area Other political personalities Alain Aoun – nephew of President Michel Aoun Joyce Gemayel – former first lady and political activist Ghassan Tueni – diplomat, politician and journalist Sciences Medicine Afif Abdul Wahab – surgeon Amin J. Barakat – Lebanese-American physician known for the diagnosis Barakat syndrome Anthony Atala – Director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine Edma Abouchdid – physician; first Lebanese woman to obtain a doctorate of medicine Sami Ibrahim Haddad – physician, surgeon and writer Michael Debakey – renowned Lebanese-American Cardiovascular Surgeon who pioneered many surgical techniques and procedures Saniya Habboub – medical doctor known for being the first Lebanese woman to study medicine abroad Ali A Haydar – physician who is an emeritus professor at the American University of Beirut Israa Seblani – physician and endocrinologist Afif Abdul Wahab – medical doctor, general surgeon and urologist Michael DeBakey – American vascular surgeon and cardiac surgeon Emile Riachi – renowned orthopaedic surgeon Fuad Sami Haddad – neurosurgeon, humanitarian, and writer Sami A. Sanjad – Lebanese-American pediatrician Tony Nader – neuroscientist, university president, author and leader of the Transcendental Meditation movement. Farid Fata – hematologist/oncologist and the mastermind of one of the largest health care frauds in U.S. history. Nabil F. Saba – oncologist and professor of hematology and medical oncology at Emory University School of Medicine Elias I. Traboulsi – physician in the fields of ophthalmic genetics and pediatric ophthalmology Toni Choueiri – Lebanese American medical oncologist and researcher Naji Abumrad – Lebanese-American surgeon Psychiatry Aziz al-Abub – psychiatrist and medical torture expert affiliated with Hezbollah Hagop S. Akiskal – psychiatrist and professor Scientists Archeology Maurice Chehab – archaeologist and museum curator, father of "modern Lebanese archaeology" George El Andary – researcher in archaeology, museums and manuscripts Leila Badre – director of the Archaeological Museum of the American University of Beirut Maya Haïdar Boustani – archaeologist and curator of the Museum of Lebanese Prehistory Assaad Seif – archaeologist and Associate Professor in Archaeology at the Lebanese University Astronomy Charles Elachi – astronomer and professor of electrical engineering, former director of Jet Propulsion Laboratory and vice president of Caltech Doris Daou – Director for Education and Public Outreach of the NASA Lunar Science Institute Biology Pierre Zalloua – biologist and researcher M. Amin Arnaout – nephrologist best known for seminal discoveries in the biology and structure of integrin receptors. Myrna T. Semaan – botanist, notable for