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In the BESTMEDGRAPE project, coordinated by the University of Cagliari (UNICA), the USJ-Saint Joseph University of Beirut is the Lebanese partner responsible of the coordination of the work package 2 (communication) and participates to all other work packages, but mostly those devoted to the study of grape cultivars and the exploitation of grape by-products. 

Richard G. Maroun is the Project coordinator for the USJ team, he is Dean of the Faculty of sciences at Saint Joseph University and Head of the Laboratoire de la Caractérisation des Molécules Bioactives. He represents USJ in the steering committee, participates to all discussions related to strategic decisions and actions to be implemented in the frame of the project. He watches over the communication work of WP2 and cooperates in elaborating the experimental protocols to be applied during the grape pomace polyphenols extraction and characterization. He contributes in the activities of the living labs as well as in the elaboration of scientific papers based on the results obtained during BESTMEDGRAPE project.

Magda Boudagher Kharrat is Director of the laboratory “Biodiversité et Génomique Fonctionnelle” at the USJ; she works on plant characterization and conservation using molecular tools. She is also managing the laboratory and seed bank “Jouzour Loubnan” for seed germination and conservation. In the framework of BESTMEDGRAPE, she is responsible of the communication component and the characterization of the Lebanese grape varieties.

Nicolas Louka is director of Center for Analysis and Research of the Faculty of Sciences at USJ, and of the research unit "Technology and Valorization of Agro-resources". Member of the comity of technology transfer of the USJ, he contributes to the strategic research development on the extraction process of polyphenols from grape byproducts; he is also working on the technology transfer between the laboratories and the industrials.

Hiba N. Rajha oversees the laboratory analyses for the optimization and recovery of phenolic compounds from grape pomaces and seeds. Helps in the writing of scientific manuals and publications.

Carole Saliba is in charge of performing the laboratory technical duties and the plant material molecular characterization, exploring literature related to the project, collecting information and analyzing data and performing miscellaneous job-related duties as assigned by the Project Manager.

Wadih Aoun, Financial Manager, is the Financial Manager of the project. Myrna Iskandar, Administrative Manager, is in charge of preparing and monitoring transactions and cash flow, and expense reports to the project, handling correspondence with the different partners and the beneficiary and organizing the logistics of meetings and workshops.

ADMIN S.A.R.L. is the Lebanese company in charge for communication, media and marketing in BESTMEDGRAPE. Rawad Daher and Iyad Khleif, both journalists working in the field of television and radio, and Sophia Khoury, social media expert, are responsible for the communication aspects of the project, in coordination with the Lead Beneficiary communication manager and the communication officers of all partners.