Dr Nashwa Najib

Dr Nashwa Najib (MD, PhD) is an Adjunct Lecturer in the School of Clinical Medicine at UNSW and a Senior Medical Neuroscientist specialising in spinal disorders, neurological outcomes, and clinical registry science. She completed her PhD in Surgery at UNSW, where her research focused on unravelling the natural history of degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) using longitudinal registry data, plasma proteomics, and advanced health data linkage. Her doctoral work led to the inception of Australia’s first national myelopathy registry—the MYelopathy NAtural History (MYNAH) Registry (Registry ID ACSQHC-ARCR-258) that has informed emerging biomarker discovery.

Dr Najib's earlier training includes an MPhil in Medicine from the University of Newcastle, Australia where she investigated the prognosis of transient ischaemic attack in contemporary healthcare settings, and an MBBS from Jilin University, China. Across her clinical career, she has held medical and scientific appointments in Australia, India, and China, spanning emergency medicine, anaesthesia, critical care medicine, obstetrics & gynaecology, clinical trials, and spinal research. She served frontline as an Emergency Medical Officer in India during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing acute clinical care under high-pressure conditions.

Alongside her research, Dr Najib contributes to teaching and co-supervision in health research, mentors medical students, and participates in community and university outreach initiatives. Her long‑term vision is to advance precision diagnostics for spinal cord disorders and strengthen national clinical registries to improve patient outcomes across Australia.