Dr. Rola Zein, Lecturer in the Department of Pediatric Dentistry and General Oral Health/Faculty of Dental Medicine, won the Union of Arab Scientific Research Councils Award for Scientific Research” for the year 2021 for the category of young researchers in the field of biotechnology.

The award was given on 20 November 2021 for her research funded by the Lebanese University entitled: “In vivo evaluation of the virucidal efficacy of chlorhexidine and povidone-iodine mouthwashes against salivary SARS-CoV-2. A randomized-controlled clinical trial”.

The research acquires scientific and practical importance in the field of limiting the spread of corona infection through salivary droplets, and it was completed by Dr. El-Zein under the supervision of former President, Professor Fouad Ayoub and a research team composed of Professor Fadi Abdel-Sater, Dr. Soha Fakhreddin, Dr. Pierre Abi Hanna, Dr. Rita Feghali and Dr. Hamad Hassan.

It presented an innovation to reduce the transmission of coronavirus infection in dental clinics, and its results showed that the two mouthwashes available globally, chlorhexidine and povidone-iodine, reduce the amount of virus in salivary mist when used, which reduces the infection rate, thus resulting in social benefit, especially in places of hospitalization, mixing or confinement.

It is noteworthy that the research was published in the International Scientific “Journal of Evidence Based Dental Practice” after its registration in the “LCTR-Lebanon Clinical Trials Registry” affiliated to the International Clinical Trial Registry platform of the World Health Organization (WHO ICTRP).

To view results: https://fasrc.org/index.php/9-2020-11-28-09-34-40/63-2021-4