March 2026
Conduct of Research at AUB during the Ongoing War
A Position Statement by the Office of Research at AUB
As a valued funder of research at the American University of Beirut (AUB), we would like to update you on the status of our research activities in light of the current situation in Lebanon and the region.
Despite the ongoing conflict, AUB remains fully operational and has not been physically threatened or affected. The administration’s primary focus has been the safety and wellbeing of the members of the university community, while also ensuring operational and academic continuity.
In this context, the Office of Research has implemented the following measures to ensure the operational continuity and integrity of our grant-funded projects:
- Facilitating the smooth administration of grants and contracts, while maintaining full compliance with standard policies and procedures.
- Working closely with our investigators to develop mitigation plans to address logistical and technical challenges.
- Adapting research administrative support to the current constraints, across relevant units: Pre-Award and Post-Award teams, Office of Human Resources, Institutional Review Board (IRB), Office of the Comptroller, and Procurement and Contracts Administration (PCA).
- Safeguarding financial operations, including utilizing the university’s bank accounts based in the United States.
- Transitioning the research capacity strengthening programs to hybrid or online delivery mode.
Beyond maintaining the research operational continuity and displaying agility, AUB is embracing its role as a knowledge producer in the context of crises. Indeed, our research community has developed over the years and through the different crises we have been through, an expertise in managing research in crisis setting, as exemplified by the Research in Crisis Settings conference that our office organized in September 2025.
We remain steadfast in our commitment to producing high-quality, impactful research. We deeply value your continued support and partnership during this time and look forward to fulfilling our shared mission.
Should you have any specific questions, please do not hesitate to reach out.
The mission of the Office of Research at the American University of Beirut is to support knowledge generation, innovation and creative works intended to improve the wellbeing of individuals and communities. The Office promotes collaborative, ethical research that is high quality, innovative, locally impactful, and globally relevant