Sarah earned her bachelor’s degree in chemistry and zoology from Cairo University, Egypt, where she was awarded a teaching and research assistantship and pursued a master’s in molecular and integrative physiology. Her research focused on the potential therapeutic benefits of Echinochrome pigment, extracted from sea urchins, in enhancing liver and kidney function in septic rats.

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Following this, she received a fully funded scholarship from Egypt’s Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) to complete a second master’s degree in molecular biology at the Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology (E-JUST). Her research at E-JUST investigated the expression levels of miRNAs targeting EGFR in lung cancer using human tissue samples. After completing this degree, she was promoted to Assistant Lecturer at Cairo University.

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Building on her expertise, Sarah was awarded another MOHESR scholarship to pursue a DPhil at the Vasilieva Lab, Biochemistry Department, University of Oxford. Her doctoral research focuses on the ribonucleolytic RNA exosome complex, specifically examining the role of its subunits in gene transcription, using fission yeast as a model organism. Throughout her project, she employs a range of genomic techniques, including nascent transcriptome sequencing (TT-seq), Chromatin Immunoprecipitation Sequencing (ChIP-seq), strand-specific DNA/RNA Immunoprecipitation Sequencing (ssDRIP-seq), and Nanopore sequencing.