Ali T. Taher


Ali T. Taher is a Lebanese hematologist and physician-scientist whose work focuses on benign hemoglobinopathies, particularly thalassemia and sickle cell disease. e has authored more than 500 peer-reviewed publications related to anemia and hematology. He has received several awards, including the European Hematology Association Education and Mentoring Award, the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences Prize, and Lebanon's National Cedar Medal.
Taher currently serves as Director of Naef K. Basile Cancer Institute at the American University of Beirut Medical Center.

Education

Ali Taher earned a B.Sc. in Biology in 1982 and an M.D. in 1986 from the American University of Beirut, where he also completed a residency in Internal Medicine and a fellowship in Hematology/Oncology. He later pursued a clinical fellowship at The Royal Free Hospital in London from 1991 to 1992 and obtained a Ph.D. from Leiden University Medical Center in 2012 for his research on thalassemia.

Roles

Taher is Tenured Professor of Medicine at the American University of Beirut Medical Center. He also holds several administrative roles, including Director of the Naef K. Basile Cancer Institute, Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Internal Medicine, and Associate Vice President for Academic Centers, Development and External Affairs. He also serves as a Consultant at the Chronic Care Center – Thalassemia Department in Lebanon. Internationally, he holds academic appointments as Adjunct Professor at Emory School of Medicine and Visiting Professor at the University of Milan.
According to AUB's Benign Blood Clinic profile, Taher's clinical subspecialty is benign hematology, with experience in treating a wide array of benign blood disorders—including thalassemia, sickle cell disease, bleeding disorders, thrombosis, and hemostasis.
Taher is a member of the Lebanese Society of Medical Oncology.

Research

Taher's research focuses on thalassemia and related disorders. His work has addressed complications associated with thalassemia intermedia, the use of iron chelation therapy in thalassemia major and intermedia, and therapies aimed at increasing hemoglobin production.
In 2025, Taher led a global phase 3 trial of mitapivat, a potential oral treatment for non-transfusion-dependent thalassemia. The trail was conducted at the American University of Beirut and the Chronic Care Center in Lebanon. The drug is currently under review by the United States Food and Drug Administration.
In 2021, The New England Journal of Medicine published a review on β-thalassemia co-authored by Taher, the first in 15 years to focus on the condition.

Recognition

Taher has received numerous national and international awards for his work. In 2022, he was awarded the European Hematology Association Education and Mentoring Award for contributions to hematology education and mentorship. In 2021, he received the Kuwait Prize in Applied Medical Sciences from the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences.

Selected publications

Taher has published extensively in medical journals on topics related to thalassemia, iron overload and benign hematology. He has also presented at numerous regional and international conferences.

Selected Journal Articles

  • Musallam, K. M., Tamim, H. M., Richards, T., Spahn, D. R., Rosendaal, F. R., Habbal, A., Khreiss, M., Dahdaleh, F. S., Khavandi, K., Sfeir, P. M., Soweid, A., Hoballah, J. J., Taher, A. T., & Jamali, F. R.. Preoperative anaemia and postoperative outcomes in non-cardiac surgery: a retrospective cohort study. The Lancet, 378, 1396–1407. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-673661381-0.
  • Taher, A. T., Weatherall, D. J., & Cappellini, M. D.. Thalassaemia. The Lancet, 391, 155–167. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-673631822-6.
  • Cappellini, M. D., Musallam, K. M., & Taher, A. T.. Iron deficiency anaemia revisited. Journal of Internal Medicine, 287, 153–170. https://doi.org/10.1111/joim.13004.
  • Fawaz, H., Hodroj, M. H., Charbel, N., El Khoury, S., & Taher, A.. Therapeutic Response to Hydroxyurea in Beta-Thalassemia Intermedia with Rare Mutation: A Case Report. Hemoglobin, 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1080/03630269.2025.2543327.
  • Puyo, P. V., Christou, S., Campisi, S., Rodríguez-Sánchez, M. A., Reidel, S., Perez-Hoyo, S., Mota, M., Savvidou, I., Rekleiti, A., Salvo, A., Voi, V., Ferrero, G. B., Mandrile, G., Gaglioti, C. M., Cela, E., Ponce-Salas, B., Bardón-Cancho, E. J., Flevari, P., Voskaridou-Dimoula, E.,... Del Mar Mañú-Pereira, M.. COVID- 19 in patients affected by red blood cell disorders, results from the European registry ERN-EuroBloodNet. Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases, 20. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13023-025-03683-7.
  • Taher, A. T., Al-Samkari, H., Aydinok, Y., Besser, M., Boscoe, A. N., Dahlin, J. L., De Luna, G., Estepp, J. H., Gheuens, S., Gilroy, K. S., Glenthøj, A., Goh, A. S., Iyer, V., Kattamis, A., Loggetto, S. R., Morris, S., Musallam, K. M., Osman, K., Ricchi, P.,... Kuo, K. H. M.. Mitapivat in adults with non-transfusion-dependent α-thalassaemia or β-thalassaemia (ENERGIZE): a phase 3, international, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. The Lancet, 406, 33-42. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-673600635-x.
  • Maggio, A., Napolitano, M., Taher, A. T., Bou‐Fakhredin, R., & Ostuni, M. A.. Reframing thalassaemia syndrome as a benign haematopoietic stem cell disorder. British Journal of Haematology, 206: 464–477.. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjh.19919.