Mohamed Abou-Ghazal, MD
Clinical Instructor
Dr. Mohamed Abou-Ghazal received his medical degree from the American University of Beirut in 2004 and subsequently worked as a research fellow in the Division of Neurosurgery. In 2007, Dr. Abou-Ghazal joined the The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where he continued for several years as a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Neurosurgery. During that time he published several basic-science papers on the role of regulatory T-cells in patients with human glioma, and their inhibition with a novel Stat-3 inhibitor. In 2013 he joined the anatomy section of the basic-sciences department at the LAU Gilbert and Rose-Marie Chagoury School of Medicine, where he has been involved in teaching gross anatomy as well as neuroanatomy.
Selected Publications
- Heimberger AB, Kong L-Y, Abou-Ghazal M, Reina-Ortiz C, Yang DS, Wei J, Qiao W, Schmittling RJ, Archer GE, Sampson JH, Hiraoka N, Priebe W, Fuller GN, Sawaya R. The Role of Tregs in Human Glioma Patients and Their Inhibition With a Novel STAT-3 Inhibitor, Clinical Neurosurgery , Volume 56, 2009.
- Humphris W, Wang Y, Qiao W, Reina-Ortiz, C, Abou- Ghazal MK, Crutcher L, Wei J, Kong L, Sawaya R, Rao R, Weinberg J, Prabhu S, Fuller G, Heimberger AB. Detecting p-STAT-3 expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells in malignant glioma patients. J Transl Med. 2009 Nov 9;7:92.
- Kong LY, Wei J, Sharma AK, Barr J, Abou-Ghazal MK, Fokt I, Weinberg J, Rao G, Grimm E, Priebe W, Heimberger AB. A novel phosphorylated STAT3 inhibitor enhances T cell cytotoxicity against melanoma through inhibition of regulatory T cells. Cancer Immunol Immunother. 2009 Jul;58(7):1023-32.
- Abou-Ghazal M, Yang DS, Qiao W, Reina-Ortiz C, Wei J, Kong LY, Fuller GN, Hiraoka N, Priebe W, Sawaya R, Heimberger AB. The incidence, correlation with tumor-infiltrating inflammation, and prognosis of phosphorylated STAT3 expression in human gliomas. Clin Cancer Res. 2008 Dec 15;14(24):8228-35.
- Kong LY, Abou-Ghazal MK, Wei J, Chakraborty A, Sun W, Qiao W, Fuller GN, Fokt I, Grimm EA, Schmittling RJ, Archer GE Jr, Sampson JH, Priebe W, Heimberger AB. A novel inhibitor of signal transducers and activators of transcription 3 activation is efficacious against established central nervous system melanoma and inhibits regulatory T cells. Clin Cancer Res. 2008 Sep 15; 14(18):5759-68.
- Heimberger AB, Abou-Ghazal M, Reina-Ortiz C, Yang DS, Sun W, Qiao W, Hiraoka N, Fuller GN. Incidence and prognostic impact of FoxP3+ regulatory T cells in human gliomas. Clin Cancer Res. 2008 Aug 15;14(16):5166-72.
Professional and Research Interests
- Anatomy
- Neuroanatomy
- Immunotherapy for brain cancer
Education and Training
- French General Baccalaureate, Notre Dame de Jamhour, Lebanon, 1997
- B.S. in Biology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, American University of Beirut, Lebanon, 1997-2000
- M.D. Degree, Faculty of Medicine, American University of Beirut, Lebanon, 2000-2004
- Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, Division of Neurosurgery, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Lebanon, 2004-2006
- Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, Department of Neurosurgery, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA, 2007-2009
- Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, Division of Neurosurgery, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Lebanon, 2009-2012
- Instructor in Anatomy, Lebanese American University School of Medicine, Byblos, Lebanon, 2013-Present