Suhad Sameer Qasem Abumweis, Ph.D

Director, Nutrition and Dietetics Program

Professor

Abu Dhabi Campus

Nutrition.Dietetics_ad@aau.ac.ae

Biography

I am a professor in Clinical Nutrition. My teaching interests are in nutritional assessment and medical nutrition therapy. I have clinical research experience particularly in the area of functional foods. I have a good knowledge of strengths, limitations, and areas of potential improvement of human nutrition trials. I am also conducting meta-analysis research on dietary interventions to reduce risk factors for chronic diseases. I conducted meta-analyses to be used in Health Canada food-health claim petition for a number of functional ingredients including beta-glucan, soy protein, and flaxseed. I have published more than 30 peer-reviewed research articles and reviews including a review on clinical trial design. My published meta-analyses have been recognized by regulatory agencies such as The European Food Safety Authority, and the United States Food and Drug Administration.

Education

Mcgill University - Canada

Research Interests

Medical nutrition therapy
Evidence-based nutrition: Meta-analyses
Functional foods and nutraceuticals for cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
Plant sterols (phytosterols)
Omega-3 fatty acids
Health claims
Lipid metabolism
Nutritional assessment
Nutrigenetic

Selected Publications

O'Hearn M, Lara-Castor L, Cudhea F, Miller V, Reedy J, Shi P, Zhang J, Wong JB, Economos CD, Micha R, Mozaffarian D; Global Dietary Database (Murat Bas, Jemal Haidar Ali, Suhad Abumweis, et al). Incident type 2 diabetes attributable to suboptimal diet in 184 countries. Nat Med. 2023 Apr;29(4):982-995. doi: 10.1038/s41591-023-02278-8. Epub 2023 Apr 17. PMID: 37069363; PMCID: PMC10115653.
Abumweis S, Alzyoud L, Alqadi S. Apolipoprotein E Genetic Variant and Blood Lipid Responses to Plant Sterols: A Systematic Review and Pooled Analysis of Clinical Trials. Prev Nutr Food Sci. 2023 Dec 31;28(4):377-385. doi: 10.3746/pnf.2023.28.4.377. PMID: 38188084; PMCID: PMC10764225.
Abumweis S, Alrefai W, Alzoughool F. Association of obesity with COVID-19 diseases severity and mortality: A meta-analysis of studies. Obes Med. 2022 Aug;33:100431. doi: 10.1016/j.obmed.2022.100431. Epub 2022 Jun 9. PMID: 35702736; PMCID: PMC9181395.
lzoughool F, Abumweis S, Alanagreh L, Atoum M. Associations of pre-existing cardiovascular morbidity with severity and the fatality rate in COVID-19 patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Osong Public Health Res Perspect. 2022 Feb;13(1):37-50. doi: 10.24171/j.phrp.2021.0186. Epub 2022 Feb 18. PMID: 35255677; PMCID: PMC8907611.
Lara-Castor L, Micha R, Cudhea F, Miller V, Shi P, Zhang J, Sharib JR, Erndt-Marino J, Cash SB, Mozaffarian D; Global Dietary Database . Sugar-sweetened beverage intakes among adults between 1990 and 2018 in 185 countries. Nat Commun. 2023 Oct 3;14(1):5957. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-41269-8. PMID: 37788998; PMCID: PMC10614169.
Miller V, Webb P, Cudhea F, Shi P, Zhang J, Reedy J, Erndt-Marino J, Coates J, Mozaffarian D; Global Dietary Database (Murat Bas, Jemal Haidar Ali, Suhad Abumweis, et al). Global dietary quality in 185 countries from 1990 to 2018 show wide differences by nation, age, education, and urbanicity. Nat Food. 2022 Sep;3(9):694-702. doi: 10.1038/s43016-022-00594-9. Epub 2022 Sep 19. PMID: 37118151; PMCID: PMC10277807.
Alzoughool F, Alanagreh L, Abumweis S, Atoum M. Cerebrovascular comorbidity, high blood levels of C-reactive protein and D-dimer are associated with disease outcomes in COVID-19 patients. Clin Hemorheol Microcirc. 2021;77(3):311-322. doi: 10.3233/CH-201002. PMID: 33185593.
AbuMweis S, Abu Omran D, Al-Shami I, Jew S. The ratio of eicosapentaenoic acid to docosahexaenoic acid as a modulator for the cardio-metabolic effects of omega-3 supplements: a meta-regression of randomized clinical trials. Complement Ther Med. 2021 Jan 5:102662. doi: 10.1016/j.ctim.2021.102662. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33418065.
Alzoughool F, Alanagreh L, Abumweis S, Atoum M. Cerebrovascular comorbidity, high blood levels of C - reactive protein and D-dimer are associated with disease outcomes in COVID-19 patients. Clin Hemorheol Microcirc. 2020 Nov 11. doi: 10.3233/CH-201002. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33185593.
AbuMweis S, Sunil PK, Jones PJH. Triacylglycerol-lowering effect of docosahexaenoic acid is not influenced by single nucleotide polymorphisms involved in lipid metabolism in humans. Lipids. 2018 Sep;53(9):897-908. doi: 10.1002/lipd.12096. Epub 2018 Nov 8. PMID: 30407633. (JIF= 1.936)

Conferences

Peter J.H. Jones,Suhad S. AbuMweis. Simon B. Myrie. Efficacy of plant sterols when provided in capsule and tablet formats. 103rd American Oil Chemists' Society Annual Meeting, Long Beach, California, USA, 2012 (Oral presentation).

AbuMweis SS, Jew S, Ames NP. Barley β-glucan and its cholesterol lowering capacity: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Federal Food Safety and Nutrition Meeting. Ottawa, Canada. 2009. (Oral presentation).

Suhad S. AbuMweis, Alice H. Lichtenstein, Peter J.H. Jones. Effect of frequency of dosing of plant sterols on plasma cholesterol levels and synthesis rate. Experimental Biology, Washington, DC, 2007 (Oral presentation).

Iwona Rudkowska, Suhad S. AbuMweis, Catherine Nicolle, Peter J.H. Jones. Plant sterols consumed in low-fat yogurt as a snack lower cholesterol. Experimental Biology, Washington, DC, 2007 (Oral presentation).

Suhad S. AbuMweis, Catherine A. Vanstone, Alice H. Lichtenstein, Peter J.H. Jones. Short-term efficacy of plant sterols consumed at breakfast or at each meal in lowering blood cholesterol levles. Canadian Society for Clinical Nutrtion Meeting, Edmonton, Alberta, 2006 (Poster abstract award).

Suhad S. AbuMweis, Catherine A. Vanstone, Naoyuki Ebine, Peter J.H. Jones, Alice H. Lichtenstein. Lack of efficacy of plant sterol preparation taken as a single morning dose. Experimental Biology, San Diego, CA, 2005 (Poster).

Iwona Rudkowska, Suhad S. AbuMweis, Catherine Nicolle, Peter J.H. Jones. Non-responsiveness to plant sterol treatment and possible polymorphisms: ABCG5, ABCG8 and NPC1L1. Experimental Biology, Washington, DC, 2007 (Poster).

Professional Experience

Director, Department of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan. Sep 2017 - Sep 2019
Professor, Department of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan. May 2020
Associate Professor, Department of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan. Sep 2014 - April 2020
Assistant Professor, Department of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan. 2008- Sep 2014
Researcher, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Summer 2008, 2012, 2013
Conducted meta-analyses to be used in Health Canada food-health claim petition for a number of functional ingredients
Clinical Research Coordinator, Mary Emily Clinical Nutrition Research Unit. McGillUniversity. Montreal, Canada. 2003-2005
- Designed human clinical trials
- Supported submission of new human clinical trials including preparation of protocols, and applications for submission to the Institutional Review Board
- Maintained documentation and files for all clinical trials
- Participated in all aspects of clinical trials including initiating, investigating and monitoring data collection
- Tracked and managed studies as per established timeline, budget and resources.
- Trained study personnel in study specific procedures
- Evaluated, monitored and documented all study results as well as classified and analyzed data
- Conducted laboratory analysis
- Maintained familiarity with relevant scientific literature
- Wrote and submitted publications to journals and conferences