Dr. Margret Shirinian

Promising Researcher Grant

Prof. Margret Shirinian is currently an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Medicine and Medical Center of the American University of Beirut (AUB) in Lebanon (2016 - present). She received a her PhD  in Molecular Biology from Umeå University in Sweden in 2009. Dr. Shirinian completed two postdoctoral fellowship trainings: one in Genetics and Brain Tumors at McGill University in Montreal, Canada and one in Adult T-Cell Leukemia at AUB.

Prof. Shirinian is a distinguished geneticist and molecular biologist renowned for her investigative work on role of DNA methylation and histone post-translational modification in normal development and cancer. Prof. Shirinian and her team have made several notable advancements in understanding the role of oncohistones in glioma using Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism. Her team investigated in parallel the role of the demethylating enzyme TET in glial hemostasis and brain development.

Prof. Shirinian’s name appears in several peer-reviewed journal publications, most often as a major contributor. She published high-impact research papers in prominent journals such as Nature Communications, Molecular Cell, and Hematologica. She is recipient and co-recipient of TATA International Award, VR (Vetenskapsrådet, Swedish collaborative grant) and New Idea award (Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada).

Within the Department of Experimental Pathology, Immunology and Microbiology at AUB, Prof. Shirinian established the Fly Core Facility to initiate her investigative work and educational programs offering the resources needed to conduct research projects on invertebrate genetics and development, including cancer studies.