Rana Dajani

Biography: Rana is a molecular biologist, social entrepreneur, and global thought leader. Rana Dajani is a professor of molecular biology at Hashemite University in Jordan. Her area of expertise is epigenetics and biomarkers of trauma among refugees. Through her leadership, she has introduced national and regional stem cell laws and presided over numerous scientific boards and United Nations councils, most recently as the President of the Society for the Advancement of Science and Technology in the Arab World.

Rana Dajani is currently a visiting professor at the systems awareness center at MIT and a Morse fellow at Yale University and a Radcliffe fellow at Harvard University.

A tireless supporter of building indigenous research capabilities in the developing world and creating a mentoring program to support women scholars in STEM that was recognized by the National Academy of Sciences. Her 2018 book Five Scarves: Doing the Impossible — If We Can Reverse Cell Fate, Why Can’t We Redefine Success? challenged global policymakers to address ongoing inequities in education and employment, while also putting forward a new paradigm for measuring success in anevolving world.

She is the founder of We Love Reading, a grassroots initiative to create changemakers in underserved communities by fostering a lifelong love of reading. A recipient of the UNESCO International Literacy Prize, We Love Reading has established more than 4,000 locally run libraries in over 60 countries.

Rana has also been recognized as a Fulbright fellow, Eisenhower fellow and Ashoka fellow and by joining the list of the 100 most influential Arab Women and receiving the Jacobs social entrepreneur award, Nansen UNHCR refugee award, and the Schwab Social Entrepreneur Award from the World Economic forum.