{"id":5168,"date":"2026-01-21T05:31:35","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T05:31:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cognitionconferences.com\/virology\/?post_type=speaker&p=5168"},"modified":"2026-01-22T11:48:52","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T11:48:52","slug":"sara-khalife","status":"publish","type":"speaker","link":"https:\/\/cognitionconferences.com\/virology\/speaker\/sara-khalife\/","title":{"rendered":"Sara Khalife"},"content":{"rendered":"

Abstract<\/strong><\/p>\n

This cross-sectional study assessed varicella zoster virus (VZV) immunity and vaccination uptake among 180 children and adolescents aged 1\u201318 years in urban and rural areas of Northern Lebanon. Overall IgG seroprevalence was 79.4%, indicating prior infection or vaccination, while recent infection (IgM positivity) was detected in 5% of participants. IgG seropositivity was substantially higher among those who completed the two-dose vaccination schedule (89.5%) compared with those who received one dose (63.6%), confirming the superior immunogenicity of the complete regimen. Parental history of varicella was a highly reliable predictor of seropositivity. Despite this, vaccination coverage remained suboptimal, with major barriers including preference for natural infection, perceived lack of necessity, and cost. Regular pediatric follow-up strongly predicted vaccine uptake, whereas low parental awareness reduced it. These findings highlight persistent susceptibility to VZV and support the urgent inclusion of varicella vaccination in Lebanon\u2019s national immunization program, alongside targeted parental education and strengthened pediatric healthcare engagement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":5179,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"schedule":[],"speaker-category":[],"class_list":["post-5168","speaker","type-speaker","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSara Khalife | Beirut Arab University | Lebanon<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dr. Sara Khalife is an Associate Professor in the Department of Medical Laboratory Technology at Beirut Arab University. She holds dual PhDs in Biology and Physiology of Organisms (University of Lille 2, France) and in Medical and Food Microbiology (Lebanese University, 2014). Her doctoral work earned her both the ANOFEL Prize and the University of Lille 2 Prize for Best Thesis. In 2023, she was awarded the Safar Mobility Grant by the French Embassy in Lebanon to support her ongoing research in France. Dr. Khalife has presented at international conferences and has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals. She also serves on the editorial boards of scientific journals. Her research focuses on the epidemiology, transmission, and antimicrobial resistance of pathogens, with particular emphasis on airborne transmission dynamics, lung defense mechanisms and pathogen elimination.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cognitionconferences.com\/virology\/speaker\/sara-khalife\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sara Khalife | Beirut Arab University | Lebanon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dr. Sara Khalife is an Associate Professor in the Department of Medical Laboratory Technology at Beirut Arab University. She holds dual PhDs in Biology and Physiology of Organisms (University of Lille 2, France) and in Medical and Food Microbiology (Lebanese University, 2014). Her doctoral work earned her both the ANOFEL Prize and the University of Lille 2 Prize for Best Thesis. In 2023, she was awarded the Safar Mobility Grant by the French Embassy in Lebanon to support her ongoing research in France. Dr. Khalife has presented at international conferences and has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals. She also serves on the editorial boards of scientific journals. Her research focuses on the epidemiology, transmission, and antimicrobial resistance of pathogens, with particular emphasis on airborne transmission dynamics, lung defense mechanisms and pathogen elimination.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cognitionconferences.com\/virology\/speaker\/sara-khalife\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cognition Conferences\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-22T11:48:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cognitionconferences.com\/virology\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Picture-Jacson-Ferreira.pdf-9-724x1024.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"724\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cognitionconferences.com\/virology\/speaker\/sara-khalife\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cognitionconferences.com\/virology\/speaker\/sara-khalife\/\",\"name\":\"Sara Khalife | Beirut Arab University | Lebanon\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cognitionconferences.com\/virology\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cognitionconferences.com\/virology\/speaker\/sara-khalife\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cognitionconferences.com\/virology\/speaker\/sara-khalife\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cognitionconferences.com\/virology\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Picture-Jacson-Ferreira.pdf-9.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-21T05:31:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-22T11:48:52+00:00\",\"description\":\"Dr. Sara Khalife is an Associate Professor in the Department of Medical Laboratory Technology at Beirut Arab University. 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