We are delighted to announce the successful Ph.D. dissertation defense of Lamya Al Fuhaid, who did her Ph.D. studies under the supervision of Professor Geert-Jan Witkamp.

 

Lamya's work studies the physical chemistry of natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES) and explores some of their novel applications in life sciences. Specifically, it investigates the supramolecular structure, (meta-)stability, and electrostatic interactions to establish a link between property and structure. Additionally, it evaluates the use of NADES for the extraction of high-value carotenoids and the stabilization of biomolecules. The advantage of using NADES in applications is not limited to their high performance but also the development of greener approaches to existing and new technologies. 

Lamya Al Fuhaid holds a Bachelor of Science in Life Sciences from Alfaisal University. In 2019, she obtained her Master of Science degree from KAUST, where she investigated the interplay between long non-coding RNA and protein complexes involved in epigenetic plasticity. Following her Master’s, Al Fuhaid joined Prof. Geert-Jan Witkamp’s group as a Ph.D. student in Bioengineering. Her research focuses on studying natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES) and exploring some of their novel applications in life sciences.

During her Ph.D., she received the BESE Dean’s Award for outstanding academic achievements for 2021/2022, won first place at the 2022 Falling Walls Lab KAUST, and first place at the WEP 2023 Women to Impact challenge.