Kamal Gadalla

Personal profile

Qualifications

• 2012: MD- Basic medical science, pharmacology, Tanta University, Egypt.
• 2012: PhD- Integrated biology, University of Glasgow.
• 2006: MSc- Pharmacology, Tanta University, Egypt.
• 2000: MBChB (Hons)- Faculty of Medicine, Tanta University, Egypt.

Employment

• 2017 - present: Research Associate, Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, the university of Edinburgh.
• 2014 - 2017: Research Associate, Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, the University of Glasgow.
• 2012 - 2014: Lecturer, Pharmacology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Tanta University, Egypt.
• 2008 - 2012: PhD scholarship, the University of Glasgow. UK.
• 2003 - 2008: Tutor and Assistance lecturer, Pharmacology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Tanta University, Egypt.
• 2001 - 2003: GP and house officer, Surgery Department, Tanta University Hospitals, Egypt.

Research

My background is as a clinician scientist. I have a medical degree from Tanta University and trained as a physician prior to taking an academic post in pharmacology at Tanta University. I completed a PhD in gene therapy / neuroscience at the University of Glasgow in 2012. My research focuses on developing safe and effective gene therapies for the treatment of rare neurological disorders. I was the first to report the therapeutic benefit of gene therapy in mice modelling Rett syndrome and over the last few years I conducted further studies to assess different routes of CNS delivery and to develop safer and more effective vector designs. Recently, I showed that viral delivery of a severely truncated fragment of human MeCP2 protein is sufficient to ameliorate the RTT-like phenotypes in mice. Going forward, I am developing and testing novel gene therapy cassettes with enhanced safety features in Rett syndrome. I am also testing similar approaches in other neurodevelopmental disorders including Fragile X disorder and SYNGAP deficiency.

Publications:

1. María Velasco‐Estevez, Kamal KE Gadalla, Núria Liñan‐Barba, Stuart Cobb, Kumlesh K Dev, Graham K Sheridan (2019). Inhibition of Piezo1 attenuates demyelination in the central nervous system. Glia 68 (2), 356-375
2. Rebekah Tillotson, Jim Selfridge, Martha V Koerner, Kamal KE Gadalla, Jacky Guy, Dina De Sousa, Ralph D Hector, Stuart R Cobb, Adrian Bird (2017). Radically truncated MeCP2 rescues Rett syndrome-like neurological defects. Nature 550 (7676), 398.
3. NG Bahey, Kamal KE Gadalla, R McGonigal, MES Bailey, JM Edgar, SR Cobb (2017). Reduced axonal diameter of peripheral nerve fibers in a mouse model of Rett syndrome. Neuroscience 358, 261-268.
4. Kamal KE Gadalla, Thishnapha Vudhironarit, Ralph D Hector, Sarah Sinnett, Noha G Bahey, Mark ES Bailey, Steven J Gray, Stuart R Cobb (2017). Development of a novel AAV gene therapy cassette with improved safety features and efficacy in a mouse model of Rett syndrome. Molecular Therapy-Methods & Clinical Development 5, 180-190.
5. Sarah E Sinnett, Ralph D Hector, Kamal KE Gadalla, Clifford Heindel, Daphne Chen, Violeta Zaric, Mark ES Bailey, Stuart R Cobb, Steven J Gray (2017). Improved MECP2 gene therapy extends the survival of MeCP2-null mice without apparent toxicity after intracisternal delivery. Molecular Therapy-Methods & Clinical Development 5, 106-115.
6. Kamal KE Gadalla, Bailey ME, Spike RC, Ross PD, Woodard KT, Kalburgi SN, Bachaboina L, Deng JV, West AE, Samulski RJ, Gray SJ, Cobb SR (2013) Improved Survival and Reduced Phenotypic Severity Following AAV9/MECP2 Gene Transfer to Neonatal and Juvenile Male Mecp2 Knockout Mice. Mol Ther. doi:10.1038/mt.2012.200.
7. Kamal KE Gadalla, MES Bailey, SR Cobb (2011). MeCP2 and Rett syndrome: reversibility and potential avenues for therapy. Biochemical Journal 439 (1), 1-14
8. Kamal KE Gadalla, Paul D Ross, Ralph Hector, Noha G Bahey, Mark E.S. Bailey, and Stuart R. Cobb (2015). Gene therapy for Rett syndrome: prospects and challenges. the Journal of Future Neurology. Future Neurology 10 (5), 467-484.
9. Kamal KE Gadalla, PD Ross, JS Riddell, MES Bailey, SR Cobb (2014). Gait Analysis in a Mecp2 Knockout Mouse Model of Rett Syndrome Reveals Early-Onset and Progressive Motor Deficits. PloS one 9 (11), e112889.
10. Noha Gamal Bahey, Hekmat Osman Abd Elaziz, Kamal KE Gadalla (2015). Toxic effect of aflatoxin B1 and the role of recovery on the rat cerebral cortex and hippocampus. Tissue and Cell 47 (6), 559-566.