Current Position
Head of the research group Cellular and Molecular Ophthalmology; University clinic for Ophthalmology und Optometry; Medical Faculty; Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria
Assistant Prof. Tenure Track position; Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria
Postdoc-Training
Postdoc; University of Innsbruck, Depart. of Genomics, stem cell biology and regenerative medicine, Innsbruck, Austria.
Research projects:
1) Age-induced organoid models for deciphering risk factors of Parkinson’s disease.
2) Human induced pluripotent and neural stem cell reprogramming and differentiation toward dopaminergic neurons for the treatment of Parkinson disease.
3) Exploring the therapeutic potential of induced neural stem cells for Parkinson’s disease treatment employing a syngenic monkey model.
4) Role of Fahd1 in mouse embryonic fibroblasts reprogramming.
Postdoc; Catholic University of Louvain, Institute of life Sciences, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
Research project: Cellular and Molecular analysis of the role of Hoxa5 in the adult brain.
Postdoc; Medical University Innsbruck; Experimental Psychiatry Unit; Innsbruck; Austria.
Research project: Neurobiology of Social interaction as an alternative to drugs of abuse.
Academic Education
PhD in Neuroscience. Medical University Innsbruck, Institute for Neuroscience, Innrain 66, Innsbruck, Austria.
Research projects:
1) Expression of early developmental markers predicts the efficiency of dopaminergic differentiation from embryonic stem cells.
2) Pharmacological modulation of the hedgehog pathway differentially affects dorsal/ventral patterning in mouse and human embryonic stem cell models of telencephalic development.
3) Cell Fate Analysis of Ventral Mesencephalic Derived Grafts in the 6-OHDA Rat Model of Parkinson’s Disease.
Diplom Master in Biology and Health Sciences. University of Poitiers, department of Physiology – Molecular and cellular Biology, Poitiers, France.
Bachelor in Animal Biology. Lebanese University, Faculty of Sciences III, Tripoli - Lebanon.
Funded Scientific Projects
Prinicipal Investigator (PI); SeedplusMED LIT grant. Patient-derived and Aged retinal organoids as in vitro models for organic prosthesis (PROMO)
Principal Inestigator (PI); Impetus grant JKU Medizinische Fakultät. Patient-derived Retino-cortical Assembloids as in vitro model system of Retinal Dystrophy (RECO)
Co-author. International Project between Luxemburg National Research Fund (FNR) and Austrian Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung (FWF). FWF-INTER - INTER/FWF/19/14117540/PDage.