Publications & metrics.

An introduction to GitHub and its significance for AI-driven drug discovery

A Abou Hajal, L Bustanji, RA Bryce, MA Ghattas

Why open-source platforms like GitHub matter for reproducibility in computational drug discovery, with practical guidance for researchers new to version control.

Expert Opinion on Drug Discovery 21 (4), 387-392, 2026

Introducing AutoML framework for Drug–Drug Interaction Prediction: Application of AutoGluon

A Abou Hajal, M Sakkal

We use AutoGluon to predict drug–drug interactions, and show that automated model search with molecular fingerprints can match handcrafted pipelines while staying simple to reproduce.

Toxicology Mechanisms and Methods, 1-11, 2026

Language models for drug–drug interactions: current applications, pitfalls, and future directions

AZ Al Meslamani, A Abou Hajal

Where large language models already help with drug-interaction prediction, where they still hallucinate, and what evaluation gaps need closing before regulators rely on them.

Expert Opinion on Drug Metabolism & Toxicology 21 (9), 1083-1102, 2025

Machine learning predictions of tumor progression: How reliable are we?

M Sakkal, A Abou Hajal

A methodological audit of tumour-progression ML papers, showing how weak validation choices inflate apparent performance. Also sketches what a more honest benchmark would look like.

Computers in Biology and Medicine 191, 110156, 2025

Large language models in drug delivery: A review of the current landscape and future perspectives

M Sakkal, A Abou Hajal

What LLMs (ChemCrow, BioBERT, and friends) currently do for formulation and drug-delivery design, and what would have to be true before they replace manual literature triage.

Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 104147, 2025

Insights into artificial intelligence utilisation in drug discovery

A Abou Hajal, AZ Al Meslamani

A pragmatic overview of where AI is actually paying off in pharma R&D today, and the economic forces shaping where it gets adopted next.

Journal of Medical Economics 27 (1), 304-308, 2024

Overcoming barriers to machine learning applications in toxicity prediction

A Abou Hajal, AZ Al Meslamani

The data, validation, and interpretability gaps that keep ML toxicity models from being adopted by regulators, with concrete suggestions for closing each.

Expert Opinion on Drug Metabolism & Toxicology 20 (7), 549-553, 2024

Boosting the Accuracy and Chemical Space Coverage of the Detection of Small Colloidal Aggregating Molecules Using the BAD Molecule Filter

A Abou Hajal, RA Bryce, BB Amor, N Atatreh, MA Ghattas

My MSc thesis. A machine-learning ensemble that flags molecules that look like real bioactive hits but are actually colloidal aggregators, deployed as a public web server so any group can pre-screen their compounds for free.

Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling 64 (13), 4991-5005, 2024

Are we ready yet for digital transformation? Virtual versus on-campus OSCE as assessment tools in pharmacy education. A randomized controlled head-to-head comparative assessment

Z Kharaba, MM AlAhmad, AA Elnour, A Abou Hajal, S Abumweis, ...

Head-to-head randomised trial comparing virtual and on-campus pharmacy OSCE exams during COVID-19. Performance was equivalent but examiner experience differed.

Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal 31 (3), 359-369, 2023

Exploring the pharmacy students’ perspectives on off-campus online learning experiences amid COVID-19 crises: A cross-sectional survey

AA Elnour, A Abou Hajal, R Goaddar, N Elsharkawy, S Mousa, ...

Survey of pharmacy students' experiences with remote learning during COVID-19. Reports what worked, what did not, and what should carry over.

Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal 31 (7), 1339-1350, 2023

A cross-sectional survey on the experience of people with allergic rhinitis amidst COVID-19 pandemic: The impact of the facemask: A pilot study

N Al Mazrouei, AA Elnour, A Abou Hajal, A Sadeq, R Hammouri, O Ishbair, ...

Pharmacy Practice (Granada) 21 (3), 18, 2023

Protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials, cost-benefit analysis and interrupted time-series interventions on pharmacist’s prescribing

AA Elnour, NS Raja, F Abdi, F Mostafiz, RI Elmubarak, AM Khalil, ...

Pre-registered protocol for a systematic review of pharmacist-led prescribing interventions, locking inclusion criteria in before any data extraction.

Pharmacy Practice 20 (3), 2713, 2022

Chemical Composition of the Volatile Oil from Aerial Parts of Rosmarinus officinalis L. Growing in UAE

MM Hudaib, AF Abu Hajal, MM Sakkal

GC-MS characterisation of UAE-grown rosemary essential oil, with major-constituent profile and a comparison to other regional sources.

Journal of Essential Oil Bearing Plants 25 (2), 282-289, 2022

Exploring the pharmacy students' perspectives on off-campus online learning experiences amid COVID-19 crises: a multicentre cross-sectional survey

A Elnour, R Goaddar, S Mousa, N Elsharkawy, A Abou Hajal

Survey of pharmacy students' experiences with remote learning during COVID-19. Reports what worked, what did not, and what should carry over.

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PHARMACY 44 (6), 1514-1515, 2022