Hala Zreiqat

Biography

Hala Zreiqat is a Palestinian-Jordanian biomedical engineer recognized internationally for her pioneering work in regenerative medicine and orthopedic biomaterials. Of Palestinian heritage, she grew up between Jordan and the West Bank before studying biology at the University of Jordan in Amman and later completing graduate training that took her to the University of New South Wales in Australia, where she built her academic career. A Payne-Scott Professor in the School of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Sydney, Zreiqat founded the university's Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials Research Unit in 2006. Her laboratory developed a novel class of ceramic biomaterials that combine high mechanical strength with bioactivity, and she pioneered techniques to fabricate these materials as 3D-printed, patient-specific implants for bone, dental, and maxillofacial reconstruction. This work has advanced the field of musculoskeletal regeneration toward clinical translation. Her contributions have been honored with numerous awards. She was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2019, named the New South Wales Premier's Woman of the Year in 2018, and elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering and the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences. In 2025 she was inducted into the College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. Beyond her research, Zreiqat has been a prominent advocate for women in science and engineering. She founded the IDEAL Society, an international network dedicated to expanding opportunities for women in STEM, and chairs the international Alliance for Design and Application in Tissue Engineering, mentoring researchers across the Arab world and globally. Widely cited and frequently invited as a keynote speaker, Zreiqat is among the most internationally decorated scientists of Palestinian heritage, and her career bridges the Arab world, Australia, and the global biomedical engineering community.

Why This Person Matters

One of the most internationally decorated scientists of Palestinian heritage, whose 3D-printed biomaterials advanced regenerative medicine and who champions women in STEM across the Arab world.

Historical Context

Born in Amman in 1962 to a family of Palestinian heritage, Zreiqat grew up moving between Jordan and the West Bank, part of the post-Nakba diaspora that scattered Palestinian professional families across the Arab world. She studied biology at the University of Jordan before her scientific ambitions carried her to Australia, where she completed graduate training and built her academic career far from the constraints facing researchers in the homeland. Her rise unfolded within the global biomedical engineering community of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, a field then being transformed by tissue engineering and 3D printing. Her trajectory exemplifies how Palestinian talent, displaced and dispersed, has often flourished in the institutions of distant countries.

Historical Context

1. 1962 — Born in Amman, Jordan
2. 1967 — Six-Day War and occupation of West Bank and Gaza

Legacy & Influence

Zreiqat developed a novel class of ceramic biomaterials combining mechanical strength with bioactivity, and her pioneering of 3D-printed, patient-specific implants pushed musculoskeletal regeneration toward clinical translation. Her contributions earned membership in the Order of Australia in 2019, the New South Wales Premier's Woman of the Year in 2018, fellowships of the Australian academies, and in 2025 induction into the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering's College of Fellows. Beyond the lab she founded the international IDEAL Society and chairs the Alliance for Design and Application in Tissue Engineering, mentoring women researchers across the Arab world and beyond. She remains among the most internationally decorated scientists of Palestinian heritage, a bridge between the Arab world, Australia, and the global scientific community.

Topics & Themes

• Nakba Generation
• Diaspora

References & Sources

1. Hala Zreiqat — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hala_Zreiqat
2. Professor Hala Zreiqat named NSW Premier's Woman of the Year — https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2018/03/08/professor-hala-zreiqat-named-nsw-premiers-woman-of-the-year.html
3. Professor Hala Zreiqat, AAHMS Fellow — https://aahms.org/fellow/professor-hala-zreiqat/