Dabbous earned her PhD in Mass Media and Public Affairs from Louisiana State University. Her research falls at the intersection between media and cultural studies, often with a focus on the Middle East and Lebanon. Dabbous has authored and co-authored a number of papers and publications including: Framing: A theory in the making and Mapping the Digital Media: Journalism, democracy and values. She is also a board member on the Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism.