Biography
Dr. Karim Sarhane was born in 1985 and grew up in Beirut, Lebanon, in a context where instability and resilience often coexisted side by side. From a young age he gravitated toward science, structure, and service, excelling in school and developing the discipline that would later define his surgical career.
He completed his schooling at Collège Louise Wegmann in Beirut, earning both the French and Lebanese Baccalaureates with Distinction, an early indication of his ability to navigate demanding academic systems in multiple languages and cultures.
Drawn to medicine for its unique blend of science, technical skill, and human connection, Karim Sarhane enrolled at the American University of Beirut (AUB). There, he completed a Bachelor of Science in Biology, earning a place on the Dean’s Honor List during his pre-medical years, followed by his Doctor of Medicine (MD). Those years shaped his identity as a clinician-scholar: inquisitive, rigorous, and always seeking to understand the mechanisms behind disease rather than simply memorizing facts.
After medical school, Dr. Sarhane began his surgical journey with a General Surgery Internship at the American University of Beirut Medical Center, gaining his first real exposure to the operating room as a place where calm, decisive action meets complex human vulnerability.
At the same time, he discovered a deep interest in basic and translational research. He completed a Master of Science in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics at AUB, where his thesis, “Tissue CLN3, A potential biomarker for breast cancer?”, reflected an early desire to connect laboratory discoveries with practical clinical questions in oncology.
This dual identity, clinician and researcher, would become a central theme of his life.
Burjeel Hospital