Dr. Rony Khnayzer is an associate professor of inorganic chemistry in the Department of Natural Sciences and the founding chairperson of the Department of Liberal Education.

He holds a PhD from the Department of Chemistry and Center for Photochemical Sciences at Bowling Green State University and a BS from the American University of Beirut. During his tenure, he received numerous awards, such as the 2018 LAU Research Excellence Award.

Research Interests

Dr. Khnayzer’s research on photochemotherapy and solar energy storage has been published in top-tier journals and highlighted on the cover pages of reputable publishers. He is the recipient of many local and international research awards and grants. He is also an active member of the American Chemical Society (ACS) and the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).

SDGs Research Mapping

Dr. Rony S. Khnayzer conducts research relevant to the following SDGs:

Selected Publications

1. Yolande Saab, Emilia Oueis, Stephanie Mehanna, Zahi Nakad, Rita Stephan, Rony S Khnayzer*. “Risk Assessment of Phthalates and Their Metabolites in Hospitalized Patients: A Focus on Di-and Mono-(2-ethylhexyl) Phthalates Exposure from Intravenous Plastic Bags”, Toxics, 2022, 10, 357.
2. Mehanna, S.; Mansour, N.; Daher, C. F.; Elias, M. G.; Daher, C. F.; Khnayzer R. S.* “Drug-free phototherapy of superficial tumors: White light at the end of the tunnel” Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B: Biology, 2021, 224, 112324.38.
3. Mehanna, S.; Bodman-Smith, K.; Daher, C. F. and Khnayzer, R. S.* “Rapid quantification of ruthenium(II) polypyridyl anti-cancer drugs using selective ligand dissociation LC-MS/MS method” Analytical Methods, 2020, 12, 4517-4525.
4. Mehanna, S.; Mansour, N.; Audi, H.; Bodman-Smith, K.; Mroueh,  M. A.; Taleb, R. I.; Daher, C. F. and Khnayzer, R. S.* “Enhanced cellular uptake and photochemotherapeutic potential of a lipophilic strained Ru(II) polypyridyl complex” RSC Advances, 2019, 9, 17254 – 17265.
5. Al Hageh, C.; Al Assaad, M.; El Masri, Z.; Samaan, N.; El-Sibai, M.; Khalil, C.; and Khnayzer, R. S.;* Long-lived cuprous bis-phenanthroline complex for the photodynamic therapy of cancer. Dalton Trans. 2018, 47, 4959-4967.
6. Azar, A.; Audi, H.; Farhat, S.; El-Sibai, M.; Abi-Habib, R. J.; and Khnayzer, R. S.* “Phototoxicity of Strained Ru(II) Complexes: Is it the Metal or the Dissociating Ligand?” Dalton Trans., 2017, 46, 11529–11532.

Click here for the full list of publications.

Academic Degree

• PhD in Photochemical Sciences, 2013, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA.
• BS with high distinction, 2008, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.