2020 Nov) 7:585341. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2020.585341.
• Feghali R, Merhi G, Kwasiborski A, Hourdel V, Ghosn N, Tokajian S. Genomic characterization and phylogenetic analysis of the first SARS-CoV-2 variants introduced in Lebanon. PeerJ. (2021 Mar) 9:e11015. doi: 10.7717/peerj.11015. 
• Khalil A, Al Handawi K, Mohsen Z, Abdel Nour A, Feghali R, Chamseddine I, Kokkolaras M. Weekly Nowcasting of New COVID-19 Cases Using Past Viral Load Measurements. Viruses. (2022 Jun) 14(7):1414. doi: 10.3390/v14071414.
• Elzein R, Abdel-Sater F, Fakhreddine S, Hanna PA, Feghali R, Hamad H, Ayoub F. In vivo evaluation of the virucidal efficacy of chlorhexidine and povidone-iodine mouthwashes against salivary SARS-CoV-2. A randomized-controlled clinical trial. J Evid Based Dent Pract. (2021 Sep) 21(3):101584. doi: 10.1016/j.jebdp.2021.101584. Al-Riyami AZ, Abdella YE, Badawi MA, Panchatcharam SM, Ghaleb Y, Maghsudlu M, Satti M, Lahjouji K, Merenkov Z, Adwan A, Feghali R, Gebril N, Hejress S, Hmida S, AlHumaidan H, Jamal D, Najjar O, Raouf M. The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on blood supplies and transfusion services in Eastern Mediterranean Region. Transfus Clin Biol. (2021 Feb) 28(1):16-24. doi: 10.1016/j.tracli.2020.11.002.

Keywords

Laboratory quality management, blood transfusion