Meet Our Team
Collaborative Efforts
Ammar Sabouni
Ammar Sabouni is a qualified physician in the UK, academic, and public health consultant. He is currently working between the Blavatnik School of Government, at the University of Oxford, and the International Growth Centre, at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). He works on public policy with a concentration on post-conflict reform in fragile settings. His interests range across disciplines including health system reconstruction, public health, humanitarianism and academia. His experiences as a British Syrian doctor have served as cornerstones to his practice. The diverse exposure he has had between Damascus, Beirut, Cairo and London have forced him to contemplate what is and what ought to be in Syria, and also in the UK. Every day, he observes firsthand how health intersects politics, culture and religion and he is eager to further his own knowledge and expression through engaging in national and international health and social policy in Syria, the UK and abroad. He brings strong methodological expertise in systematic reviews and bibliometric analysis and has previously worked for Cochrane UK, the NHS, Chatham House, the University of York, and The Lancet - American University of Beirut Commission on Syria.
Yamama Bdaiwi
Yamama is the co-lead for education for the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) funded King’s College, London project: Research for Health Systems Strengthening in northern Syria (R4HSSS). She is a member of the Conflict and Health Research Group, and a GP Trainee in West Yorkshire and the Humber. She completed her Master’s Degree at the Nuffield Department of Health Sciences, University of Oxford, and wrote her thesis on Medical Education and Health Professional Training in Syria.
Ahmad Ekzayez
Ahmad Ekzayez is an established agricultural engineer with 15+ years of experience working with international organisations in the Middle and Far East, including the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Centre for Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA). Before the conflict, Ahmad worked in the Syrian Ministry of Agriculture. In addition to his impressive career in humanitarian project management and support, Ahmed has published several peer-reviewed publications.
Hani Fakhani
Hani Fakhani is an architect, an urban practitioner, a researcher, and a graduate of University College London. His work is focused on housing and reconstruction in Syria and other post-conflict settings through research and practice. As a researcher, he has been part of programs and published articles tackling topics including reconstruction policies, displacement, and urbanism in conflict with several organizations and research centres, including, GIZ, ESCWA, AUB, and Carnegie centre. As a practitioner, he is the managing director and co-founder of Sakan Housing Communities Sakan Housing Communities tackling social and economic recovery in Syria through strategic affordable housing programs. He is also the co-founder of a number of built-environment businesses including Riwaq Architects and Plustudios Visualization. Hani holds an MSc degree from the Development Planning Unit at the University College London where he researched the interlinks between reconstruction, governance, and peace.
Abdulkarim Ekzayez
Abdulkarim Ekzayez is a Syrian medical doctor and an epidemiologist. Currently his work at King's College focuses on building the capacity to research health in conflict in the middle east. He is also involved in several other projects and research with other academic and policy institutes including LSHTM, AUB, Chatham House and others. His research focuses on the public health impacts of conflict, as well as challenges around the protection of healthcare in conflict, both issues he has experienced first-hand in Syria. In 2013, Karim was training to be a neurosurgeon when his residency was interrupted by the war. He joined Save the Children in North West Syria, where he led the health response until 2017 – helping build the primary health care system and restarting routine vaccinations. Also, he was part of supporting the rebuilding of the health system in opposition controlled areas in Syria using a bottom up approach. Dr Abdulkarim is a regular contributor to several medical and civil society institutions in Syria, and has been active in advocacy for Syria through media and conferences. He is a trustee member of two NGOs, Shafak and Eye to the Future. He received his MD from Aleppo University and his MSc from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Also, he completed a one-year residential fellowship on leadership in international affairs from The Queen Elizabeth II Academy for Leadership in International Affairs at Chatham House; and another one-year fellowship in international cultural relations from the Institute for International Cultural Relations at The University of Edinburgh.