Standing Out Above the Rest

KAUST PhD Candidate takes home prestigious scientific award

A KAUST student was recently awarded the prestigious Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman Prize for Women’s Excellence for her outstanding contribution to expanding scientific research in the Kingdom. Mram Alyami, a PhD Candidate in Chemical Science working under the supervision of Professor Niveen M. Khashab, is the first PhD student to win the prize.

The Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman Prize for Women’s Excellence is the first prize in the Kingdom that spotlights the distinguished achievements of Saudi women and celebrates their contributions to building knowledge capacity and advancing national development across various fields, including science, health, culture and technology. This year’s award ceremony took place on International Women’s Day and marked the third time the Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University awarded the annual prize to an exceptional woman in the Kingdom.

Alyami received the prize in the field of natural sciences for her work on developing and utilizing the biotechnology CRISPR/Cas9, a genome-editing tool for DNA. Alyami and her team successfully deployed the components of genome editing to targeted cancer cells. Once developed further, the CRISPR/Cas9 technology could be used to correct genetic diseases inside the cells of patients across Saudi Arabia. Alyami’s ground-breaking research has already been published in various internationally renowned journals, including a first-author paper in the prestigious Journal of American Chemistry Society as well as a co-authored paper in Science Advances, another leading scientific journal.

Alyami joined KAUST as a master’s student and attributes her success to the university’s resources and leadership, as well as to the mentorship of her supervisor. Her achievements showcase the pool of young scientific talent in the Kingdom and its potential to produce world-leading research. Furthermore, her success underlines the indispensable role that Saudi women play in the country’s national development.

MRAM ALYAMI PhD Candidate in the Physical Science and Engineering Division

I WAS HONORED TO RECEIVE THE PRINCESS NOURAH BINT ABDULRAHMAN PRIZE FOR WOMEN’S EXCELLENCE, AND I FEEL PROUD AND GRATEFUL FOR THE SUPPORT THAT I HAVE RECEIVED.

PRINCESS NOURAH BINT ABDULRAHMAN UNIVERSITY

“It is an honor to recognize the extraordinary women that received this year’s Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman Prize for Women’s Excellence. This esteemed award was created to empower and celebrate the impressive accomplishments of Saudi women across various fields of knowledge. KAUST’s Mram Alyami is no exception; she is the first PhD student to receive the prize due to her incredibly high caliber of research and capability. The award is a testament to KAUST’s contribution towards nurturing Saudi talent and advancing scientific research in the Kingdom and worldwide. On behalf of Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, I congratulate Mram and KAUST on this well-earned prize and their dedication towards national development.”