Nouf Khan overcame several huddles to reach the point where she is about to embark on her biggest academic adventure yet.
The Emirati from Al Ain graduated in biology at NYU Abu Dhabi in 2021, became a research assistant at the NYUAD Sadler Edepli Lab, and is now preparing to start her PhD.
While she experienced challenges, including her own doubts, she identifies the crucial input of two strong women at NYUAD for driving her forward in her career.
Khan, now living in Abu Dhabi, was one of many students who found the Foundation Of Science class challenging when she first joined the university. She also faced some scrutiny from relatives when she initially decided to attend a coeducational college, where she became an undergraduate student researcher a year later.
“It took a lot for them to get on board,” reveals Khan, the first in her family to pursue an academic career.
“But that wasn’t the major challenge… I came from a school where the education level is not as rigorous as the International Baccalaureate (IB) or Advanced Placement (AP) curriculum.”
Khan also says that because she came from such a “homogenous background”, she never understood the concept of representation, and why it mattered.
It all changed when Khan met Dr Fatma Abdulla, NYUAD’s senior associate vice chancellor and senior vice provost for strategy and planning. Dr Abdulla, Khan says, is an “intelligent and powerful” mentor who taught her an important message: “Everything is possible.”
In the course of her undergraduate studies, Khan was also driven forward by another influential woman, Professor of Biology Kirsten Edepli, in whose lab Khan continues to work.
“I failed one of the most important courses you need to stay a science major. I went to Kirsten and said ‘I don’t think this is meant to be, I might have to quit.’ Kirsten was like, ‘Absolutely not, being persistent and resilient is one of the most important traits of being a scientist.’ I realized I just had to push until something came out of it.”
Now, as a professional researcher, Khan studies environmental pollutants and how they affect liver development and stress response by using zebra fish, a creature 70 percent similar to the human genome.
Having conducted toxicology experiments as an undergraduate, she focused on a specific gene to understand how cellular stress influences development and disease. Her focus then shifted to fatty liver disease and the molecular mechanisms around it.
Khan explains: “Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is one of the most prevalent diseases worldwide, including the UAE, especially with the rise of obesity and environmental toxicants from industrial pollution.”
From early on, Khan has co-authored papers, including one in 2024 amid successful collaboration around techniques for imaging fatty liver droplets with Dr Andy Cox from the University of Melbourne, and Peter Mac Cancer Research Institute. In late 2025, she heads to Australia to join his lab for her PhD.
Khan admits she grappled with the idea of turning 30 by the time she completes her PhD, by which time some friends will be married and have children. What weighed more heavily though, was the fear of repeating her mother’s regret at having given up higher education to raise a family.
“I really had to be honest with myself and ask what I wanted more… and I felt like everything else would fall into place,” she says. “Plus, Emirati culture is shifting, encouraging women to pursue higher education.”
Though raised in a relatively conservative family, Khan’s parents supported her academic aspirations — especially her mother. In fact, when Khan enrolled at NYUAD, her mother embarked on her own academic journey, heading to another college as a psychology major.
Khan’s ambitions now include possibly becoming head of a research group, or researching in an industrial setting with her own lab. “What truly motivates me is being able to progress the field of developmental biology in any form,” she says. “I’ve always wanted my research to mean something.”
And, as Emirati Women’s Day approaches, that includes encouraging others into STEM as a prime example of a young Emirati woman finding her own path and defying perceived conventions.
“I respect not just the Emirati women that came before me, but the ones that are coming after and having to deal with all the challenges and obstacles,” Khan adds.
“I just hope that whatever comes, women feel more comfortable to do whatever job, or go into whatever field they are passionate about, and that my generation, like the generation before, will pave the way for them. Seeing the way they embrace it and hearing about their journeys is so important.”
