Ms. Laura-Joy BOULOS
Faculty of Humanities
Assistant professor
(+961) 1 421 000 ext laura-joy.boulos1@usj.edu.lb
Dr. Laura-Joy Boulos is a neuroscientist at the intersection of academia and industry. She holds a dual Ph.D. in Neuroscience from McGill University and the University of Strasbourg. Currently, she is an Associate Professor at Saint Joseph University of Beirut, where her team explores the impact of chronic multi-crisis contexts on brain health through a project they have named ENSA. Her interdisciplinary approach combines experimental psychology and artificial intelligence to intersect social determinants and digital biomarkers. She advocates for research that is resolutely focused on innovation, aiming to transform scientific advances into useful digital tools for societies in times of crisis through iterative processes. Her work has earned her numerous awards, including the 2020 L’Oréal-UNESCO Prize awarded to the 15 most promising female researchers internationally. Aligning with this vision of research and innovation, Laura-Joy is also a Partner at the venture capital fund Globivest, which has a unique One Health thesis: investing in startups in human health and environmental health to demonstrate the close link between these two areas. Globivest is also the first women-led investment fund in the Middle East and the Mediterranean region
+ Teaching at USJ
- Introduction to neuroscience
+ Expertise field
Medecine and Health
+ Research topics
The impact of post-conflict crises on the brain beyond disease, with a focus on cognitive alterations in apparently healthy individuals from highly at risk populations
+ Publications and communications
Boulos LJ, Mendes A, Delmas A, Chraibi I, Iterative methodology applied to digital health, in revision
Abdallah Y, Nakhle C, Boulos LJ, Neuroscience in the Middle East: The impact of multiple post-war crises on the brain beyond disease, in revision
Boulos LJ, Ben Hamida S, Darcq E, Kieffer BL, TouchSreen-based phenotyping: altered stimulus/reward association and lower perseveration to gain a reward in mu opioid receptor knockout mice, Scientific Reports 2019 February 2019 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-40622-6
Boulos LJ, Ben Hamida S, Bailly J, Maitra M, Ehrlich AT, Gavériaux C, Darcq E, Kieffer BL, Mu opioid receptors in the medial habenula contribute to naloxone aversion, NeuroPsychoPharmacology, 2019 Apr 20. doi: 10.1038/s41386-019-0395-7 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41386-019-0395-7
Ben Hamida S, Netto S, Arefin TM, Boulos LJ, McNicholas M, Ehrlich AT, Moquin L, Gratton A, Darcq E, Harsan LA, Maldonado R and Kieffer BL, Increased alcohol seeking in mice lacking Gpr88 involves dysfunctional mesocorticolimbic networks, Biol Psychiatry, 2018 Feb 9. pii: S0006-3223(18)30081-7. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2018.01.026. https://www.biologicalpsychiatryjournal.com/article/S0006-3223(18)30081-7/fulltext
Boulos LJ* Ben Hamida S*, McNicholas M, Charbogne P, Kieffer BL, Mu opioid receptors in GABAergic neurons of the forebrain promote alcohol reward and drinking, Addict Biol. 2017 Nov 2. doi: 10.1111/adb.1257 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/adb.12576
Boulos LJ, Darcq E, Kieffer BL, Translating the habenula: from rodents to humans, Biol Psychiatry. 2016 Jun 7. pii: S0006-3223(16)32430-1. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2016.06.003. https://www.biologicalpsychiatryjournal.com/article/S0006-3223(16)32430-1/fulltext Boulos LJ, Darcq E, Gavériaux C, Kieffer BL,
Mu opioid receptors in the habenula : dissecting reward and aversion in addiction, SFN 2016 http://www.abstractsonline.com/pp8/index.html#!/4071/presentation/9287