Ahmed Ibrahim
Position Title
Assistant Professor
Joint appointed: Ophthalmology, Visual and Anatomical Sciences and Pharmacology
Biography
My research centers on investigating the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms of Angiogenesis-driven diseases. The focus is primarily on pathological ocular angiogenesis which is the underlying mechanism of a variety of sight-threatening diseases such as Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), and exudative age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD). Vision loss in these diseases begins in a common biphasic process characterized by initial loss of the preexisting vessel bed followed by hypoxia that triggers a secondary aberrant angiogenesis. The introduction of Anti-VEGF drugs has revolutionized the treatment of these diseases; however, a significant subset of patients fail to respond. Therefore, inhibition of only VEGF may not be sufficient, and alternative therapies with non-VEGF targets are urgently needed. The long-term goal of my research is to identify such novel therapeutic targets, with specific focus on endothelial metabolic reprogramming, and to discover already FDA-approved drug(s) that could be repurposed to modulate the key proteins in the energy metabolism of angiogenic endothelial cells.
2019 ARVO’s Global Mentoring Fellowship
2018 NIH/NIEHS Travel Award for the 16th international winter eicosanoid conference, Baltimore, MD, USA.
2017 Judge Travel Award for the 2017 Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS), Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
2017 Steps Towards Academic Research Recipient, National Research Mentoring Network
2017 Vision Discovery Institute Award, Augusta University.
2015 ARVO Travel Scholarship for Diabetic Retinopathy Conference, Bethesda, MD, USA.
2015 Hot Topic Oral-Presentation Award, ARVO Meeting, Denver, CO, USA.
2014 Mr. and Mrs. Richards Travel award for ARVO meeting Orlando, FL, USA.
2014 Southern Translational Education and Research Conference (STaR), Travel Award, Augusta, GA, USA.
Education
Bachelor of Pharmacy, (BSc. Pharm, Hons.), 2002; M.Sc. in Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2006; Ph.D in Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2011.
Publications
Peer-Reviewed Publications - Reports of Original Work Articles
1. Elmarakby AA, Ibrahim AS, Katary MA#, Elsherbiny NM#, El-Shafey M#, Abd-Elrazik AM, Abdelsayed RA, Maddipati KR, Al-Shabrawey M: A dual role of 12/15-lipoxygenase in LPS-induced acute renal inflammation and injury. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular and Cell Biology of Lipids 2019; (Impact Factor (IF)= 4.4).
2. Valle ML, Dworshak J, Sharma A, Ibrahim AS, Al-Shabrawey M, Sharma S: Inhibition of interleukin-6 trans-signaling prevents inflammation and endothelial barrier disruption in retinal endothelial cells. Experimental eye research 2019, 178:27-36; (IF=3.0, cited 2 times).
3. Ibrahim AS, Elmasry K, Wan M, Abdulmoneim S, Still A, Khan F, Khalil A, Saul A, Hoda MN, Al-Shabrawey M: A Controlled Impact of Optic Nerve as a New Model of Traumatic Optic Neuropathy in Mouse. Investigative ophthalmology & visual science 2018, 59:5548-57; (IF= 3.8).
4. Elmasry K, Ibrahim AS, Saleh H, Elsherbiny N, Elshafey S, Hussein KA, Al-Shabrawey M. Role of endoplasmic reticulum stress in 12/15-lipoxygenase-induced retinal microvascular dysfunction in a mouse model of diabetic retinopathy. Diabetologia. 2018 Feb 21 (IF=7.13).
5. Ibrahim AS, Saleh H, El-Shafey M, Hussein KA, El-Masry K#, Baban B, Sheibani N, Wang MH, Tawfik A and Al-Shabrawey M. Targeting of 12/15-Lipoxygenase in retinal endothelial cells, but not in monocytes/macrophages, attenuates high glucose-induced retinal leukostasis. Biochimica Et Biophysica Acta-Molecular And Cell Biology of Lipids; 2017 Jun;1862(6):636-645 (IF)=4.40.
6. Mohamed R, Sharma I, Ibrahim AS, Saleh H, Elsherbiny NM, Fulzele S, Elmasry K, Smith SB, Al-Shabrawey M, Tawfik A. Hyperhomocysteinemia Alters Retinal Endothelial Cells Barrier Function and Angiogenic Potential via Activation of Oxidative Stress. Sci Rep. 2017 Sep 20;7(1):11952, (IF=4.01).
7. Elimam DM#, Ibrahim AS, Liou GI, Badria FA.Olive and ginkgo extracts as potential cataract therapy with differential inhibitory activity on aldose reductase. Drug Discov Ther; 2017 Mar 22;11(1):41-46.
8. Samra YA#, Saleh H, Hussein KA, Elsherbiny NM, Ibrahim AS, Elmasry K, Fulzele S, El-Shishtawy MM, Eissa LA, Al-Shabrawey M, Liou GI. Adenosine Deaminase-2–induced hyperpermeability in human retinal vascular endothelial cells is suppressed by microRNA-146b-3p. IOVS; 2017 Feb 1;58(2):933-943 (IF= 3.8).
9. Elkhateeb SR#, Gouda NS, Ibrahim AS, Anwar R, Eissa LA. PCR-detected fungal infection is associated with fatal outcomes in cirrhotic patients with spontaneous peritonitis. Egyptian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences. 2017 March, Volume 4, Issue 1, Pages 42–46.
10. Ibrahim AS, Mander S, Hussein KA, Elsherbiny NM, Smith SB, Al-Shabrawey M, Tawfik A. Hyperhomocysteinemia disrupts retinal pigment epithelial structure and function with features of age-related macular degeneration. Oncotarget-Geriatric Journal. 2016 Feb 23;7(8):8532-45 (IF= 5.2; cited 8 times).