Leadership 

Anissa Belfetmi, Ph.D.

Founder 

I was born and raised in Algeria, where my love for nature and Science let me pursue Biology studies. After completing my Bachelor in Biochemistry, I went to France for a Master's in Cell and Molecular Biology at Pierre and Marie Curie (Sorbonne University). Then, I fulfilled a thesis to study the HIV-1 Nucleocapsid protein using biophysical techniques, under the supervision of Dr. Olivier Mauffret, at ENS Paris-Saclay. I am currently a postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard Medical School, remaining in the field of Structural Biology. The idea of ALWIS came after participating in different panels and workshops for women in Science. Through several conversations with Algerian women fellow, it was clear that Algerian women in Science lack mentoring during their career path. We were more than ready to help each other create a connected scientific community.

Sabrina Absalon, Ph.D.

Vice-President & Chair of Mentoring

Born and raised in France, I grew up among a multicultural family with a French mother and a Kabyle Father. My passion for understanding how Nature works led me to pursue a Ph.D. at the University Pierre and Marie in Dr. Philippe Bastin's Lab at Pasteur Institute Paris, where I focused on studying flagellum assembly and function in the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma brucei. Then I moved to Boston for my first postdoctoral training in Dr. Anna Krichevsky's Lab at the Harvard Institute of Medicine to determine the contribution of microRNAs to Alzheimer's disease progression. In 2011, I went back to parasitology and joined a research group led by Dr. Jeffrey Dvorin at Boston Children's Hospital, where I studied the molecular pathogenesis of malaria infection. In October 2019, I joined the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the Indiana University School of Medicine, where I am currently an Assistant professor. While women represent more than half of the human population, we are a minority in the world of science. The Algerian Women In Science can change the gender narrative in science, and I am here to inspire, promote, and mentor them so Algerian women in science can contribute to change our world.

Sarah Helal

Chair of Communication

I'm from a small town in Algeria, where I lived most of my life. Growing up, my curiosity toward biology-related topics led me to pursue a Master's degree in Molecular and cell Immunology. Then, I joined an Algerian Pharmaceutical company as a research assistant, where I had the opportunity to work on exciting projects on antivirals development. After a short and non-successful Ph.D. experience abroad, I am back to my old position while still striving towards research and academia. As a Scicommer, I actively contribute to the online SciComm community by sharing educative content to inform, educate, raise awareness, and help fight misinformation. I joined ALWIS because I believe that as a community, we can build a safe, reliable, and efficient collaborative network to help Algerian women in science thrive towards a successful path.

Sarah Maskri, Ph.D.

Chair of member services

I was born, and I grew up in Algeria. I am currently a Ph.D. fellow at the German Research Foundation, in Germany, with two stays abroad: one at the University of Oxford in the UK and one at the University of Stanford in the USA. I work in the field of computational drug design, medicinal chemistry of GPCRs, and Ion channel proteins. During the past, I worked as a research assistant at the University of New England College of Pharmacy in Portland, ME, USA, in computational drug design of new kinase inhibitors starting from green tea derivatives. I did a double MSc degree between the University of Strasbourg (France), Paris Diderot University (France), and University of Milano (Italy) in the fields of Medicinal chemistry/Artificial Intelligence/ In silico drug design. I obtained my BSc degree in Chemistry in Montpellier (France). I am a person who takes initiatives and has a great capacity for adaptation; as a fact, I am a global volunteer at the United Nations to fight for women's rights in South America. In general, I am professional with a friendly interaction style.

Nour Benbahouche, Ph.D.

                       Mentor

I was born, raised, and had my entire education until my Master’s degree in Algeria. Afterward, I went to France for a Ph.D., where I joined the group of Dr. Edouard Bertrand at the IGMM of Montpellier and worked on many protein complexes required for RNA maturation. After my Ph.D., I moved to the UK and joined the group of Pr. Martin Bushell at the Beatson Institute for Cancer Research as a postdoctoral fellow. My research project aimed at targeting the protein LARP1 to overcome treatment resistance in cancer cells, and since that, I am pursuing my scientific career in the cancer research field. Despite their omnipresence in scientific fields, Algerian women in science remain underestimated, and there is no doubt that a more collaborative network needs to be built. Thus, by joining this fantastic group, I am ready to mentor, network, and collaborate but most importantly, to inspire and be inspired.

Sarah Dib,  CRA

Mentor

I was born and grew up in Algeria, where I studied Biology until my master's degree. Passionate about Immunology and Virology, I went to France to continue my studies in Virology at the Institute Pasteur in Paris. After that, I moved to the clinical side, and I am currently a Clinical Research Associate specializing in Hematology. After a gratifying experience in a public hospital, I now work for a pharmaceutical company. ALWIS is a fantastic opportunity to network and mentor Algerian women scientists worldwide to achieve their goals.

Roza Bouchal, Ph.D.

Mentor

I was born in Algeria, where I had my entire education until I obtained my Master's degree. Then I moved to France for my Ph.D. studies at Charles Gerhardt Institute of Montpellier, under the supervision of Dr. Peter Hesemann. My Ph.D. work was on the synthesis and physical chemistry of ionic liquids and silica materials (molecular synthesis, sol-gel chemistry, material synthesis using soft templating approach, ion exchange). During my first postdoctoral position, I have discovered another fascinating scientific field where I was involved in studying aqueous electrolytes for energy storage devices with Dr. Frédéric Favier and Dr. Olivier Fontaine. I am currently a researcher at the Chalmers University of Technology within Patrik Johansson's group, where my focus is on electrolyte design and characterisation for next-generation batteries such as Li-S and Na-ion batteries. My goal as a researcher is to combine material synthesis and electrochemistry to construct safer, performant, and suitable batteries. Through this amazing network, I wish to transfer the knowledge I gained during these years to young students and, at the same time, interact with other talented female scientists.

Lydia Ait Belkacem

Mentor

I am a Biophysics and Biochemistry graduate from London. I have experience working in institutional, biophysics, and genetic research at multiple institutions spanning five years. I was born in Algiers and moved to the UAE quite young. I grew up in a very international environment that encouraged me to pursue science, especially as I was inspired by my Biology teacher in high school. I understood the importance of having science friends and connections who were ambitious women, and that’s how I find myself here today, ecstatic to be a part of the ALWIS team.

Ouerdia Maskri, Ph.D.

Mentor

I was born and grew up in Algeria. Always interested in science, I fulfilled an engineering degree in biotechnology before moving to France. I pursued a Master's degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Pierre and Marie Curie (Sorbonne University). There, I developed a real interest in Biochemistry and the Structure of Nucleic acids. In 2013, I started my Ph.D. thesis on the characterization of molecular mechanisms of the first strand transfer in HIV-1, under the supervision of Dr. Philippe Fossé, at ENS Paris-Saclay. After that, I wanted to acquire experience in Next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies; then, I pursued two years of Post-doctoral research at Institut de Recherche en Infectiologie de Montpellier (IRIM), with Dr. Konstantin Brodolin. My research project aimed to characterize the transcriptomic profile of the RbpA transcription factor, in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, during the resistance to Rifampicin. The research field always interested me, but my versatility quest pushed me to learn new things in applied sciences. I thus decided to switch from academia to industry, and I started a new chapter of my career. In 2019, I integrated a French startup in Paris, a spin-off from Curie Institute, developing instruments for miniaturization and automation of Molecular Biology protocols. Now I am an application scientist working to develop new tools to make the lab experience easier for scientists. I’m also very committed to encouraging women to pursue a career in science, and for the record, my two little sisters followed my path performing PhDs in Chemistry and Physics.

Mentors

Fatima Bencheikh, Ph.D.

Mentor

I was born in Sidi Bel Abbes and grown up in Oran, Algeria. I graduated from Univesité des Sciences et de la Technologie d'Oran Mohammed Boudhiaf (USTO-MB) with an electronic engineering degree in 2004. Then, I worked as an engineer and team leader of the after-sale service at Samha, Samsung, for three years. Passionate about scientific research and new technologies, I moved to France to study and specialize in micro and nanoelectronics. I obtained a Master's research in nanoelectronic devices from Aix-Marseille University, France, in 2012 with thesis work on ink-jet printed organic solar cells. In 2015, I received a Ph.D. degree in micro and nanoelectronics from Aix-Marseille University, France. My Ph.D. thesis focused on the optical characterization and modeling of organic solar cells. Eager to discover a new way of life and new work culture, I moved to the land of the rising sun, Japan, in 2016. From 2016 to 2019, I have been working as a postdoctoral fellow under the supervision of the distinguished professor, Pr. Chihaya Adachi who pioneered a new technology known as thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) in the Center for Organic Photonics and Electronics Research (OPERA) at Kyushu University. My research interest is organic optoelectronic devices with a focus on OLED and organic semiconductor lasers. In March 2019, I co-founded a start-up venture named KOALA Tech. Inc., an innovative high-tech start-up company; whose goal is to pioneer practical applications of organic semiconductor laser diode that has been recently realized at Kyushu University. I am CTO of KOALA Tech and a visiting associate professor at Kyushu University. Given my international background, I collaborate with research groups in Australia, Europe, UK, and China. My motto: Dream big, think out of the box, and be passionate about every action you take that leads to positive changes in your life and surroundings.

Souhila Chetouane

Mentor

I have spent the past fourteen years working with energy professionals around the world. I have a background in Petroleum Engineering and have many years of experience leading complex engineering projects from origination to execution and monitoring in Europe, North America, South East Asia, and Africa. I am on the board of the Society of Petroleum Engineers Aberdeen section as vice-chair Diversity and Inclusion. I started my career as a Production Assurance Engineer working on Production Optimisation and Performance Analysis of a 7 fields development project for BP In-Salah. I acquired experience in Production Optimisation of oil and gas assets from working with frontline operational teams in Asia, Middle East, North Africa, North America, and Europe, and I am now settled in Aberdeen over the past decade. I am currently working as a Flow Assurance Projects Lead for a growing engineering consultancy focussing on strong project and risk management and assisting UK Continental Shelf operators with their ageing assets Flow Assurance challenges on an advisory role. As a STEM Ambassador, I am passionate about promoting engineering and STEM subjects to young people. I am currently collaborating with Scottish schools and academies to persuade the next generation of boys and girls that engineering is for them and be a positive role model to help them on their path. I am also a certified Tutor Assessor for the Young STEM Leader Programme, a Scottish government initiative aiming to stimulate and strengthen the development of peer mentoring and inspiration in STEM for the young generation in Scotland. Like many women in STEM professions, I am involved in work on Equality and Diversity topics. I believe achieving gender balance within STEM, and the energy industry as a whole will have wide-reaching benefits for everyone.

Nawel Khelil

Mentor

My name is Nawel Khelil, an Algerian-Dutch Health Scientist who loves writing, traveling, and discovering science and culture. I grew up in a small city in the south of the Netherlands and pursued my studies after high school in Amsterdam, at the Vrije Universiteit van Amsterdam. After completing a bachelor's in Biomedical Sciences, I choose to develop myself into two sides of the medical field: Public Health and Epidemiology. After finishing my master's, I started working as a research coordinator in the field of Cardiology, more specifically in resuscitation studies: the ARREST-study (Amsterdam Resuscitation Studies). People describe me as highly ambitious, studious, and open-minded. Because of my love for inspiring people, I write blogs on social media. I also work as a social entrepreneur for the organization Zaphira.nl, a Dutch Algerian-inspired community for Women Empowerment. I have a lot of experience in teaching, mentoring, supervising, and empowering women. Still, of course, I do have my skills in the field of Health and Medical Sciences and wish to offer my set of interests to fellow Algerian scientists. I think success comes from the power you get from both yourself and others, and I would love to share my experiences with you! Hope to meet you soon.

Fatima Benhamida, Ph.D.  Mentor

Passionate about computer science, I got my Engineering degree in computer science in 2006 from the Higher National School of Computer Science, ESI. I got a post-graduation degree in 2009, followed by a Ph.D. thesis in 2015. I have been working as Assistant Professor at ESI, Algeria. My research interests include topics related to the Internet of Things, communication reliability, and other challenging areas like Artificial Intelligence, deep learning, and security. I have also worked as a Senior Engineer at the National Company of Electricity and Gaz. I supervised network and security systems, managed the IT team, held workshops for non-IT users, and worked as a board member for the ISO certifications program. As I start counting, I could remember 60+ mentees who I coached along with their undergraduate studies, final projects (engineer, master, Ph.D.), or professional immersion. Mentoring is part of my job as a professor but also one of my favorite volunteering activities. Being a strong advocate of promoting technology access for every person, especially women and girls in isolated regions, I committed to giving part of my day to serve my community and inspire many others worldwide. I am certified as a head judge for Technovation competitions (reviewing projects online) for both girls and families editions. I am also a board member of Techwomen Techgirls club (Algeria chapter), where we set programs to encourage women and girls to get involved in STEM.

Bahia Hakiki, MD, Ph.D. 

Mentor

I was born in Algeria (Oran) and, as a child, I wanted to become a doctor. After graduating from secondary school, I moved with my family to France (Paris), where I completed high school. I then moved to Italy and graduated in Medicine, then specialized in Neurology at the University of Florence. During my Ph.D. in Psychology and Neurosciences at the Florence University Hospital, I worked with patients suffering from multiple sclerosis. During those years, I acquired a research method applied to clinical practice, including clinical and instrumental diagnosis, pharmacological treatment through participation in international clinical trials, clinical and neurocognitive management of the chronic phase, attending national and international congresses. I carried out my post-doctoral activity at a Rehabilitation and Research Institute on patients with neurological diseases and became passionate about neurorehabilitation and Disorders of Consciousness. In parallel, I underwent traditional Chinese medicine training, which opened up a new perspective in my approach to the human person as a doctor. Therefore I gradually integrated acupuncture into my daily clinical practice. I am currently head of a research group on acquired severe brain injuries, combining my two passions: clinical practice and research. My motto is: as long as you live, you can always learn, improve and grow.

Karima Ait Aissa, Ph.D.

Mentor

After completing a Biological Engineering degree from the Abderahman Mira University in Bejaia, Algeria, my doctoral journey has begun at the University of Lorraine (France) with first a Masters in Molecular biology, followed by a Ph.D. in Health Sciences. After graduation, I moved to the United States for a postdoctoral position at the Eastern Virginia Medical School (Virginia), then at the Medical College of Wisconsin (Wisconsin). I am currently an Associate at the University of Iowa (Iowa). My project focuses on exploring the bystander effect of radiation therapy on endothelial mitochondria in the development of neurovascular senescence and brain blood barrier disruption. I was driven to pursue a research career from my passion for dissecting the mechanism underlying pathological events such as cardiovascular diseases. Besides my research interests, I have always been involved in mentoring activities, whether through my role in mentoring committees as a postdoctoral fellow or through various scientific associations where I worked to promote students and early career researchers; I believe that every successful career starts with a great mentorship.

Amel Zoraï, Ph.D.

Mentor

I was born and raised in Setif, Algeria; I graduated from Ferhat Abbas University with a Master’s degree in Materials Engineering. I did my master’s internship at the Centre de Recherche Nucléaire d’ALGER, where I worked on rare-earth ions' luminescence. Now, I am a Ph.D. student at Béjaїa University. In collaboration with the Institut de Chimie Physique at Paris-Saclay University, I work on synthesizing and characterizing magnetic nanoparticles and their applications in the biomedical field (MRI contrast agents, hyperthermia, and drug delivery). Growing up, I was always fascinated by science. I discovered physics in middle school, and I fell madly in love with all things atomic and molecular. That was the time when I thought to myself, “Yes, physics. That’s what I want to do for the rest of my life”. I joined ALWIS to empower, encourage, and inspire women and girls to follow science and increase female representation in STEM, especially in Physics.

Hanane Touil, Ph.D.

Mentor

I am a research fellow in Translational and Computational Neuroimmunology. I am interested in better understanding the peripheral and central nervous system in health and disease. More specifically, in the context of progressive Multiple Sclerosis (MS). My goal is to characterize the healthy immune system over the life span to further develop personalized therapies, that would aim to control MS progression.

Malika Aid, Ph.D.

Mentor

Dr. Malika Aid did her undergraduate studies in computer science engineering at the university of Tizi-ouzou; Algeria. For her engineering thesis she developed a machine learning based model to predict meteorological changes using cloud distribution and density and by analyzing satellite images. She moved to Canada in 2004.After a minor in biochemistry and molecular biology, she joined Dr Sylvie Mader’s team at the institute for research in immunology and cancer (IRIC) in Montreal for her master’s and Ph.D. in Computational and Systems Biology. During her Ph.D, she worked on the characterization of the transcriptional regulation mechanisms of estrogen receptor ERalpha and she developed a computational tool to predict transcription factors DNA binding sites using ChIP-Seq and ChIP-chip data sets. This software was then used to identify new transcriptional partners of estrogen receptor alpha and their downstream target genes. After her Ph.D., she joined Dr Sekaly’s group at VGTI Florida for her post-doc. During her post-doc at Sekaly’s group, her work was focused on the development and implementation of system biology approaches to identify gene expression signatures that predict protection and acquisition from HIV and SIV infections. In 2016, she joined Dr. Dan Barouch laboratory at the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at the Harvard Medical School; Her ongoing research focuses on developing and implementing cutting-edge computational approaches to answer key questions in basic immunology, disease pathogenesis, and vaccine development; analyze and integrate multi-omics data sets that include transcriptomics, epigenomics, proteomics, metabolomics and Seromics generated using high-throughput assays such as bulk RNA-Seq, single cell RNA-Seq, NGS, mesoscale, systems serology, and high-dimensional flow cytometry. One of her research interests is to elucidate mechanisms that regulate the establishment/maintenance of HIV latency and persistence.

Salma Bekkouche

Mentor & Connector

Salma is a blogger on "Salma Share" and social media platforms. She graduated in Information Technology Engineering, from Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Informatique (ESI), Algiers. Salma started her career as a Data Management Engineer and then a Dispatcher at Schlumberger . Passionate about communication and working with people, she reoriented her career to Human Resources and is currently a Recruiting Assistant at RedMed Group. In 2018, Salma participated in the TechWomen Program, hosted at Twitter working on the “Why #LoveWhereYouWork?” campaign. In 2019, she was selected by Legacy International as a flight chaperone to accompany Algerian emerging girls to Washington.DC to participate in the TechGirls Program and she was selected as a delegate to represent TechWomen in Microsoft Ignite Conference in Florida. Salma loves to volunteer, read and travel. She joined ALWIS to share her passion for mentoring, connect talents and provide support for the community of Algerian women scientists.

Zeyneb Bensafi

Mentor

Amina Salesse

Mentor

Imane Bouanika

Mentor

ALWIS

Mentor

ALWIS

Mentor