It has been an exciting few weeks for the AMPM research group, Smart Hybrid Materials (SHMs). Three of its brilliant Ph.D. students have successfully defended their Ph.D. dissertation under the supervision of Prof. Niveen Khashab.

Prof. Khashab highlighted their dedication and hard work and congratulated them for bringing new ideas and innovative applications to the biomedical science field.

On October 21, Shahad Alsaiari presented her Ph.D. thesis, entitled "Nanobots: Smart systems to improve therapeutics delivery".

"I focused my research on the development of stimuli-responsive drug carriers at the nano-scale to deliver drug specifically to cancerous cells or bacteria infected cells", Shahad notes.

On October 24, Safa'a Al-Rehili presented her Ph.D. thesis entitled "Stimuli-responsive self-assembled organic-inorganic hybrid materials".

"In my dissertation, I examined the synthesis, methodology, and creation of three unique organic-inorganic hybrid stimuli-responsive systems with targeted features for specific applications" Safa'A explains.

On November 6, Haneen Omar presented her Ph.D. thesis titled "Design and Synthesis of Porous Smart Materials for Biomedical Applications".

"The main goal of my research is to prepare targetable and biodegradable silica/organosilica nanoparticles for biomedical applications with a special focus on engineering particle pores", Haneen says.

During the Ph.D. period, the relationship between supervisors and students goes beyond the research itself; it is a mentoring relationship. The students emphasize that Prof. Khashab has been an essential support to become great scientists and to be able to lead challenging future projects.

"Doing a Ph.D. is challenging and not easy. I pass through lots of ups and downs but I kept myself motivated by working in the field I love. I was fortunate to work in Dr. Khashab's group and met a lot of brilliant people, all were willing to help", Shahad says.

"I want to express my thanks to Prof. Niveen Khashab, SHMs group members and AMPM Center and KAUST for creating this ideal research environment. It has been a transformational experience that helped be the person I am today. Finally, I would like to point out that I was gifted with this great opportunity that allowed me as an independent Saudi woman to shed some light on how capable we are as scientists", Safa'a notes.

"It has been a period of intense learning for me, not only in the scientific arena but also on a personal level. I would like to reflect on the people who have supported and helped me so much throughout this period. I would like to thank my advisor Prof. Niveen M. Khashab for her guidance, support, and encouragement. In addition, I would like to thank my family, friends, colleagues, and core labs in KAUST", Haneen concludes.