Dr. Afifi joined Qatar University’s Biomedical Sciences Program in 1999 and was promoted to associate professor of anatomy and embryology, and then to full professor in 2007. Dr. Afifi served as head of the Department of Health Sciences from 2007-2009. In December 2013, she joined Qatar Foundation as education and scientific manager at Qatar Biobank, and in 2017, she was appointed director of Qatar Biobank. Dr. Afifi has published numerous research studies in her field of expertise. She is a member of several international societies, including the AAA, ASIP, ISBER, and ESBB. 

Dr. Afifi earned her MBBCh with honors from Ain Shams University, Egypt, where she also received her Master of Anatomy and Embryology, as well as a Diploma of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Dr. Afifi received her Ph.D. in Anatomy and Embryology in 1996 from the same university, under a program that was jointly supervised by the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ), US.

His research work has focused on extracellular matrix and its pathobiology with emphasis on renal diseases and diabetes. In addition, he has committed major part of his time in biobanking.

Over the years, she contributed to the international strategies of the Ministries of Research and of Health and coordinated the Italian participation in the BioMedical Sciences ESFRI roadmap. Prof. Lavitrano participated in the preparatory phase of BBMRI, ECRIN and EATRIS as Italian Member State representative and in 2013 she was appointed BBMRI.it (Biobanking and BioMolecular resources Research Infrastructure – Italy) Node-Director and in 2016 she was co-founder of ATMA, the BBMRI-ERIC Expert Centre for biomarker development. Prof. Lavitrano has a long-standing experience in managing R&D projects with leading roles in 11 European funded projects within H2020 and Horizon programs, 9 of which related to research infrastructures. In the last 20 years, prof. Lavitrano has focused her scientific activity on clinical and translational research in the field of oncology, conducting key research on chemoresistance in solid tumours. Prof. Lavitrano is also interested in the bioethical aspects of science and research and participated at Bio-ethic Commissions of the Council of Europe, of the Vatican, and of the Italian government. In December 2020 prof. Lavitrano has been elected in the board of eight directors of the EOSC Association and has been nominated vice-president.

He described and identified the molecular defects responsible for the genetic diseases HIF2α erythrocytosis with pulmonary hypertension, which results from a defect in cellular oxygen sensing, and CFHR5 nephropathy, which results from a defect of complement regulation and is endemic in people of Cypriot ancestry. 

He also oversees the RaDaR rare renal disease registry of 25,000 patients with rare kidney diseases from across the UK.

As lecturer in pathology at the University of Nottingham, UK, and then as visiting fellow at the US National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, MD) he conducted research on the molecular pathology of colorectal cancer and specifically, the role of matrix metalloproteinases in tumour invasion.
He became involved in biobanking as a research fellow at Hammersmith Hospital, Imperial College School of Medicine, London, UK, from 1988-2000. Since then he has established /managed biobanks in Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Luxembourg. 

He was president of ISBER (International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories) from 2008-2009, chairing many of their committees, and was European Editor of the journal Biopreservation and Biobanking from 2009-2015. In 2010 Robert co-founded ESBB (the European, Middle Eastern & African Society for Biopreservation and Biobanking) and served as executive officer until 2017 when he joined THB.