Essam M. Abdelalim, PhD

Principal Investigator – Associate Level
Laboratory of Pluripotent Stem Cell Disease Modeling

Email: emohamed3@sidra.org
Phone: +974 40037382

Biography

Dr. Abdelalim is a Principal Investigator at Sidra Medicine, where he leads the Laboratory of Pluripotent Stem Cell Disease Modeling. He earned his PhD in Medical Science from Shiga University of Medical Science in Japan. Subsequently, he undertook a postdoctoral fellowship and assumed the role of Assistant Professor at the same University. Before joining Sidra, he held the position of Senior Scientist at QBRI until Feb 2024. Notably, he established Qatar's inaugural pluripotent stem cell program dedicated to diabetes research. His team successfully generated multiple iPSC lines from healthy and diseased individuals and developed innovative protocols to enhance the differentiation of stem cells into pancreatic islets, insulin-target cells, and other cell types. Dr. Abdelalim chaired the HSCI-QBRI Steering Committee Agreement, overseeing collaborative efforts in diabetes/ stem cell research between HSCI and QBRI. Also, he serves on the editorial boards of "Stem Cells Translational Medicine” and "Stem Cells and Development". He has published over 70 articles in esteemed scientific journals and has received numerous research grants and awards. In addition, he holds a joint appointment as an Associate Professor at HBKU, where he teaches the "Stem Cell Biology" course and has mentored over 15 graduate students, sharing his expertise and fostering the next generation of researchers.
Research Interests

Located within the dynamic environment of Sidra Medicine, our laboratory is dedicated to unraveling the intricate disease mechanisms underlying diabetes and rare genetic disorders using human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs). Leveraging iPSC technology alongside state-of-the-art gene editing and omics approaches, we strive to dissect the molecular intricacies of these diseases. By collaborating closely with clinicians at Sidra Medicine, we have unique access to patients presenting specific mutations or variants implicated in these conditions. This invaluable clinical insight allows us to generate disease-relevant iPSC models, faithfully recapitulating patient-specific phenotypes in a controlled laboratory setting. By differentiating patient-specific iPSCs and/or gene-edited hPSCs, alongside their isogenic controls, into disease-relevant cells and employing multidisciplinary approaches, our goal is to elucidate the mechanisms through which genetic factors contribute to disease onset and progression. Ultimately, our research endeavors focus on identifying novel therapeutic targets, facilitating the development of precision treatments tailored to meet individual patient needs and making significant contributions to the field of personalized healthcare and regenerative medicine.
Lab Members

Selected publications (*corresponding):

Aghadi M, Elgendy R, Abdelalim EM*(2022). Loss of FOXA2 induces ER stress and hepatic steatosis and alters developmental gene expression in human iPSC-derived hepatocytes. Cell Death & Disease, 2022 Aug 16;13(8):713. doi: 10.1038/s41419-022-05158-0.
Memon B, Elsayed AK, Bettahi I, Suleiman N, Younis I, Wehedy E, Abou-Samra AB, Abdelalim EM* (2022). iPSCs derived from insulin resistant offspring of type 2 diabetic patients show increased oxidative stress and lactate secretion. Stem Cell Research & Therapy, 2022 Aug 20;13(1):428. doi: 10.1186/s13287-022-03123-4.
Elsayed AK, Younis I, Ali G, Hussain K, Abdelalim EM* (2021). Aberrant development of pancreatic beta cells derived from human iPSCs with FOXA2 deficiency. Cell Death & Disease, 12: 103. doi: 10.1038/s41419-021-03390-8.
Full list of publications: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Abdelalim%20EM&sort=pubdate

Essam M. Abdelalim, PhD

Principal Investigator – Associate Level Laboratory of Pluripotent Stem Cell Disease Modeling

Biography

Research Interests

Lab Members

Principal Investigator – Associate Level
Laboratory of Pluripotent Stem Cell Disease Modeling