Dr. Lana Hamieh joined the Department of Internal Medicine as an Instructor in the Division of Hospital Medicine in August 2020. Dr. Hamieh was born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon. She attended the American University of Beirut (AUB) for her undergraduate and graduate studies. She received her Bachelor of Science in Biology with honors in 2009 and her medical degree in 2013. She also received a certificate in quantitative research methods from the Scholars in Health Research Program at AUB, based on a merit scholarship. She then pursued a clinical and translational research fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Dana Farber Harvard Cancer Center. Subsequently, she completed her Internal Medicine residency at Saint Louis University in 2020.
Dr. Hamieh has a great interest in translational oncology research, particularly in cancer genetics and renal cell carcinoma. Her interest started early on in medical school. As a fourth year medical student, she received the first place award in clinical research at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute scientific retreat. During her post-doctoral fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Dana Farber Harvard Cancer center, her work focused on the mTOR pathway and predictive biomarkers of response and resistance in renal cell carcinoma. Her main project was to develop a liquid biopsy (cell-free DNA) assay in renal cell carcinoma as a predictive biomarker. She was also responsible for analyzing large datasets for outcomes research, and writing phase II clinical trials and research grants. She received a young Investigator Award at the 15th International Kidney Cancer Symposium for her work in patients with poor risk kidney cancer.
Dr. Hamieh is passionate towards advancing, mentoring and collaboration among physicians. Along with other alumni from her alma mater, they established the North American Health Initiative in 2016. The initiative serves as a platform where alumni and students in the health care field can connect, network, collaborate and provide and/or receive mentoring. Through the initiative, alumni have access to a variety of networking meetings, a directory and a map of healthcare alumni in North America and an online mentoring platform. When she moved to Saint Louis, she joined the Worldwide AUB Alumni Missouri Chapter as director of mentorship to promote the initiative in St. Louis.
Growing up in Lebanon, Dr. Hamieh witnessed repeatedly the limited healthcare resources that refugees have access to. Therefore, during medical school, she volunteered in the free clinic in a Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut. And after medical school, she volunteered in a mobile clinic that provided free consultations and medications to all refugees (Syrians, Iraqis and Palestinians) all across Lebanon.
Outside medicine, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, traveling, hiking and dancing.
Dr. Lana Hamieh joins the Department of Medicine
