Dr. Mohamed Al-Shabrawey to become the new Director of the Oakland University Eye Research Institute
The Eye Research Institute (ERI) of Oakland University houses the Pediatric Retinal Research Laboratory (PRRL), which is supported by the Pediatric Retinal Research Foundation (PRRF). On August 1 of this year, the ERI will have a new Director. Professor Mohamed Al-Shabrawey, MD, PhD, from the Culver Vision Discovery Institute of Augusta University in Augusta, Georgia, will become the fifth Director of the ERI in its 53-year history. He will take over for Dr. Frank Giblin who has been the ERI Director since 2004, and who will be retiring after 47 years at the university.
Dr. Al-Shabrawey will also become the first V. Everett Kinsey Endowed Professor of Biomedical Sciences in the ERI. Dr. Kinsey was a co-founder of the ERI in 1968, and the recipient of a prestigious Lasker Award in 1956 for his pioneering studies on the pediatric eye disease of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). Dr. Al-Shabrawey has much in common with Dr. Kinsey. His work has focused on studying the molecular and cellular mechanisms of various ischemic retinopathies, including ROP. He has been able to characterize the role of a number of different cell signaling pathways in the development of the pathological neovascularization that occurs in ROP, such as NADPH oxidase-derived oxidative stress and bioactive lipids.
Dr. Al-Shabrawey is an expert on the study of diabetic retinopathy, a major cause of blindness worldwide, and has published more than 65 refereed articles on the disease in the past 20 years. His research funding since 2007 has included major grants from the National Eye Institute and the American Heart Association, and he currently possesses an NIH R01 grant that extends to 2024. Dr. Al-Shabrawey has garnered both national and international recognition for his work, as evidenced by his frequent invitations to speak at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) and the International Society of Eye Research (ISER). His research area is perfect for stimulating future scientific collaboration with ERI basic science and clinical vision researchers. In addition, Dr. Al-Shabrawey has exhibited an impressive record of mentoring graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and medical students in his laboratory.
Dr. Al-Shabrawey’s primary appointment at Oakland University will be in the Oakland University/William Beaumont (OUWB) School of Medicine. He will be the founding Director of the OUWB Eye Research Center (ERC). The ERI will exist as a component of the ERC, but will retain its independent status at the university, which it has held since 1979. Dr. Al-Shabrawey will dual report to both the OUWB and to the OU Provost, and will have a secondary appointment in the ERI. This new affiliation of the ERI with the OUWB medical school marks an exciting new era for the Institute, and should help significantly in its interaction with the PRRF foundation.
We posed a few questions to Dr. Al-Shabrawey regarding his new role as the ERI Director. His answers are indicated below.
How do you think the new affiliation of the ERI with the OUWB School of Medicine may help the Institute’s interaction with the PRRF foundation?
“The new affiliation of the ERI with the School of Medicine will enable us to build on the strengths of the Institute to promote a productive collaboration between ERI vision scientists and clinical faculty, as well as with other researchers in other medical fields with special interests relevant to eye disease. This expansion of research is expected to lead to development of translational research related to pediatric retinal disease and associated genetic mutations. This translational research will focus on discovering new strategies to prevent pediatric retinal disease and developing treatments and diagnoses for these diseases. While it is important to fully understand the underlying basic biological mechanisms of various types of retinal disease, this may not be necessary for developing successful treatments. Thus, a collaboration between basic scientists and clinicians is crucial for developing successful translational research. The Pediatric Retinal Research Laboratory in the ERI will continue to play a crucial role in this interaction and expand retinal research and genetic screening of retinal diseases. Benefits of the new affiliation of the ERI with the OUWB School of Medicine will include new abilities to (1) Develop new approaches to diagnose, or at least better characterize, pediatric retinal disease; (2) Gain a better understanding of the pathophysiology of retinal disease and hence be better able to identify new therapeutic targets; (3) Create knowledge exchange between basic scientists and clinicians, and members of other scientific fields; (4) Establish clinical trials based on experimental studies and preliminary human studies. (5) Attract the attention of OUWB medical students to eye research to promote their interest in having careers in ophthalmology. Involvement of medical students in eye research will allow them to be more competitive for prestigious ophthalmology residency training programs, and will produce great future ambassadors for the ERI and the OUWB Eye Research Center.”
Can you say something about your vision for the ERI and how your vision might include the ERI’s Pediatric Retinal Research Laboratory (PRRL)?
“In general, my vision will support the mission of the PRRL laboratory and enable it to expand its translational research, and importantly to obtain NIH funding through various funding mechanisms. I will continue to support and expand research, collaboration and training excellence in the area of vision and eye diseases, particularly, innovative projects that have a high chance of receiving funding from the NIH and various foundations. Through the OUWB Eye Research Center (ERC) and the ERI, I will foster research across Oakland University that is relevant to vision science and ophthalmology, such as aging, diabetes, cardiovascular, and genetics, as well as artificial intelligence and public health. The ERC/ERI will utilize advancements in nanotechnology, imaging, and bioinformatics to conduct innovative basic, translational, and clinical research. The ERI will continue to support and work with the PRRL laboratory to uncover genetic foundations that will lead to a better understanding of pediatric retinal disease and associated genetic mutations. Briefly, my 5-Year plan will include the following: 1. Develop interdisciplinary research programs that combine expertise from other fields of medicine to find cures for eye disease, and develop innovative translational research that can preserve vision and/or reverse blindness. 2. Promote grant applications to the NIH that include both basic and translational research with a goal of encouraging collaborative proposals between vision scientists and clinical faculty. 3. Recruit new investigators in new areas of eye research that are not currently represented in the ERI and which have potential to obtain NIH funding. 4. Develop a world-class research program dedicated to cutting-edge discoveries and an integration of basic research with clinical care. 5. Initiate a new and unique Interdisciplinary Vision Science Graduate Program at Oakland University. 6. Promote regional, national and international visibility and recognition of the new OUWB Eye Research Center. The PRRL laboratory will play an important role in this through expansion of the Biomarkers lab, genetic counselling and screening, and an innovative ocular epidemiology program that focuses on pediatric retinal disease.”
Do you have any thoughts on how more NIH funding, or other types of funding, might be obtained for work done in the PRRL laboratory?
“The National Eye Institute provides several mechanisms to fund eye research and clinical studies. These include the R01, R21, K12 (NEI Institutional Mentored Physician Scientist Award), Pediatric Scientist Development Program, Translational Research Program (TRP), Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) programs and K awards to support the transition of young clinicians and scientists to their independent research careers. The most important approach is to first create a research environment and multidisciplinary group of clinicians and scientists who have enthusiasm to work together to develop competitive research proposals. My initial plan is to work hard on promoting this interest and interaction to develop such competitive research plans. The PRRL laboratory will build on its success in clinical trials and translational research and expand the research scope and grant funding to develop competitive grant proposals that also focus on understanding the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms of pediatric retinal disease. Moreover, exploring other areas of both bench and clinical research such as the relationship between the mother’s health (diabetes, cardiovascular, nutritional, autoimmune, age, viral infection, smoking, alcoholism, etc.) to pediatric eye/retinal disease.”
How might your work on diabetic retinopathy relate to the PRRF foundation?
“Although my current NIH grant focuses on microvascular dysfunction in diabetic retinopathy, it also provides a clue regarding the mechanism of vascular injury in ROP. Similar to ROP, diabetic retinopathy goes through two stages of capillary degeneration followed by pathological retinal neovascularization (RNV). My plan is to use our new data related to RNV for a new R01 proposal to the NIH that primarily focuses on pathological RNV in ROP. Of note, accumulated evidence shows that in extremely preterm infants, high early postnatal plasma glucose levels and signs of insulin insensitivity are associated with increased ROP severity. In addition, maternal diabetes is considered to be an independent risk factor for the development of ROP. These scientific and clinical facts will be the basis for work done in the PRRL laboratory to seek funding from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and also the American Diabetes Association. Moreover, the American Heart Association also provides significant funding for proposals that study the mechanism or seeks possible treatment for endothelial cell dysfunction and angiogenesis such as that seen in ROP.”
Do you have any thoughts on how the ERI and the OUWB School of Medicine might be able to help with PRRF foundation fundraising efforts in the future?
“To promote fundraising for the PRRF foundation and the PRRL laboratory, the ERI’s research accomplishments over the past 50 years, and the legacy of its founding directors and mission have to be visible to the larger community. The ERI’s contributions in the areas of vision science and eye disease should be a solid foundation to promote fund raising. Of note, the new affiliation with the OUWB School of Medicine should expand this foundation and credibility to promote high impact translational research. Also, the new affiliation should expand the number of researchers in the various areas of eye research and promote research training programs in eye research (undergraduate through the ERI’s Summer Undergraduate Program in Eye Research or SUPER, medical students through the OUWB’s Embark program, and graduate students, as well as postdoctoral fellows and retinal fellows). I’m planning through the new OUWB Eye Research Center to offer special scholarships for vision research trainees. All of these efforts will increase the visibility of the ERI and help with fund raising.”
You and your wife and children will be coming from Augusta, Georgia to Rochester, Michigan. Do you think that there will be much of an adjustment for you with the change in climate?
“We have had some thoughts about the possible climate challenges, especially since we have seen snow only twice in our life. However, we expect to accommodate quickly to the dramatic change in climate. Our children (three daughters, ages 20 to 24, and two 12-year-old twin boys) are happy and excited for this new chapter in our academic life. The boys are looking forward to moving to Michigan and making new friends.”
Is there anything else that you think might be of interest to readers of the PRRF newsletter?
“The new affiliation between the OUWB School of Medicine and the well-established ERI offers new hope for advancing ongoing research to find new pharmacological and gene therapies for the treatment of children with blinding genetic eye diseases. This advancement will require an integration of efforts and resources from the larger community, clinicians and researchers to create increased hope for affected children.”
~ Frank Giblin, PhD, outgoing Director of the Oakland University Eye Research Institute and current PRRF Board Member