"Research is to see what everybody else has seen, and think what nobody has thought"

Albert Szent-Györgyi

People

Dr. Ehsan Pourkarimi D

Principle investigator

Assistant Professor in Genomics and Precision Medicine

Dr. Ehsan Pourkarimi, did his undergraduate study at ELTE university in Budapest, Hungary. After receiving a Cancer Research UK fellowship, he moved to the United Kingdom. He joined the Lab of Prof. Anton Gartner in the Wellcome Trust Center for Gene Regulation and Expression at the University of Dundee. During his Ph.D., Dr. Pourkarimi characterized the key components of the core apoptosis machinery in C. elegans and challenged the well-accepted model of apoptosis induction. Focused on chromatin biology, his post-doctoral research delved into the effect of chromatin modifiers in cellular response during acute stress conditions. Using the SILAC-based proteomics approach, Dr. Pourkarimi demonstrated the significance of Histone H3.3 variants in aging and also during acute starvation. As a Research Associate in the Lab of Dr. Iestyn Whitehouse at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, Dr. Pourkarimi studied DNA replication.

Using C. elegans embryos, he mapped DNA replication origins, creating the first comprehensive map of DNA replication from a multicellular organism. In 2020 he moved to Qatar as principal investigator and assistant professor in Genomics and Precision Medicine (GPM) and established his research lab in Qatar. His Lab uses cutting-edge technology such as epigenome editing to tackle the fundamental question in chromatin biology, from DNA damage response to understanding the mechanism of epigenetic memory.

Mahmoud Izadi, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Researcher

Mahmoud earned his Ph.D. in Genomics and Precision Medicine from Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) under the supervision of Dr. Ehsan Pourkarimi. His doctoral research focused on genomic instability and the DNA damage response (DDR) using Caenorhabditis elegans as a model system. He identified a critical role for tryptophanyl-tRNA synthetase (WARS-1) in maintaining genome stability, revealing a link between amino acid metabolism and chromatin integrity. He also applied proteomics to investigate cellular responses to cisplatin-induced DNA damage and mechanisms of chemoresistance.

He holds an M.Sc. in Medical Biotechnology from Tabriz University of Medical Sciences and a B.Sc. in Biology from Shiraz University. Prior to his Ph.D., Mahmoud worked as a research assistant at the Royan Institute in Tehran, contributing to clinical trials on stem cell therapy for type 1 diabetes and helping establish a GMP-compliant pancreatic islet isolation facility.

Currently, Mahmoud’s postdoctoral research focuses on dissecting the molecular players involved in the DNA damage response and chemoresistance, using genetic, proteomic, and genome-editing approaches in C. elegans.

He is also active in scientific leadership and outreach. He serves on the Genetics Society of America’s Early Career Leadership Program and is a member of Reproducibility for Everyone (R4E), a global initiative promoting open and transparent research practices.

Farah Shurrab

PhD Student

Farah is a PhD student in Genomics and Translational Medicine at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), conducting her research in Dr. Ehsan Pourkarimi’s lab.

Her research focuses on DNA damage and the DNA damage response (DDR), using the model organism C. elegans to explore the role of proteins involved in DDR. By leveraging translational model systems, she aims to bridge the gap between basic scientific research and clinical application, advancing our understanding of DNA damage and repair and its impact on human health.

Raheleh Vazehan

PhD Student

Raheleh holds a BSc in Cellular and Molecular Biology–Genetics from Iran and an MSc in Genetics of Human Disease from University College London (UCL), UK. She has worked as a clinical NGS data analyst in a genetic diagnostics laboratory before pursuing a PhD in Genomics and Precision Medicine at HBKU. In the Pourkarimi Lab, Raheleh developed and optimized a protocol to isolate intact chromatin from C. elegans. Using quantitative mass spectrometry following DNA damage induction, she investigates protein abundance in the chromatin fraction at the organismal level to uncover missing regulators and novel interactors of the DNA damage response.

Zainalabedin Alrayyes

PhD Student

Zainalabedin holds a Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology and Genetics from Eastern Mediterranean University in Cyprus. In 2019, Zainalabedin received the prestigious Ireland Palestine Scholarship Programme, where he earned his Master of Science in Diagnostics and Precision Medicine from Dublin City University, Ireland. Subsequently, Zainalabedin served as a Health Projects Coordinator at CCP-Japan NGO for two years, further broadening his expertise.

In 2023, he joined Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) and the Pourkarimi Lab as a GPM PhD student. His research focuses on understanding the role of chromatin remodelers in DNA damage response and apoptosis.

Alanoud Al-Kaabi

PhD Student

Alanoud obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from Qatar University. Following graduation, she joined the Anti-Doping Lab Qatar, where she gained valuable experience in clinical and analytical laboratory techniques.

She later joined the Pourkarimi Lab at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) to pursue her Master's degree in Biological and Biomedical Sciences. Her thesis focused on investigating the pro-apoptotic effects of the anticancer drug Thiostrepton using C. elegans as an in vivo model.

Alanoud is currently a Ph.D. student in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences program at HBKU and has rejoined the Pourkarimi Lab to further her research on chromatin remodeling and cellular stress responses.

Noora Aboumattar

Master Student

Noora earned her Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences with a minor in Chemistry from Qatar University.

After her Bachelor’s degree, she worked as a teaching assistant and later went on to pursue her Master’s in Genomics and Precision Medicine at Hamad bin Khalifa University (HBKU). She recently joined the Pourkarimi lab, where her research focuses on unraveling the mechanisms of Hydroxyurea-induced genotoxicity in C. elegans.

Past Members

Maryam Al-mansoob

PhD Student

Maryam earned her Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences with a minor in Chemistry from Qatar University. She completed a research internship at Weill Cornell Medicine and went on to pursue a Master’s in Biological and Biomedical Sciences at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU). During her Master’s, she joined Pourkarimi’s lab, where she investigated the role of WARS1 in the cell cycle and DNA repair using genomics approaches—a project recognized with funding from the prestigious Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF).

Maryam has now returned to the lab as a PhD student, where her research focuses on unraveling novel components of the DNA damage repair pathway.

Dr. Abeer Jamal

Visiting PhD Student

Dr. Abeer is a Ph.D. student of the Genomics and Precision Medicine program at HBKU. She works at Dr. Nady and Dr. Ehsan's lab to pursue her P.hD. research project. Abeer is interested in using C.elegans as an animal model for studying aging-related human disorders. The first aging-related gene, associated with the genetic regulation of life span has been identified in C elegans. That made Abeer excited to join our lab to functionally characterize her candidate genes using our models' system. C.elegans has been frequently utilized as an ideal living system for aging studies due to their small body size, short lifespan, and homologs of about two-thirds of all human disease-causing genes. Currently, she is humanizing C. elegans to identify how the overexpression of her gene of interest can affect C.elegans lifespan. She leads a collaborative project with our lab and Nady's at HBKU.

Tayyiba Akbar Ali

PhD Student

Tayyiba did her BSc. at Qatar University, then worked as a research assistant for two years in the molecular pathophysiology lab at Hamad medical corporation. In 2019, she got into Hamad bin Khalifa University (HBKU) to pursue her degree in Genomics and Precision Medicine and joined Pourkarimi’s lab. Her MSc. work defined a novel translational role of aminoacyl tRNA synthetases (AaRSs). She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. studies in our lab, continuing her research on AaRSs and DNA damage Response.

Raghad Rabie El Ghali

MSc Student

Raghad obtained her BSc in Biology with distinction from the American University of Beirut in 2022. Currently, she is pursuing her MSc in Genomics and Precision Medicine at Hamad bin Khalifa University (HBKU). Raghad recently joined Pourkarimi lab, where she aims to uncover the roles of novel DNA damage response proteins using C. elegans as a model system. She is also interested in using C. elegans to investigate the action of genotoxic cancer drugs on cells in vivo.

Aya Nour

MSc Student

Aya received her Bsc. in biological sciences from Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMU-Q). She then worked as a research assistant in a medical and population genomics lab at Sidra Medical and Research Centre. Later, she pursued her master’s degree in Genomics and Precision Medicine at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU). She joined Pourkarimi lab, where her research work was focused on identifying novel players in DNA damage repair and apoptosis in C. elegans during her master's study.