Rana Dajani - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Rana Dajani

Childhood education, Mar 4, 2023

Journal of biotechnology & biomaterials, Dec 5, 2015

Child Development, Sep 1, 2021

This study of 52 predominantly lower income Jordanian and Syrian families with young children (31... more This study of 52 predominantly lower income Jordanian and Syrian families with young children (31 girls; Mage = 53.37 months, SD = 3.53) in Jordan began in 2019, before the pandemic. Families were followed to explore stress physiology, family functioning, and mental health over the first 9 months of the pandemic. Mothers reported less adaptive coping and more negative changes to family life in June 2020 when their children had poorer behavioral self‐regulation and more behavior problems, and when families had lower income, in 2019. More negative changes to family life predicted greater hair cortisol concentrations in children in June 2020, and more negative changes and less adaptive coping predicted worse child and mother psychosocial adjustment in December 2020.

Background and Aims: Diabetes afflicts 16% of Jordanian citizens over the age of 18 years and is ... more Background and Aims: Diabetes afflicts 16% of Jordanian citizens over the age of 18 years and is the fifth main cause of death in Jordan. We aimed to explore single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) identified by GWAS study for potential associations with other diseases. Methods: We manually searched the National Center for Biotechnology Information for all genes related to the annotated nominally significant single nucleotide polymorphisms (p < 0.05) found in a previous genome-wide association study. This study included 34 diabetes cases and 106 controls for the Circassians and 34 diabetes cases and 110 controls for the Chechens. Results: Our research revealed 20 genes associated with cancer and 6 genes associated with schizophrenia in the Circassian population, and 2 genes associated with cancer and 7 genes associated with schizophrenia in the Chechen population. These genes may have a pathogenetic association with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Conclusion: The results from this pilot study demonstrates that multiple genetic factors that underlie type 2 diabetes may be associated with cancer and schizophrenia in the Chechen and Circassian populations in Jordan.

Saudi Medical Journal, Feb 1, 2017

To compare clinical, anthropometric, and laboratory characteristics in diabetes type 2 patients o... more To compare clinical, anthropometric, and laboratory characteristics in diabetes type 2 patients of 2 genetically-distinct ethnicities living in Jordan, Arabs and Circassians/Chechens.

Routledge eBooks, Aug 23, 2019

Interdisciplinary Science Reviews, Apr 3, 2019

I was the Rita Hauser fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University ... more I was the Rita Hauser fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University in 2017/2018. I was there writing a book, 'Five Scarves: Doing the impossible: If we can reverse cell fate why can't we redefine success?' about women in science and about success and how it varies across religion, cultures and disciplines (2018). One of the other fellows was Martha Minnow, the former Dean of the Harvard Law School. I was asking her advice for my book. She suggested that I talk to Elizabeth Spelman, who in turn suggested that I talk to Evelyn Fox Keller, whom I realized I had tried to contact in 2014 after reading her book Reflections on Gender and Science in preparation of an Eisenhower fellowship application exploring the same topic (1996). I was asked by the editor of this issue of ISR to interview EFK and discuss her reflections on gender and science with her 50 years after she wrote her seminal book. The purpose of this issue is to show how the quality of the research process, cultures, outcomes and standards can be improved by paying attention to gender issues (e.g. as biases in assessment of excellence, measuring team performance, determining indicators of scientific productivity/success, organising research collaborations, designing models of environmental impacts and defining safety standards). However, in my view, all these efforts have not been sufficient for the kinds of change feminist critics envisioned. The problem, I think, is that all these efforts have interpreted 'gender' as synonymous with women. The problems on which Keller and many others have focused are not so much about women themselves but about prevailing habits of thought that have grown out of a culture from which women have historically been excluded. For both of us, the primary issues concern the traditional coupling of science with notions of masculinity and the consequent influence of traditional ideologies of gender on the conceptual frameworks in science. From this perspective, evidence showing when and how a researcher's gender might influence research processes and outcomes is to the point. RD: Can you comment on the difference between thinking of the subject of gender and science as being about women in science vs. about the influence of ideologies of gender on conceptual frameworks?

Science and Engineering Ethics, Mar 3, 2020

In light of the development of "CRISPR" technology, new promising advances in therapeutic and pre... more In light of the development of "CRISPR" technology, new promising advances in therapeutic and preventive approaches have become a reality. However, with it came many ethical challenges. The most recent worldwide condemnation of the first use of CRISPR to genetically modify a human embryo is the latest example of ethically questionable use of this new and emerging field. Monotheistic religions are very conservative about such changes to the human genome and can be considered an interference with God's creation. Moreover, these changes could cause perpetual changes to future generations. The Muslim scholars establish their decisions by addressing five foundations of Islamic law i.e. "maqāṣ id al sharı̄a"; the purposes of the law. These are dın̄ (religion), nafs (life), nasl (progeny), `aql (intellect) and māl (wealth). To achieve this, the five principles should all be met before approval of an experiment like the Chinese embryo modifications; Qaṣ d (intention) which is achieved in this case as it aims to protect the embryo from HIV. Yaqın̄ (certainty) and Ḍ arar (injury) were not satisfied as they require strong scientific certainty of the procedures, and evidence of safety. Ḍ arūra (necessity) by which the alternatives being compared; in this case more established and proven safe alternatives to protect the HIV transmission from the father are available, so this principle is not met. The final principle is `Urf (custom), by which the social context of using any contemporary technology should be taken in consideration, and clearly this was not achieved. Collectively, germline changes are rejected from an Islamic perspective until the five principles are fulfilled. In the Chinese Twins gene editing case, there was clearly no justification or support for it according to the Muslim Jurisprudence laws. These laws and approaches can serve as an ethical checklist for such controversial research, especially in early stages of the research.

Nature, Aug 31, 2011

Revolutions in Libya and elsewhere have raised hopes for science in the Arab world. But progress ... more Revolutions in Libya and elsewhere have raised hopes for science in the Arab world. But progress will be slow, cautions Rana Dajani.

PLOS ONE, Jul 17, 2019

Early childhood trauma can have profound and lifelong effects on adult mental health and psychoso... more Early childhood trauma can have profound and lifelong effects on adult mental health and psychosocial wellbeing. Nevertheless, responses to trauma are highly variable. Genetic variants may help explain variation in responses to trauma by identifying alleles that associate with changes in mental health measures. Protective factors, such as resilience, likely also play an important role in responses to trauma. The effects of genetic variants, in combination with protective factors, on psychosocial health are not well understood, particularly in non-Western contexts. In this study, we test the relative influence of genetic variants of monoamine oxidase A (MAOA, a gene proposed to influence the impact of childhood trauma on adult violence and antisocial behavior), levels of resilience, and exposure to traumatic events on psychosocial stress and mental health trajectories over time. We use data from a cohort of 12-18-year-old Syrian refugees who were forcibly displaced to neighboring Jordan (n = 399). DNA samples and survey data on trauma exposure, resilience (CYRM-12), and psychosocial stress were collected at three time points: baseline,~13 weeks, and~48 weeks. Using multilevel models, we identified an association of MAOA variant, in males only, with symptom scores of psychosocial stress on the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) over time (p = 8.1 x 10 −4). We also found that resilience is strongly associated with PSS (p = 7.9 x 10 −9), underscoring the importance of protective factors in influencing levels of psychosocial stress. Furthermore, there was an additive effect wherein the sharpest reductions in perceived psychosocial stress are seen in low-activity MAOA males with low trauma exposure or high resilience levels. Our results highlight the value of studies that integrate genetic and psychosocial factors to better understand complex phenotypes, such as responses to trauma in contexts of high trauma exposure.

Frontiers in Genetics, Oct 3, 2022

Editorial on the Research Topic Women in science: Genetics The reality of the workforce in Scienc... more Editorial on the Research Topic Women in science: Genetics The reality of the workforce in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields is still that women remain significantly underrepresented. Women obtain more than half of the undergraduate degrees in biology, chemistry, and mathematics in the United States and constitute about half of the American workforce. However, the American Community Survey from the United States Census Bureau has shown that women only held approximately 30% of STEM jobs in 2019 (Census, 2019). Of interest, the percentage of women pursuing STEM education is higher in the Middle East in comparison to the West (Study International, 2019), and according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development women test better and feel more comfortable in mathematics than men in Jordan, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (Khazan, 2014). However, worldwide women continue to hold more junior positions in science, earn significantly less and do more unpaid work than their male colleagues, and are overall less likely to be supported during their higher education training (Author Anonymous, 2011; Khazan, 2014; Sommerfeld et al., 2017). Some overarching factors to help explain the larger gender gaps include masculine cultures that leave women with a low sense of belonging, the lack of sufficient early experiences in these fields, and gender gaps in self-efficacy (Cheryan et al., 2017). Moreover, more than 50% of women reported personal experiences with gender-related bias in a 2010 survey from AAAS/L'Oreal, compared with 2% of men who responded to the same survey (AAAS, 2010). And more recently, Chatterjee and Werner reported that original research articles written by women as primary authors had fewer citations than original research articles

Frontiers in Genetics, Jul 17, 2020

The use of stem cells in research has caused much controversy and ethical dilemma. The primary so... more The use of stem cells in research has caused much controversy and ethical dilemma. The primary source of stem cells is human embryos, a source which has been confronted with objections based on ethical, moral, and religious positions. Jordan has passed the first of its-kind Statute in the region, aiming at regulating the use of stem cells both for therapeutic and research purposes. The Statute adopted a regulatory approach between the restrictive and intermediate. The Statute, however, pays more attention to stem cell banking in many of its articles. Many critical aspects in regulating stem cell research activities are overlooked. This is including but not limited to the process of informed consent, protecting privacy, maintaining confidentiality, the need for a national entity responsible for regulating embryonic stem cell (ESC) research, and requirements of monitoring activity. The authors recommend further review of the current Statute in light of the deficiencies discussed so as to develop a more comprehensive and coherent Statute.

Gene, Apr 1, 2020

Next generation sequencing (NGS) is a promising technique that can reveal the entire gene sequenc... more Next generation sequencing (NGS) is a promising technique that can reveal the entire gene sequences and to the highest possible resolution without any phase ambiguities. We have used this technique to investigate the frequencies of HLA-A,-B,-C,-DRB1 and-DQB1 in a Saudi cohort of healthy individuals. We used NGS using the 454 genome sequence (GS) FLX System and Conexio ASSIGN ATF 454 software to human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genotype eight class I and class II loci. A total of 158 healthy Saudi adults were analyzed. The most frequently observed allele for HLA-A was HLA-A*

The 86th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists, New Orleans, 2017