Dr. Salwa Bouabdallah

Dr. Salwa Bouabdallah completed his degree in Radiology in 1993 at University El Manar. She was recruited at the Magnetic Resonance Imaging Center of Tunis in 1995, after which she joined the Children's Hospital Tunis until 2008. In 2004, she continued her higher education at the Higher Institute of Education and Continuing Training, obtained a master's degree in natural science in 2009 at the Virtual University of Tunis, and defended her master's degree thesis in plant molecular and cellular physiology (2012 at University El Manar of Tunis). She obtained her doctorate degree in Biological Sciences in 2017 at the University of Carthage. As a post-doctoral researcher, she characterized bioactive molecules with therapeutic effects at the Faculty of Science of Bizerta. Her main topic of research was related to natural drug discovery and the valorization of bioactive molecules of biological interest. She has developed a research focus on the phytochemical characterization of polyphenols and saponins isolated from the same medicinal plants used in Ayurveda. She studied the biological effects of polyphenols and saponins in in vitro and in vivo assays. In connection with her research, she has expertise in the relationships between diet and health, risk–benefit analysis of food, and functional foods for obesity, cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases. She has particularly focused on the role of polyphenols and saponins in modulating cancer cell apoptosis via caspase pathways.