Dr. Raghib Ali

Dr. Raghib moved to the UAE from the University of Oxford in 2011 to try to understand why rates of

obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease were so high in the UAE through establishing a

prospective cohort study of Emiratis, he became the Director of the NYU Abu Dhabi Public Health

Research Center in 2013 whose mission is ‘to improve the health of the population of the UAE through

research.’ The research being conducted by PHRC is the first of its kind in the UAE, and in many aspects,

a first for the whole region and is helping to establish the UAE as a center of excellence for population

health research in the region.

As the Principal Investigator, he started the UAE Healthy Future Study (UAEHFS) in 2014, the first

prospective cohort study in the country, and brought together, for the first time, researchers from the

leading universities and healthcare providers in the UAE to work on a single research study. He was

instrumental in shaping the vision and design for the study and in overseeing its approval and

implementation. HE is  also responsible for developing the analysis plans for the data once recruitment

is complete. Dr. Raghib and his team are also trying to build sustainable capacity for population health

research – supporting the PHRC team in undertaking Masters and PhD programs. The UAEHFS will

provide a unique national resource for existing students and faculty at universities in the UAE.

Health Advice:

“ small changes can make a big difference! So take the stairs, walk to the mosque, and skip dessert!”

Publications

Vallès, Y., Inman, C.K., Peters, B.A., Wareth, L.A., Abdulle, A., Alsafar, H., Anouti, F.A., Dhaheri, A.A., Galani, D., Haji, M., Hamiz, A.A., Hosani, A.A., Houqani, M.A., Aljunaibi, A., Kazim, M., Kirchhoff, T., Mahmeed, W.A., Maskari, F.A., Alnaeemi, A., Oumeziane, N., Ramasamy, R., Schmidt, A.M., Vallès, H., Zaabi, E.A., Sherman, S., Ali, R., Ahn, J., Hayes, R.B. Incense Burning is Associated with Human Oral Microbiota Composition.(2019) Scientific Reports, 9 (1), art. no. 10039. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-46353-y

Al-Houqani, M., Leinberger-Jabari, A., Naeemi, A.A., Junaibi, A.A., Zaabi, E.A., Oumeziane, N., Kazim, M., Maskari, F.A., Dhaheri, A.A., Wareth, L.A., Mahmeed, W.A., Alsafar, H., Anouti, F.A., Abdulle, A., Inman, C.K., Hamiz, A.A., Haji, M., Ahn, J., Kirchhoff, T., Hayes, R.B., Ramasamy, R., Schmidt, A.M., Shahawy, O.E., Weitzman, M., Ali, R., Sherman, S. Patterns of tobacco use in the United Arab Emirates healthy future (UAEHFS) pilot study (2018) PLoS ONE, 13 (5), art. no. e0198119. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0198119

Abdulle, A., Alnaeemi, A., Aljunaibi, A., Al Ali, A., Al Saedi, K., Al Zaabi, E., Oumeziane, N., Al Bastaki, M., Al-Houqani, M., Al Maskari, F., Al Dhaheri, A., Shah, S.M., Loney, T., El-Sadig, M., Oulhaj, A., Wareth, L.A., Al Mahmeed, W., Alsafar, H., Hirsch, B., Al Anouti, F., Yaaqoub, J., Inman, C.K., Al Hamiz, A., Al Hosani, A., Haji, M., Alsharid, T., Al Zaabi, T., Al Maisary, F., Galani, D., Sprosen, T., El Shahawy, O., Ahn, J., Kirchhoff, T., Ramasamy, R., Schmidt, A.M., Hayes, R., Sherman, S., Ali, R. The UAE healthy future study: a pilot for a prospective cohort study of 20,000 United Arab Emirates nationals. (2018) BMC public health, 18 (1), p. 101. DOI: 10.1186/s12889-017-5012-2

Inman, C.K., Aljunaibi, A., Koh, H., Abdulle, A., Ali, R., Alnaeemi, A., Al Zaabi, E., Oumeziane, N., Al Bastaki, M., Al-Houqani, M., Al-Maskari, F., Al Dhaheri, A., Shah, S.M., Abdel Wareth, L., Al Mahmeed, W., Alsafar, H., Al Anouti, F., Al Hosani, A., Haji, M., Galani, D., O’Connor, M.J., Ahn, J., Kirchhoff, T., Sherman, S., Hayes, R.B., Li, H., Ramasamy, R., Schmidt, A.M. The AGE-RAGE axis in an Arab population: The United Arab Emirates Healthy Futures (UAEHFS) pilot study. (2017) Journal of Clinical and Translational Endocrinology, 10, pp. 1-8. DOI: 10.1016/j.jcte.2017.08.001

El Obaid, Y., Al Hamiz, A., Abdulle, A., Hayes, R. B., Sherman, S., & Ali, R. (2016). Perceptions and Attitudes towards Medical Research in the United Arab Emirates: Results from the Abu Dhabi Cohort Study (ADCS) Focus Group Discussion