DC 12
Omar Merhi El Hassan El Abdallah
Having recently graduated from Imperial College London with a Master's in Molecular Medicine, my passion for cardiovascular disease continues to drive my pursuits. My interest in this area began early on and has only grown stronger through my academic pursuits and research endeavours. I had the privilege of presenting my research at the ISTH conference in London, which was a pivotal moment in my journey. I feel humbled and grateful to have been awarded a UKRI-MSCA PhD scholarship, which will allow me to expand my knowledge in cardiovascular medicine and make a valuable impact in this field. With the support of this scholarship, I am excited to delve deeper into innovative solutions and contribute to the advancement of this field.
My Research Interests
My passion towards healthy ageing and quality of life started during my undergraduate years when I delved into several research efforts at the Cell and Molecular Biology Lab under the supervision of Dr Mirvat El Sibai, the SHOMAN award recipient in 2017. During my master’s programme, I worked on a risk factor that is highly associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases affecting a healthy lifespan, obesity. Under the supervision of Dr Isabelle Salles Crawley, I studied the role of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) and activin membrane-bound inhibitor BAMBI in adipose tissue, how and where it is regulated under different feeding conditions, characterising adipose tissue in Bambi knockout mice, and confirming browning of subcutaneous white adipose tissue SWAT and increased thermogenesis. As the first report to assess the expression levels of BAMBI in murine adipose tissue, our results suggested that BAMBI plays a vital role in this tissue and is highly expressed in SWAT.
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My research results were presented at the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) in London, and the paper will be published under the name of “Bambi-deficiency enhances adipose tissue browning, ameliorates dyslipidemia and confers protection against atherosclerosis”.
During my time at the University of Glasgow, I will investigate the interaction between ageing and collagen IV in age-dependent vascular disease, under the supervision of Prof. Tom Van Agtmael and Prof. Colin Selman.
Having been aspired to work on a potential therapeutic target to ameliorate obesity and its associated comorbidities, I’m thrilled to be part of the CHANGE program. Through this work, I aim to recognize the significant contributors to the deterioration of physiological functions associated with ageing, with the aim of facilitating the development of effective treatment approaches and targets for age-related diseases and frailty.