Hind the scientist
Bio
I moved to Belgium from Lebanon in 2011 and I obtained a BSc in Biology and an MSc in Molecular and Cellular Biology from ULB.
Between 2016 and 2020, I did a PhD in Science under the supervision of Oberdan Leo and Fabienne Andris. I worked on intestinal regulatory T cells and the role of transcription factor c-Maf in their ability to control inflammation.
From 2020 to 2026, I worked as a postdoctoral researcher at KU Leuven, at TARGID, working on the immune mechanisms leading to Irritable Bowel Syndrome in the lab of Guy Boeckxstaens.
I currently work at the Digestive Health Research Institute (Institut de Recherche en Santé Digestive, IRSD, INSERM) in Toulouse in the group of Nicolas Cenac.
I am the founder and spokesperson of the young Belgian Immunological Society (yBIS), a society for Belgian young immunologists. I am part of the task force of yEFIS, the European network of young immunologists, and am part of the board of the Belgian Immunological Society (BIS).
Download my CV here.
Main publications
c-Maf in gut CD4 T cells
The transcription factor c-Maf promotes the differentiation of Follicular helper T cells.
Multiple environmental signaling pathways control the differentiation of RORgt-expressing regulatory T cells.
c-Maf, a Swiss army knife for tolerance in lymphocytes.
Neuroimmune drivers of abdominal pain
Immune-mediated food reactions in irritable bowel syndrome.
Immune activation in irritable bowel syndrome: what is the evidence?
Irritable bowel syndrome: When food is a pain in the gut.
Fecal proteolytic bacteria and staphylococcal superantigens are associated with abdominal pain severity in irritable bowel syndrome.
Characterisation of MRGPRX2+ mast cells in irritable bowel syndrome.
Psychological stress-induced local immune response to food antigens increases pain signaling across the gut in mice.