A New York University Abu Dhabi graduate has been awarded the Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford University from September next year.
Tatiana Houhou, 23, is the first from the university to be given the scholarship in the Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine region.
She's the third non-Emirati Rhodes scholar in NYUAD's history.
The Lebanon-born student completed her BA in Biology in 2022 and is working as a research assistant in the Magzoub Lab at NYUAD.
My mum used to always tell me that she hoped one day I would find the cure for cancer
Tatiana Houhou,
23, New York University Abu Dhabi
She has previously worked as an undergraduate research assistant at Gresham Lab in New York and at Ramadi Lab in Abu Dhabi.
The scholarship will allow her to pursue a DPhil – equivalent to a PhD – in clinical medicine at Oxford.
She will start at the British university in September 2024. Ms Houhou said being selected felt “absolutely unreal”.
“I thought they had pranked us. They called us back and said they had a few follow-up questions, and then they told me I was the Rhodes scholar for the year,” she told The National.
“Growing up in Lebanon, it's no secret that it's very rampant with corruption and nepotism. Our healthcare systems are very much strained, given that we live in a political and economic crisis every day.
“But that presents us with an opportunity to shift our understanding from curative and hospital-based care, which is financially burdening, to a more preventive and primary health care approach.”
Ms Houhou said that systems in Lebanon discourage citizens from asking tough questions, “such as, 'How do we make this place better for everyone? How do we allow people to really dream big?'”
Ms Houhou said in her science classes, however, the sky was the limit.
“We could ask questions. I felt like science class was my sanctuary.”
Driven by tragedy
Ms Houhou said that losing five members of her family to cancer inspired her to pursue doctoral studies in clinical medicine and work in cancer research.
“I lost my grandmother, two of my uncles and two of my aunts to cancer, and my mum used to always tell me that she hoped one day I would find the cure for cancer,” Ms Houhou said.
“Currently I'm researching cancer but I hope to expand that into genetics and how it can inform a lot of public health reforms in healthcare systems in crisis, whether that is through incorporating genetic screening and other methods within primary health initiatives, rather than secondary and tertiary health.”
Ms Houhou previously used nanotechnology to design drug delivery systems tailored to target cancer cells.
Now she aims to study genetic tumour profiles in order to pinpoint molecular targets for therapeutics and optimise drug delivery systems for patients.
Ms Houhou hopes the Rhodes Scholarship will help take her research to the next level and contribute to the fortification of the Levant's healthcare systems, as well as bridge the gap between academia and policy to help enact meaningful change.
Established in 1902 by the colonial-era British politician and mining magnate Cecil Rhodes, the Rhodes Scholarship is one of the world's oldest awards for international fellowship and academic study.
Applicants are selected through an intensive process including a written application and in-person interviews.
Each year, about 100 scholars are selected from more than 60 countries around the world, with NYUAD having produced 19 Rhodes scholars in the last decade.
Last year, the selection committee for the Rhodes Scholarship awarded two places at Oxford to Sara Fekri, an Emirati student at King's College London, and Guste Gurcinaite, a Lithuanian studying at NYUAD.
Both were selected after nominating themselves for the award along with more than 60 other students.
They were chosen by a committee chaired by Omar Saif Ghobash, Assistant Minister for Cultural Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Top 10 international universities – in pictures
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
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Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
T20 World Cup Qualifier
Final: Netherlands beat PNG by seven wickets
Qualified teams
1. Netherlands
2. PNG
3. Ireland
4. Namibia
5. Scotland
6. Oman
T20 World Cup 2020, Australia
Group A: Sri Lanka, PNG, Ireland, Oman
Group B: Bangladesh, Netherlands, Namibia, Scotland
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Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
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Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
Why are you, you?
Why are you, you?
From this question, a new beginning.
From this question, a new destiny.
For you are a world, and a meeting of worlds.
Our dream is to unite that which has been
separated by history.
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A great story unites us all,
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The lightning flash of art
And the music of the heart.
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Because we are mirrors of each other.
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with the unique light of art.
Ben Okri,
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Uefa Nations League
League A:
Germany, Portugal, Belgium, Spain, France, England, Switzerland, Italy, Poland, Iceland, Croatia, Netherlands
League B:
Austria, Wales, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Ukraine, Republic of Ireland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, Denmark, Czech Republic, Turkey
League C:
Hungary, Romania, Scotland, Slovenia, Greece, Serbia, Albania, Norway, Montenegro, Israel, Bulgaria, Finland, Cyprus, Estonia, Lithuania
League D:
Azerbaijan, Macedonia, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, Latvia, Faroe Islands, Luxembourg, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Liechtenstein, Malta, Andorra, Kosovo, San Marino, Gibraltar
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
