El Feki was born in Great Britain to a Welsh mother and an Egyptian father . She grew up in Canada , visiting her grandmother in Cairo on a regular basis . After graduating from the University of Toronto with a BSc in immunology in 1991 , then obtaining an MPhil and PhD in immunology from the University of Cambridge , she joined The Economist as healthcare correspondent in 1998 . After the 2001 WTC terror attacks , she learned Arabic and started to research the Middle East , in particular , the issues of emancipation and women 's sexuality , spending much of her time in Egypt . In 2005 , she left the Economist , and from 2006 to 2008 , she hosted weekly shows , '' People & Power '' and The Pulse , on Al Jazeera International . From 2010 to 2012 , she was vice-chairwoman of the United Nations ’ Global Commission on H.I.V. and the Law
2001 WTC terror attacks
September 11 attacks
Shereen El Feki