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 Tanata 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.
Contact
Dr Kamal Gadalla
Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences
R413, Hugh Robson Building, George Square
University of Edinburgh
Edinburgh, UK, EH8 9XD
Email: kgadalla@exseed.ed.ac.uk
Tel: (+44) 0131 651 1357
Publications
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.
NG Bahey, KKE 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.
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.
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.
Gadalla KK, 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.
Kamal K.E. 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.
Johanna Trägårdh, Gillian Robb, Kamal K E Gadalla, Stuart Cobb, Christopher Travis, Gian-Luca Oppo and Gail McConnell (2015). Label-free imaging of thick tissue at 1550 nm using a femtosecond optical parametric generator. Optics Letters 40 (15), 3484-3487.
Noha Gamal Bahey, Hekmat Osman Abd Elaziz, Kamal Kamal El Sayed 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.
Mohamed Labib Salem, Kamal K. Gadalla, Fielding, B.C., Thorne, S.H. Gene therapy and Virus-based cancer vaccines. In Cancer Immunology: Bench to Bedside Immunotherapy of Cancers. Springer 2015, pp131-150. DOI10.1007/978-3-662-44946-2_7.
Gadalla KKE, 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.
Grants and awards
Grants
| 2017-2020 | Scientific support for gene therapy, splicing therapy, and protein therapy programmes in Rett syndrome. RTT syndrome research trust. |
| 2016-2017 | MeCP2 Protein therapy in RTT syndrome. |
| 2014-2017 | Support for MECP2 Gene Therapy Consortium, Rosetrees trust. |
| 2012-2016 | Centre of excellence for cancer research (CECR), STDF, Egypt. |
| 2013-2015 | Genetic Signature for fostering next generation transitional cancer research, the ministry of high education, Egypt.
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Awards
2011 Best presentation award, British Neuroscience Association regional meeting, Glasgow, UK.
Conferences and outreach
Invited International Speaker
| 2017 | 5th European Rett Syndrome Congress, Berlin, Germany |
| 2014 | Rett Syndrome Research Trust meeting, New York, USA. |
| 2014 | Stem cell training, face the future workshop, University of Alexandria, Egypt |
| 2012 | Gene/Cell Therapy Online Symposium. |