Profile

Dr. Abdelalim is a principal investigator at Sidra Medicine, where he leads the Pluripotent Stem Cell Disease Modeling Laboratory. His research focuses on understanding the mechanisms behind diabetes and rare genetic disorders using human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) and gene editing technologies. By collaborating with clinicians and developing iPSC-based disease models, his team aims to uncover genetic factors contributing to these conditions and identify novel therapeutic targets for personalized medicine. In addition, Dr. Abdelalim holds a joint appointment as an associate professor at the CHLS at HBKU, where he teaches stem cell biology and has mentored over 16 graduate students. He earned his PhD in medical science from Shiga University of Medical Science in Japan, where he also completed a postdoctoral fellowship and later served as an assistant professor. Prior to joining Sidra Medicine, he was a senior scientist at QBRI, where he established Qatar's first pluripotent stem cell program focused on diabetes research. His team generated multiple iPSC lines from patients with genetic disorders and developed protocols to improve stem cell differentiation into pancreatic islets and other cell types. Dr. Abdelalim has published over 75 articles in renowned journals and serves on the editorial boards of Stem Cells Translational Medicine and Stem Cells and Development.