Jordan Research Partners

University of Jordan

School of Medicine

Maysa’ Khadra, MD, MMed - Dr. Khadra is the Women ASPIRE Principal Investigator at University of Jordan. She is an Associate Professor at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the School of Medicine, and the head of the Reproductive Health Unit. Dr. Khadra is a member of the Jordanian Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (JSOG) and the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE). Her main research interests are in women’s reproductive health, infertility, and gender-based violence. 

Ra’eda Al-Qutob, MD, MPH, PhD - Dr. Al-Qutob is a Women ASPIRE co-investigator at the University of Jordan School of Medicine. She is a Professor in Public Health (Women and Child Health) and a physician with a wealth of experience in health, population and development policy, and program management and implementation. Dr. Al-Qutob has held many key positions in Jordan including former advisor to the first lady of Jordan Queen Rania Abdulla on Public Health and Children, Secretary General of the National Council for Family Affairs, Secretary General of the Higher Population Council, first woman Dean of the Faculty of Medicine in Jordan at the University of Jordan, and Director of the UNICEF country program in Jordan. Dr. Al-Qutob was appointed by His Majesty the King of Jordan to the Jordanian Council of Senate.

Ruba Jaber, MBB - Dr. Jaber is a Women ASPIRE co-investigator at University of Jordan School of Medicine. She is a family doctor, women and child’s health specialist, and an Assistant Professor at the Department of Family and Community Medicine. Her main research focus is women’s health issues, including sexual dysfunction and menopausal transition. She is a member of the Jordanian Society of Family Medicine, and an active member of the School of Medicine board. She held the position of Assistant Dean for Student and Graduate Affairs, and she is currently the Assistant Dean for Quality and Communication Affairs. 

Yusur Al-Salman, MSc - Yusur first joined the Amman ASPIRE team as Research Assistant and later as a Research Coordinator. She has finished her BA in Sociology and Politics (Hons.) from the University of Essex in 2015. Her interested in refugees started with doing fieldwork for her dissertation, titled ‘Stress and Coping During Displacement and Violence; the Experience of Iraqi Refugee Families in Amman’. She later continued her education in SOAS, University of London where she finished her MSc in Conflict, Rights and Justice. Her work with ASPIRE inspired her to pursue a career in social work, and she is currently enrolled in a Professional Training Programe for Social Work with Refugees and Migrants at the German Jordanian University

Luma Samawi, BA - Luma worked as the Women ASPIRE Project Coordinator based in Columbia Global Center (CGC) Amman. Before joining the project, Luma worked as a Psychosocial Counselor for refugees at the Center for Victims of Torture (CVT) in Amman and Zarqa. At CVT, she conducted biopsychosocial assessments of survivors of war trauma, and led therapy sessions with individuals and groups of all ages. Luma received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Neuroscience from the Johns Hopkins University, and has held multiple research assistant and coordinator positions at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the University of Maryland Baltimore. In her most recent research position, Luma coordinated a study investigating the effects of Mindfulness meditation on fMRI brain structure and function in chronic migraine patients. Luma is currently a student at King’s College and the London School of Hygeine and Tropical Medicine as she completes her Masters in Global Mental Health.