Workshop Speakers - Disease Modeling and Therapeutics

Dr. Sahar Isa Da’as

Research Manager and Assistant Professor
Sidra Medicine
sdaas@sidra.org

Dr. Da'as is a distinguished Research Manager at Sidra Medicine and Adjunct Assistant Professor at Hamad Bin Khalifa University; her research is centered on functional genomics and translational research. Dr. Da'as has pioneered innovative approaches using the zebrafish model, focusing on rare pediatric hereditary diseases. She has successfully developed patient-specific genotype models, providing a comprehensive insight into gene variation, clinical presentations, and disease prognosis. This achievement promises a roadmap toward precision medicine.

Her journey in research began at the IWK Health Centre in Canada, where she focused on rare genetic disorders and childhood cancers, earning an Innovation Excellence Award from Cancer Care Nova Scotia.

Dr Da'as, through collaborative projects, continues to translate scientific discoveries into practical applications, providing a foundation for translational studies of novel genes and novel variants.

Her impactful work, published in reputable journals, has significantly advanced our understanding of hereditary diseases.

Prof. Sergio Crovella

Prof. Sergio Crovella is a Human Molecular Geneticist and Clinical Pathologist with a distinguished international career in genetics, immunology, and bioinformatics. Currently, he serves as Professor at the Department of Biomedical Sciences, Qatar University. His research focuses on hereditary and complex diseases, cancer biology, and autoinflammatory skin disorders, integrating OMICs approaches and functional validation. He has authored over 500 peer-reviewed publications (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Crovella+S&sort=date), and has an h-index of 57 (Google Scholar) with more than 14.000 citations. He secured more than 50 international research grants and introduced advanced bioinformatics pipelines for NGS and transcriptomics at multiple institutions. He has over 30 years of teaching experience and has mentored numerous undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral students. He is fluent in Italian, English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish. Known for his leadership in building research networks, he is also an editorial board member and reviewer for prestigious international journals.

Dr. Haissam Abou-Saleh

Dr. Haissam Abou-Saleh is an Associate Professor in the College of Health Sciences at Qatar University. He earned his Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Montreal, Canada, in 2009. He completed postdoctoral training at the Montreal Heart Institute and Weill Cornell Medicine–Qatar. He currently chairs the Qatar University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). Dr. Abou-Saleh’s research focuses on nanomedicine, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer biology, utilizing various cellular and animal models. He has held research roles at Qatar Foundation and Sidra Medicine, and collaborates with national and international institutions.

Dr. Michail Nomikos

Dr. Michail Nomikos is an Associate Professor of Biochemistry, Lead of the Human Biological Sciences Division and the Research Coordinator at the College of Medicine, Qatar University. He obtained his B.Sc. in Biochemistry from the University of Liverpool, M.Sc. in Medical Genetics with Immunology from Brunel University and Ph.D. from Cardiff University, School of Medicine in the UK. Since joining the newly established College of Medicine in 2016, Dr. Nomikos has focused on understanding cell signaling during mammalian fertilization and early embryonic development. His research also explores the structure and function of cardiac proteins and their disease-linked variants to better understand conditions such as arrhythmias and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. He has co-authored over 70 peer-reviewed publications and received several awards, including the Fertility and Sterility Investigator Achievement Award from the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and the Outstanding Paper Award from the Asian Journal of Andrology. Dr. Nomikos has also attracted substantial competitive research funding.

Dr. Huseyin Cagatay Yalcin

Research Associate Professor and Principal Investigator
Qatar University
hyalcin@qu.edu.qa

Dr. Huseyin Cagatay Yalcin works as a research associate professor and principal investigator at Biomedical Research Center (BRC), Qatar University. His main research focus is investigating cardiovascular disorders from a mechanobiological perspective. Previously he was senior research scientist at Qatar Cardiovascular Research Center, faculty member of Dogus University, and postdoc at Cornell University Biomedical Engineering Department. He obtained his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Bioengineering/Mechanical Engineering in 2003 and 2007 respectively from Lehigh University, USA, and B.Sc. degree in 2001 from Middle East Technical University, Mechanical Engineering Program. Dr. Yalcin`s research interests span a wide range of topics in the basic, applied, and translational bioengineering. These involve, machine learning and computational modelling approaches for cardiovascular disease diagnosis and therapy planning; in vivo experimentation on chick embryo and zebrafish cardiac disease models; in vitro cardiac mimicking microfluidics systems; and tissue engineered cardiac substitutes. He published more than 100 papers. Dr. Yalcin has received Young Scientist award form Turkish Science Academy in 2013 and Research Excellence Award in Qatar University in 2023. Dr. Yalcin secured more than $3 million for his research funded by Qatar National Research Fund, Qatar University, European Union FP7, and Turkish Science Foundation (TUBITAK) and organized many international scientific events including The First International Biomaterials Conference in Qatar, “Biomaterial, Biosensor and Microfluidics Technologies for Medical Applications” in 2023 and “Tissue Engineering and Stem Cell Technologies Workshop” in 2017. He works as the lead for the newly established Qatar University Biomedical Engineering Research Group. Dr Yalcin is Associate Editor in Chief for Springer`s Emergent Materials Journal.

Dr. Raphael Courjaret

Assistant Professor of Research in Physiology and Biophysics
Weill Cornell Medicine – Qatar
rac2017@qatar-med.cornell.edu

Dr. Courjaret received his Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Angers (France), studying nicotinic receptors in insect neurons. He completed his training in Strasbourg (France) and Kaiserslautern (Germany) working on multiple aspects of cerebellar physiology. Dr. Courjaret joined Dr. Khaled Machaca’s Lab at WCM-Q in 2010 as a Postdoctoral Associate and is now an Assistant Professor of Research in Physiology and Biophysics. He uses animal models (Xenopus and mice)as well as cell lines to decipher therole played by intracellular Ca²⁺ in normal and pathological situations. Dr Courjaret specializes in electrophysiology and imaging and since 2025 he is the Director of the Imaging and Histology Core at WCM-Q. Dr Courjaret has been a co-PI on NPRP12S-0212-190074 to study the cardiac consequences of Ca²⁺signaling alterations and is a lead PI on the new project ARG02-0421-240243 to investigate the interplay between Ca²⁺, obesity and thermoregulation.

Dr. Mohammad Farhan

College of Health and Life Sciences, HBKU

Dr. Mohammad Farhan is an Associate Professor at the College of Health & Life Sciences, Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar. His behavioral neuroscience research combines three interconnected approaches: identifying genes linked to neurological disorders through human genetics and genomics; designing targeted therapeutics using computational modeling; and validating findings in Drosophila models and human neuronal cell lines.

His lab investigates mechanisms underlying autism, schizophrenia and cerebral palsy through QNRF, HBKU, and HMC-MRC-funded projects. Dr. Farhan's pioneering work on optogenetic inhibition techniques was published in Nature Methods and highlighted in scientific media.

With experience at Oxford University, Duke-NUS Medical School, and IMCB Singapore, he has published over 35 peer-reviewed articles in journals including Nature Methods, Neuron, and PloS Biology. His integrated approach creates a translational pipeline from genetic discovery to therapeutic development, aiming to improve patient outcomes worldwide.

Dr. Ehsan Pourkarimi

College of Health and Life Sciences, HBKU

Dr. Ehsan Pourkarimi completed his PhD at the Wellcome Trust Centre, University of Dundee, where he challenged classical models of DNA damage-induced apoptosis using C. elegans. His work offered new insights into the mechanisms of apoptosis. During his postdoctoral training, he transitioned into chromatin biology, uncovering novel roles for chromatin modifiers in cellular stress responses and histone dynamics.

Then he moved to New York and worked at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center as a research associate, where he mapped DNA replication origins in multicellular organisms for the first time, providing fundamental insights into chromatin-regulated replication.

In 2020, he joined HBKU as an Assistant Professor, establishing a research lab focused on DNA damage response, apoptosis, and chromatin regulation. His team integrates genetics, molecular biology, high-resolution microscopy, proteomics, and genomics to investigate how chromatin modifications influence genome stability and cell fate. His work bridges fundamental biology with translational research in genome maintenance.

Dr. Matteo Avella

Investigator and Assistant Professor
SIDRA Medicine
mavella@smrc.sidra.org

Dr. Matteo Avella is a Principal Investigator at Sidra Medicine and is head of the Lab of Reproductive Biology. Prior to joining Sidra Medicine, Dr. Avella was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Science at the University of Tulsa (Tulsa, OK, USA) and the School of Health Professions at Eastern Virginia Medical School (Norfolk, VA, USA). Dr. Avella received his B.A. in Biology from the University of Milan, Bicocca (Italy). He then completed a Ph.D. at the Polytechnic University of Marche (Ancona, Italy), studying the intestinal microbiota’s effects on fish’s early development and reproduction. He conducted postdoctoral research at the National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, USA), where he switched his studies to the mammalian system and focused his research efforts on understanding the molecular mechanisms regulating fertilization in mice and humans. Before his first academic appointment at the University of Tulsa, Dr. Avella received training as a human embryologist at Shady Grove Fertility (Chesterbrook, PA, USA).

Dr. Diogo Manoel

Staff Scientist
Sidra Medicine
dmanoel@sidra.org

Dr. Diogo Manoel is a Staff Scientist at the Laboratory of Disease Modelling and Therapeutics, led by Dr. Luis Saraiva at Sidra Medicine, Qatar. With over 16 years of experience in biomedical research, Dr. Manoel specializes in leveraging diverse animal model systems—including Caenorhabditis elegans (worm), Drosophila melanogaster (fruitfly), Mus musculus (mouse), and Danio rerio (zebrafish)—to investigate fundamental biological processes and their disruption in disease. His work integrates genetic, genomic, and gene expression tools to develop tailored models for functional interrogation of human genetic variants.

At Sidra, Dr. Manoel contributes to an advanced precision medicine pipeline by modeling disease-associated mutations in vivo and identifying pathogenic mechanisms at cellular and organismal levels. His approach combines extensive technical expertise across developmental biology, transcriptional regulation, molecular genetics, microscopy, transgenesis, biochemistry, and immunohistochemistry to generate and characterize phenotypes relevant to human health.

Dr. Manoel is particularly focused on applying zebrafish models for high-resolution phenotyping of candidate variants emerging from clinical genomic studies. Through this work, he aims to bridge the gap between genetic findings and mechanistic understanding, ultimately advancing diagnostics and therapeutic strategies for rare and complex diseases.

Dr. Abbirami Sathappan

Research Manager
SIDRA Medicine

Dr. Abbirami Sathappan is the Manager of the Advanced Imaging Core Facility at Sidra Medicine, specializing in optical and high-content imaging for translational research. She earned her PhD in Hematology, Oncology, and Translational Medicine from the University of Genova and holds a Master’s in Biomedical Engineering from Imperial College London. Since joining Sidra in 2014, she has led the development of state-of-the-art Advanced Imaging Core, equipped with microscopy and imaging platforms, supporting projects in cancer immunology, spatial proteomics, and precision medicine. Dr. Sathappan is passionate about training the next generation of scientists, conducting hands-on microscopy workshops locally and internationally. Her research focuses on characterizing the tumor microenvironment and understanding immune-tumor interactions, with a strong commitment to advancing pediatric and maternal health through cutting-edge imaging technologies.

Dr. Arsenii Dmitriev

Mr. Arsenii Dmitriev, is an Application Specialist at Bionomous SA, working since 2024 to guide life science clients toward New Approach Methodologies that reduce reliance on animal testing. He earned his master’s degree in Molecular Bioengineering from TU Dresden in 2021. His early research in Hyman group (Germany) dissected protein phase behavior in vitro, followed by a PhD project in Vastenhouw group (Switzerland) mapping proteomic changes in developing zebrafish embryos and analyzing transcriptional regulation. Midway through the program he transitioned from bench science to advisory and commercial work, pairing experimental insight with Bionomous’s mission to deliver ethical and sustainable research tools. Away from the office, Arsenii plays competitive chess and passionate about specialty coffee.

Mr. Cicerone Tudor

Dr. Cicerone Tudor is Business Developer and Application Specialist for Life Sciences at ZEISS, supporting the EMEA-LA region. With a PhD in biomedical sciences from KU Leuven, he brings together an academic research background and over a decade of industry experience in advanced light microscopy. Since joining ZEISS in 2014, he has been actively involved in guiding research institutions and laboratories in selecting, optimizing, and implementing cutting-edge imaging solutions for life sciences applications. In his dual role, Dr. Tudor bridges business development and application expertise, working closely with users to design integrated imaging workflows and support complex research projects. His work covers a broad range of light microscopy technologies, including confocal, super-resolution, and high-content imaging systems, with a strong focus on enabling translational and preclinical research across diverse biomedical fields.