Hadia Almahli

Hadia was born in Damascus, Syria, she pursued advanced studies in France, earning both her MSc and PhD in Medicinal Chemistry from Paris-Sud University. Her academic career has since flourished across several world-class institutions, including the University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, University College London (UCL), and the University of Sussex. These experiences have shaped her expertise as both a researcher and educator in the pharmaceutical sciences, she is leading the Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Discovery research at Bangor University.

Dr.Almahli holds a UK Fellowship in Teaching from the Higher Education Academy. She is also a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) in the UK.

She has published a high number of peer-reviewed scientific papers in prestigious international journals and presented her research at over 50 international conferences across Europe, the United States, Japan, the Middle East, and the UK.

A committed scientific ambassador, Dr Almahli was invited as a keynote speaker at the International Women’s Day celebration at Cambridge in 2022 and contributed to the Giving Day campaigns at Cambridge in both 2022 and 2026. She is also awarded two leadership awards: the first by the University of Cambridge for the WE-Women Enterprise Impact, and the second by Bangor University for the Welsh Crucible 2026.

Four Bangor University researchers selected for prestigious Welsh Crucible programme | Bangor University

She also took part in the International Women’s Day celebrations at Bangor in 2026, serving as a panel contributor, and was awarded the Student Experience Excellence Award by Bangor University.

Bangor Fund supports North Wales Medical School students to participate in national primary care conference | Bangor University

Dr. Hadia has received numerous awards and research grants, including the Trusted Reviewer Award from the MDPI scientific publishing platform. She has reviewed over 100 scientific papers for high-impact international journals and serves as guest editor in International Journal of Molecular Sciences-MDPI.

She is an active STEM ambassador, and a member of the Syrian Scientific Council, committed contributor to scientific capacity-building in Syria. She also supports equity and inclusion through her work as a part of the Athena Swan team.

To learn more about her research and professional experience, please visit: 

Hadia Almahli | LinkedIn

‪Hadia Almahli‬ - ‪Google Scholar‬

Hadia Almahli

She is proud to hold a Fellowship with the UK Higher Education Academy (FHEA), a recognition of her dedication to high-quality teaching and learning. This accreditation has shaped her approach to curriculum design, assessment strategies, small-group teaching, and undergraduate research supervision. She has extensive experience in developing and delivering innovative MPharm and MSc programs, with a strong emphasis on inclusive education, study skills enhancement, and career development support for both domestic and international students. At Bangor, she teaches chemistry in the Mpharm program (MSE-0012, MSE-1033-MSE-1034, MSE-1036 and MSE-0013), leads module MSE-0013, and serves as the Foundation Year Lead.

Hadia is currently supervising undergraduate research projects and welcomes undergraduate students to apply.

To share her research and engage with the global scientific community, she has participated in over 45 international conferences and symposiums across Europe, Japan, the UK, the UAE, Egypt, and Syria.  She actively contributes to scholarly publishing as a regular reviewer for leading Q1 journals such as Frontiers in Chemistry, Journal of Drug Delivery Science and Technology, International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, and various MDPI journals. She has been recognized as a trusted reviewer and currently serve on the editorial board of the Archive of Advanced Chemistry Journal, as well as a guest editor for MDPI journals.

Beyond academia, she’s passionate about making science accessible to younger generations. As a STEM ambassador, she actively supports school outreach initiatives, inspiring future scientists and promoting engagement with the pharmaceutical sciences

Hadia is leading the research in Medicinal Chemistry at Bangor University, her research focuses on the design, synthesis and biological evaluation of novel therapeutic and diagnostic agents across infectious diseases, oncology and neurodegeneration. She has extensive expertise in synthetic organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, natural product–inspired drug discovery, and structure–activity relationship (SAR) development. Her work spans the synthesis of new antibiotics, antituberculosis agents, kinase inhibitors for triple‑negative breast cancer, antitrypanosomal compounds for Chagas disease, and antiviral candidates targeting CHIKV. She also develop next‑generation diagnostic tools for neurodegenerative diseases through chemical antibody technologies in collaboration with leading UK and international partners.