Mohamed Abdel Hakeem, PhD, MSc, Bpharm

Dr. Abdel Hakeem earned his PhD and his MSc in microbiology and immunology from University of Montreal in Montreal, Canada. He completed his postdoctoral training at University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Dr. Abdel Hakeem's current research focuses on having a deeper insight into the molecular mechanisms of development of T-cell exhaustion during chronic viral infection and cancer, mechanisms underlying recovery of exhausted T-cells from different aspects of the exhaustion program including the impact of various cytokines on epigenetic recovery of T-cells, and the subset dynamics implicated. His lab uses an integrated systems approach to dissect networks downstream from the individual factors involved in exhaustion and explore modulation of the epigenetic exhaustion program upon exposure to various cytokines. This knowledge is essential for optimal design of novel immunotherapeutic strategies with enhanced efficacy and safety.

Through his research, Dr. Abdel Hakeem has developed extensive expertise in basic immunology using mouse models and translational human immunology utilizing diverse immunological and systems biology techniques including phenotypic characterization of immune cells (flow cytometry and CyTOF), transcriptional and epigenetic profiling (single-cell RNAseq, RNAseq and ATAC-seq), as well as ELISA, ELISpot, and other molecular biology techniques.