About

Stephanie Mehanna

Visiting Lecturer of Biology

Stephanie Mehanna graduated with a PhD in Microbial and Cellular Sciences from the University of Surrey, UK. She worked on the synthesis of metallodrugs and their application in photoactivated chemotherapy.

Stephanie has over ten years of teaching experience at LAU where she is currently a visiting lecturer in biological sciences.

Research Interests

Her main research interests include the anticancer properties of ruthenium- and platinum-based complexes in cancer cell lines and mouse models. She has extensive experience in the development of analytical methods for the study of cellular uptake and pharmacokinetics as part of the full preclinical evaluation of the metallodrugs synthesized. She collaborated with the Schools of Medicine and the School of Pharmacy on different projects including toxicology and pharmacogenomics studies.

SDGs Research Mapping

Dr. Stephanie Mehanna conducts research relevant to the following SDGs:

Selected Publications

  1. Saab, Y. B., Nakad, Z. S., & Mehanna, S. J. (2023). ‘Association of the ACE and AGT gene polymorphisms with global disparities in COVID-19-related deaths,’ Pharmacogenetics and Genomics, 33(3), 41–50.
  2. Khoury, A., Elias, E, Mehanna S., Shebaby, W., Deo, KM., Khalil C., Sayyed K., Daher, C., Gordon, CP., Taleb, R., Aldrich-Wright, JR. (2022) ‘Novel Platinum(II) and Platinum(IV) Antitumor Agents that Exhibit Potent Cytotoxicity and Selectivity,’ Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 65(24), 16481–16493.
  3. Saab, Y., Oueis, E., Mehanna, S., Nakad, Z., Stephan, R., Khnayzer, R. (2022) ‘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, 10(7), 357.
  4. Sayyed, K., Nour-Eldin, W., Rufka, A., Mehanna, S., M., Khnayzer, R., Abi Gerges, A., and Khalil, C., (2022) ‘Acute cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, and apoptosis induced by petroleum VOCs emissions in A549 cell line,’ Toxicology In Vitro, 83, pp. 105409
  5. Nour-Eldine, W., Sayyed, K., Harhous, Z., Dagher-Hamalian, C., Mehanna, S., Achkouti, D., ElKazzaz, H., Khnayzer, R. S., Kobeissy, F., Khalil, C., & Abi-Gerges, A. (2022). ‘Gasoline fume inhalation induces apoptosis, inflammation, and favors Th2 polarization in C57BL/6 mice,’ Journal of Applied Toxicology: JAT.
  6. Mehanna S., Mansour N., Daher C., Elias G.M., Dagher C., Khnayzer R. (2021) ‘Drug-free phototherapy of superficial tumors: white light at the end of the tunnel,’ Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B: Biology, 224, 112324.
  7. Elias, M. G., Mehanna, S., Elias, E., Khnayzer, R. S., & Daher, C. F. (2021). ‘A photoactivatable chemotherapeutic Ru(II) complex bearing bathocuproine ligand efficiently induces cell death in human malignant melanoma cells through a multi-mechanistic pathway,’ Chemico-Biological Interactions, 348, 109644.
  8. Mehanna, S., Bodman-Smith, K., Daher, C., Khnayzer, R. (2020) ‘Rapid quantification of ruthenium(II) polypyridyl anti-cancer drugs using selective ligand dissociation LC-MS/MS method,’ RSC Analytical Methods.
  9. Mehanna, S., Mansour, N., Audi, H., Bodman-Smith, K., Mroueh, M., Taleb, R., Daher, C., Khnayzer, R. (2019) ‘Enhanced cellular uptake and photochemotherapeutic potential of a lipophilic strained Ru(II) polypyridyl complex,’ RSC Advances, pp. 17254-17265.
  10. Mansour, N., Mehanna, S., Mroueh, M., Audi, H., Bodman-Smith, K., Daher, C., Taleb, R., El-Sibai, M., Khnayzer, R. (2018) ‘Photoactivatable RuII complex bearing 2,9-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline,’ European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry, pp. 2524-2532.
  11. Mansour, N., Mehanna, S., El Sibai, M., Khnayzer, R. and Daher, C. (2018) ‘Photocytotoxicity assessment of a ruthenium (II) polypyridyl complex bearing 2, 9-diphenyl-1, 10-phenanthroline ligand,’ Abstracts of Papers of the American Chemical Society (Vol. 255). 1155 16th St, NW, Washington, DC 20036 USA: Amer Chemical Soc.
  12. Khnayzer, R., Mansour, N., Mehanna, S., Taleb, R., Mroueh, M., ElSibai, M. and Daher, C. (2017) ‘Photodynamic therapy of cancer using sterically strained ruthenium complexes,’ Abstracts of Papers of the American Chemical Society (Vol. 253). 1155 16th St, NW, Washington, DC 20036 USA: Amer Chemical Soc.

Academic Degrees

  • PhD in Microbial and Cellular Sciences, University of Surrey, Guilford, UK.
  • MS in Molecular Biology, Lebanese American University, Lebanon.
  • BS in Biology, Lebanese American University, Lebanon.