Ahmad Najem is a Senior Researcher at Jules Bordet Institute. He is the head of the melanoma research unit and the cell culture platform at the laboratory of clinical and experimental oncology (LOCE). He received his Ph.D. degree in Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences from the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) (Belgium) in 2017. His expertise in the melanoma research field is internationally recognized through several publications. As the Head of the melanoma research unit, Dr. Najem's research focuses on the investigation of mechanisms underlying resistance to targeted therapies, the identification of new therapeutic targets, the exploration of new rationale-based combination strategies, and the understanding of mechanisms regulating phenotypic plasticity including the interplay with the tumor microenvironment. He has also well-recognized expertise in melanoma cultures. With the LOCE research team, they establish cancer primary cultures. Indeed, LOCE has a culture unit with adequate infrastructure dedicated to cell culture and adheres to rigorous quality control programs that have established more than 190 primary lines and cultures of normal and tumour cells (mainly melanomas). The LOCE shares its cell cultures with some 80 research teams around the world. Academic tasks: Guest lecturer (University of Mons- Belgium) Supervisor for PhD and Master students