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Personal profile
Biography
Dr. Omar El-Agnaf is considered a pioneer in the field of Parkinson’s and related neurodegenerative diseases. He was awarded his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Biochemistry in 1997 at Queen’s University Belfast, UK. Between 1997 to 1999, he worked as a postdoctoral scientist at the School of Biology and Biochemistry, Queen’s University Belfast. Following this, Dr. El-Agnaf undertook an additional two-year post-doctoral position at St. George’s Medical School in London. In 2001, he was awarded a Research Fellowship from the Parkinson’s Disease Society-UK to establish his research group at Lancaster University. After completing his Research Fellowship in 2004, Dr. El-Agnaf joined the College of Medicine at UAE University and was appointed to the Biochemistry Department. In September 2014, he joined Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) at Qatar Foundation (QF), and in 2016 he was appointed Acting Executive Director of Qatar Biomedical Research Institute (QBRI), part of HBKU, and became the Executive Director (2018 - 2022).
Dr. El-Agnaf has successfully directed QBRI’s efforts towards translational research to improve and transform healthcare through innovations in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases affecting Qatar and the region. Under his leadership, QBRI has realized significant achievements. This has included securing extramural research funding to establish robust alliances with biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies to winning the 2017 Arab Best Research Institution of the Year Award.
Since his move to the region in 2004, Dr. El-Agnaf has assembled an excellent research team that has positioned itself at the forefront of neuroscience research internationally, building a reputable portfolio in the Middle East and beyond, and has been successful in attracting an array of scientific funding from prestigious international funding agencies. Individually, his discoveries have greatly impacted the scientific research community, provided further insight into the molecular pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease, and offered new opportunities for the development of novel diagnostic and therapeutic tools for the disease.
Dr. El-Agnaf is frequently invited as a speaker at international scientific and clinical meetings and is currently a member of the editorial boards of several international journals. Publications in high-ranking scientific journals validate Dr. El-Agnaf's track record of superior basic and translational research productivity. He has published nearly 188 refereed articles, with citations exceeding 22,979 (to date), and possesses an h-index of 74.
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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EX-QNRF-ARG-10: Novel Diagnostic Applications for Disease-Associated aggregates of Parkinson's disease and Related Disorders
El-Agnaf, O. M. A. (Lead Principal Investigator), Poovarangil Sudhakaran, I. (Post Doctoral Fellow), Mollenhauer, B. (Principal Investigator), Adeli, G. R. M. A. (Principal Investigator) & Emara, M. (Principal Investigator)
1/04/24 → 1/04/27
Project: Experimental Development/Translation Research
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EX-Silverstein -1: Therapeutic Nanobody Development for Targeting α-Synuclein Aggregation in Parkinson's Disease, with Focus on Parkinson's Disease with GBA Mutation
El-Agnaf, O. M. A. (Lead Principal Investigator) & Mahmoud Mesleh, A. G. (Post Doctoral Fellow)
1/01/24 → 1/01/26
Project: Experimental Development/Translation Research
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QBRI-CORE-000011: Development of ?-synuclein-Specific Nanobodies for Targeting Aggregation in Parkinson's Disease
El-Agnaf, O. M. A. (Lead Principal Investigator) & Bezard, D. E. (Principal Investigator)
1/01/24 → 31/12/26
Project: Experimental Development/Translation Research
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EX-QNRF-NPRPS-3: Corneal Confocal Microscopy: A rapid diagnostic and prognostic imaging biomarker for neurodegeneration in dementia
El-Agnaf, O. M. A. (Lead Principal Investigator) & Poovarangil Sudhakaran, I. (Research Associate)
5/01/20 → 5/01/24
Project: Experimental Development/Translation Research
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Circulating PIWI-interacting RNAs in Acute Ischemic Stroke patients
Toor, S. M., Aldous, E. K., Parray, A., Akhtar, N., Al-Sarraj, Y., Arredouani, A., Pir, G. J., Pananchikkal, S. V., El-Agnaf, O., Shuaib, A., Alajez, N. M. & Albagha, O. M. E., Apr 2025, In: Non-coding RNA Research. 11, p. 294-302 9 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Retraction Notice to “Differential effects of immunotherapy with antibodies targeting α-synuclein oligomers and fibrils in a transgenic model of synucleinopathy” [Neurobiology of Disease 104 (2017) 85–96, (S0969996117301055), (10.1016/j.nbd.2017.05.002)]
El-Agnaf, O., Overk, C., Rockenstein, E., Mante, M., Florio, J., Adame, A., Vaikath, N., Majbour, N., Lee, S. J., Kim, C., Masliah, E. & Rissman, R. A., 2025, (Accepted/In press) In: Neurobiology of Disease. 106788.Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate
Open Access -
Corrigendum to “ Systemic peptide mediated delivery of an siRNA targeting α-syn in the CNS ameliorates the neurodegenerative process in a transgenic model of Lewy Body Disease” [Neurobiology of Disease127 (2019) 163–177](S0969996115300954)(10.1016/j.nbd.2015.11.015)
Spencer, B., Trinh, I., Rockenstein, E., Mante, M., Florio, J., Adame, A., El-Agnaf, O. M. A., Kim, C., Masliah, E. & Rissman, R. A., Feb 2024, In: Neurobiology of Disease. 191, 106397.Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate
Open Access -
DNA APTAMERS AND COMPOSITIONS TARGETING ALPHA-SYNUCLEIN AND METHODS OF MAKING AND USING SAME
Hmila, I. (Inventor), Majbour, N. K. (Inventor) & El-Agnaf, O. (Inventor), 18 Apr 2024, IPC No. C12N 15/ 115 A I, Patent No. US2024124883, Priority date 19 Feb 2022, Priority No. US202218278255Research output: Patent
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ENGINEERED PICOBODY TO ALPHA SYNUCLEIN
Kolatkar, P. R. (Inventor), Islam, Z. (Inventor), Hmila, I. (Inventor), Vaikath, N. (Inventor) & El-Agnaf, O. (Inventor), 15 Feb 2024, IPC No. G01N 33/ 68 A I, Patent No. US2024052022, Priority date 14 Aug 2023, Priority No. US202318233733Research output: Patent