NAUF ALBENDAR is an Imperial PhD graduate in clinical medicine with a speciality in Development Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD), a fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, a member of the international DOHaD Society, and the founder of Lahd Gallery Ltd.

In 2005, after completing her undergraduate degree and setting up Lahd Gallery as a focal point for women artists from the Gulf, AlBendar worked full-time as a genetic researcher at the King Faisal Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The gallery soon became a well-known exhibition space on the contemporary art scene, representing emerging and semi-established artists internationally and bringing together the leading contemporary works from the MENASA (Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia) region for over a decade.

In addition to her various ventures, AlBendar has been featured in several outlets worldwide, including MBC, Al Arabiya, Al Sharg Al Awsat, Korea Herald, The Brunei Times, Canvas Magazine, Modern Art Asia, Velvet, Arab News, The Guardian, The Art Newspaper, Hong Kong Economics and many others.

She was shortlisted as the Woman of the Future in Arts, Media, and Culture at the Women of the Future Awards in 2011 and as the Distinguished Honouree of the UN Millennium Development Goals: 2015 Progress Award.

In late 2019, she launched 'The Womb Effect', an educational platform for aspiring, expectant and new parents. She yearns to bring awareness and fill the cultural void on the importance of prenatal and postnatal care and its influence on health and well-being throughout the lifespan.

AlBendar is a mother, speaks five languages, has had publications on her topic of interest, is an unconventional artist/art collector, and is a big advocate of mind-body interventions as pivotal tools for well-being. She is a keen Qi Gong practitioner and has been interested in its implications as a healing therapy in pregnancy and postnatal depletion.