Dr. Rami H. Al-Rifai PhD

Dr. Rami H. Al-Rifai is a highly cited epidemiologist and a specialist in Maternal and Child Health and Reproductive Health. His research leverages large-scale cohort methodologies and Big Data Analytics to study disease risk factors, including anemia and infectious diseases. He is focused on the evaluation of public health interventions and programs in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. He is a key contributor to the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study and has been recognized among the Top 2% most highly cited scientists globally.

Education

• PhD in Epidemiology & Public Health.
• Continuous advanced training in cohort study methodologies, risk factor analysis, and disease modeling.

Designation

• Associate Professor of Epidemiology, UAEU.
• Co-lead investigator of the Mutaba’ah Study, the largest maternal and child health cohort in the UAE.
   

Achievements

• Recognized among the Top 2% of most highly cited scientists worldwide (Stanford–Elsevier list, 2021–2024).
• Principal investigator in UAEU-funded research on maternal and child health determinants.
• Secured international collaborations with WHO and GCC health research councils.
   

Current Research Projects

• Mutaba’ah Study – a long-term prospective mother and child health cohort study in the UAE.
• Health Literacy in Pregnancy – evaluating baseline health knowledge and behaviors among Emirati pregnant women (Mutaba’ah cohort sub-study).
• Epigenetics of Congenital Heart Disease – systematic review and meta-analysis protocol focusing on maternal and fetal genetic/epigenetic factors.
   

Academic Profiles of Dr. Rami H. Al-Rifai

Explore Dr. Al-Rifai’s professional presence across leading platforms:

• UAEU Research Portal
• Google Scholar
• Loop / Frontiers Profile
• ResearchGate

Dr. Al-Rifai has authored influential studies in epidemiology and public health, with recent work focusing on global and regional burden of disease studies and congenital conditions.

The list of recent publications of Dr. Rami H. Al-Rifai is listed below:
 

• Mathew, S., Sherif, M., Al-Rifai, R. H., Grivna, M., Östlundh, L., Devleesschauwer, B., & Ádám, B. (2025). Burden of disease using disability adjusted life years in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region: Protocol of a systematic review. BMJ Open, 15(6), e096214.
• GBD 2021 Europe Life Expectancy Collaborators (Incl. Al-Rifai, R.H.). (2025). Changing life expectancy in European countries 1990–2021: a subanalysis of causes and risk factors from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. The Lancet Public Health, 10(3), e172-e188.
• Adam, H., Ghenimi, N., Elkhalil, R., Narchi, H., Elbarazi, I., Al-Rifai, R. H., & Ahmed, L. A. (2025). Epidemiology of congenital anomalies in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries: a scoping review. BMJ Open, 15(4), e093825.
• Al-Bluwi, G. S. M., Alnababteh, A., Marquis, A., Al-Rifai, R. H., Elbarazi, I., & Ahmed, L. A. (2025). Epidemiology of developmental language disorder among children in the Arab countries: a scoping review. BMJ Open, 15(4), e089667.
• GBD 2021 Diarrhoeal Diseases Collaborators (Incl. Al-Rifai, R.H.). (2025). Global, regional, and national age-sex-specific burden of diarrhoeal diseases, their risk factors, and aetiologies, 1990–2021, for 204 countries and territories: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 25(5), 519-536.

Last Updated on October 09, 2025