Established in 2014, the L’Oréal-UNESCO for Women in Science Middle East Regional Young Talents Program honors six talented young Arab female researchers each year for their outstanding contributions to the life sciences and physical sciences. The program, which recognizes Arab women in two categories – researchers and Ph.D. candidates – was established to promote and support the participation of young women in science. This year, two KAUST researchers, one in each category, secured their place among the laureates: Leena Ibrahim, Assistant Professor in the Bioscience Program, and Taiba Alamoudi, Ph.D. candidate in the Marine Science Program.  

Leena Ibrahim joined KAUST in 2021, where she leads the Neural Circuits Lab. She holds a Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, and completed five years of postdoctoral training in neurobiology at Harvard Medical School before beginning her faculty role. 

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