Prof. Abdelrahim H. A. Hassan

Prof. Abdelrahim H. A. Hassan is a former professor of Food Science and Technology, and Director of the Quality Assurance and Accreditation Center at Beni-Suef University. Early in 2023, he joined Nile University as a professor and Quality Assurance Unit Director at the School of Biotechnology.

Prof. Hassan acquired his Bachelor’s degree in Veterinary Medicine From Cairo University in 2004. Then he obtained his Master’s and Ph.D. degrees in Food Safety and Microbiology in 2008 and 2011, respectively.

In 2012, he joined the Biosensors and Bioelectronics group at the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2, Spain) on a postdoctoral scholarship, where he had been working on the development of gold nanoparticles-based biosensors for food analysis. Furthermore, he returned to Spain as a postdoctoral researcher at ICN2, Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), from 2016 to 2018. In collaboration with the Spanish group, he developed paper-based lateral flow immunoassays for determining pathogenic microorganisms in food and water. He also collaborated on some research projects funded by the European Commission and the Spanish government. Moreover, he co-supervised a couple of Master’s and Ph.D. students in Spain and helped them to defend their dissertations successfully on projects related to biosensor development for bacteria detection in water and environmental samples.

In 2018, on a sabbatical, he joined the Department of Food Science at the Pennsylvania State University (PSU, USA) as a visiting professor. At PSU, in collaboration with faculty and researchers there, he developed a novel composite antimicrobial film based on biodegradable pullulan for combating pathogens in food. His work was innovative and interesting enough to attract the scientific community's and industry's attention. His study was filed as a patent application to the US Patent and Trademark Office in 2020 and successfully published as a patent by WIPO (PCT) in 2021 under the title “Slow release composite active films/packaging to reduce foodborne pathogens and improve the shelf life of raw and ready to eat foods”. During his stay at PSU, he got his certification as a certified ServSafe Food Safety Instructor and exam proctor by the American National Restaurant Association, which is accredited by the American National Standard Institute (ANSI) and approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Hence, he has contributed to teaching ServSafe Food Safety courses to food professionals in Pennsylvania in collaboration with faculty and extension staff of PSU. He also was selected as an ad-hoc scientific reviewer of research proposals related to the impact of COVID-19 on food safety by the United States Department of Agriculture (USA). Because of his achievements in the food science field in the USA, he has been awarded lifetime membership from the American Gamma Sigma Delta Society of Agricultural Scientists.

Dr. Hassan was promoted to associate professor rank in 2016 and full professorship in 2021. He has more than 30 publications in well-reputable international journals and is a scientific peer-reviewer for more than 17 international journals in the areas of food science and technology, biosensors, microbiology, and biotechnology. Additionally, he has been a reviewer in the scientific committee for the promotion of professors and associate professors of the Supreme Council of Egyptian Universities since 2022.

Regarding quality assurance in higher education, Dr. Hassan is an expert and external auditor of quality assurance and accreditation at the National Authority of Quality Assurance and Accreditation for Education (NAQAAE, Egypt). He has more than nine years of experience in strategic planning, quality assurance, accreditation requirements, program design development, training, and development in higher education institutions.

Furthermore, he is a certified professional trainer and has been delivering training courses to faculty members, in topics related to scientific writing, international publishing of research, research ethics, writing research proposals, strategic planning, and quality assurance at the Faculty and Leadership Development Center of Beni-Suef University since 2014.

Here at Nile University, Dr. Hassan co-develops a professional diploma in food safety management that is aimed at providing graduates with essential knowledge and competencies that are required to fulfill their job needs successfully in the food industry and food service fields.