Dr. Salah Ahmed
Dr. Salah Ahmed is an assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacology. Dr. Ahmed’s Arthritis Research lab is funded by the grants from NIH and pharmaceutical industry. His group has published research work in high-impact journals including Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, Arthritis & Rheumatism, Journal of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics, Molecular Interventions, and Frontiers in Immunology.
Dr. Ahmed has been invited to serve as a reviewer for the NIH and Arthritis Foundation grants. Currently, he also serves as a Lead Guest Editor on the Special Issue of the journal Mediators of Inflammation and as an expert reviewer for several journals. Dr. Ahmed has received awards from the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET), the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), and the International Union of Pharmacology (IUPHAR).
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a chronic inflammatory joint disorder, is a leading cause of work-related disabilities and a significant socio-economic health challenge due to expensive, yet incomplete, conventional therapies. Using synovial fibroblasts isolated from RA patients and animal models of human RA, we are testing the efficacy of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a potential anti-inflammatory molecule found in green tea, in regulating the synthesis and detrimental effects of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in RA. The success of the proposed experiments may lead to a significant advancement in the development of EGCG as a potentially safe and inexpensive treatment option for RA.
Dr. Ahmed has received a five-year R01 NIH funding to study the mechanisms through which EGCG inhibits inflammation and tissue destruction in RA. Patients suffering from RA tend to develop cardiovascular complications. His research focus in this area is to study the role of pro-inflammatory cytokines and downstream inflammatory mediators in the manifestation of cardiovascular complications in RA. Based on these findings, his lab plans to test potential novel anti-inflammatory molecules in clinical intervention studies. The success of these studies may lead to a significant advancement in the development of EGCG or structurally related molecules as potential treatment options for RA and possibly other autoimmune diseases.
Dr. Ahmed’s most rewarding contribution has been the training of undergraduates and graduates for research careers in pharmacology and experimental therapeutics. He has trained students who went on to publish research and review articles, present posters at the scientific meetings, and successfully enter PhD programs of various research universities.