Dr. Hisham Mogahed, Professor of Medical Genetics

About me

Dr. Hisham Megahed
Date of birth: 9 July 1974                               Place of birth: Cambridge, UK
Email: [email protected]
             
Personal Profile
I am a hard working, enthusiastic individual, who is comfortable to work as part of a team. I am flexible and can adapt to changing situations through out projects. I consider myself to be creative, capable of problem solving but do not shy to seek advice when needed. I am eager to learn new techniques and methodologies. My medical background provides me with good basic knowledge of many disorders, which helped me correlate my current research work with the wider clinical picture. This bench to bed-side knowledge enables me to interpret research results and findings in a way that may eventually allow clinical applications.
Clinical Research Experience
July 2016- Present: Associate professor in the department of medical genetics at the National Research Centre.
I run and supervise general medical genetics clinic and I supervise junior doctors to examine and diagnose all cases with neurological, metabolic disorders or disorders with a genetic causative background.
I am responsible for requesting all tests and genetic evaluation, molecular testing required for all the patients attending the clinic in order to reach the correct diagnosis. I offer diagnostic advice, genetic counselling, and when possible prenatal genetic counselling and diagnosis for all the patients and their family members.
I run a weekly specialised neuromuscular disorders clinic. This clinic provides full clinical and genetic testing for all the patients with neuromuscular disorders.
I provide clinical, molecular genetics teaching seminars for the junior doctors and all the staff at the National research centre.
September 2018- Present: Consultant in reproductive genetics at Generations Genetic centre
I run weekly clinics in two of the most eminent IVF and assisted reproduction centres in Cairo. I counsel, examine and manage any couple or families with problems in reproduction and fertility especially those with recurrent abortions, abnormal previous off-springs or infertility. I offer genetic tests to diagnose the causes and manage all the problems with genetic background. We offer all genetic tests from the conventional couple karyotype up to IVF with next generation sequencing for the embryos to overcome all possible genetic problems. This is the latest and optimal line of management in prenatal genetic screening. Diagnosis and testing,  
June 2011- July 2016:  Researcher in the department of medical genetics at the National Research Centre.
I run a weekly general genetics clinic.    
I am also, currently running a specialized medical service clinic for patients suffering from neuromuscular disorders. The clinic is run weekly, during which, I examine the patients and request all the necessary tests and lab works in order to diagnose and investigate the patients. This is followed by through genetic counselling, treatment, and follow up for the patients and their family members.
I also try to stay up to date with any new therapies that may evolve and become available to the patients.
 
February 2012-July 2013       Senior Researcher and team leader
Children Cancer Hospital Egypt (CCHE)                                                      
I have worked at the children’s cancer hospital, 57357, as a senior clinical researcher for 13 months starting from February 2012 till March 2013. I worked at the basic research unit and was head of the children’s brain cancer group.
I undertook research on the genetic causes of different types of paediatric brain tumors using mainly molecular genetic methodologies in order to understand the disruptive pathways and genes involved in the pathogenesis of these tumors.
I was also responsible for writing and applying for national and international grants.
During my work there I taught a full time educational course on medical genetics for postgraduate students at the American University in Cairo (AUC). The couse covered molecular, cytogenetic and medical genetics as well as some bioinformatics.
I also initiated the use of direct sequencing (Sanger sequencing) and LOH (loss of heterozygosity) techniques in the basic research unit.  
 
August 2011-November 2011    Post doctoral research fellow
Department of neurogenetics, Gleeson lab, School of biomedical  Sciences, UCSD, California, USA
December 2010-Present              Researcher in the Genetic department
The National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt 
December 2010-Present             Paediatric neurology specialist
Private clinic, Cairo, Egypt.
April 2006-October 2010 PhD Molecular Genetics  
Northern Institute for Cancer Research, Newcastle University,     UK
Worked on the molecular genetics of medulloblastoma under the supervision of Prof. Steven Clifford and Dr. Simon Bailey (Project: Wnt/Wg pathway activation in medulloblastoma and disease-risk stratification) (Refer to appendix for description of the project).
Weekly group presentations and a yearly presentation for the university.
Lab experience: Included sample collection and filing of clinical data, DNA extraction, purification, PCR, sequencing, LOH analysis and immunohistochemichal techniques.
June 2004 to April 2006 Research Assistant in Medical Genetics Unit.
The National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt
Clinical duties: Manage out-patients genetic clinics.
Lab duties: perform diagnostic genetic tests for samples collected in the clinic. Participate in various research projects performed within the centre.
Teaching: Weekly seminars for junior doctors and participate in two national conferences held in the centre every year.
March 1998 – May 2004 Cairo University Specialized Paediatric Teaching Hospital (CUSPTH)  
                            Registrar, Medical Genetics  
Same job duties both clinically, laboratory and teaching as the post I held in the National Research Centre but on a wider scale and lager number of patients, since CUSPTH is the largest referral paediatric hospital in Egypt (Approximately 100 out-patients attend the genetic clinic every day).
Instigated self-funded clinical attachments in US and Glasgow and research secondments in medical genetics.
March 1998 –Sept 2000 Senior House Officer in Paediatrics
Organize and manage out-patient clinics, participate in rotation management of the intensive care unit and patient admission.
Present cases in staff rounds, follow up tests ordered for in-patients and manage recording clinical data as well as supervising junior house officers.
 
Genetics Research & Training
The 2nd Arab Association of Genetic Research Conference, Cairo, November 26—27 2019, Egypt.
 
Training course ‘Good Clinical Practice (GCP}, How to Apply in Clinical Trials in Egypt’ The National Research Centre, November 3-4, 2019, Egypt.
 
The international conference on the Recent Trends in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Towards Vision 2030, The American University in Cairo September 14-15, 2019, Egypt.
Speaker’ Utility of Whole Exome Sequencing for the Early Diagnosis of Cerebellar Atrophy’.
 
First German-Egyptian Workshop in Rare Diseases. July, 2018.
An interactive course on the latest professional insights into rare genetic diseases.
 
Basic course in Human genetics, Winter 2018, The National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt.
 
Pan Arab Human Genetics conference 2018. Dubai, UAE.
Speaker: Utility of whole exome sequencing for the early diagnosis of paediatric-onset cerebellar atrophy associated with developmental delay in an inbred population. January 2018.
 
The Bioinformatics workshop entitled “Human Genomic Variations and ENSEMBLE data base mining”, presented by Dr. Qasim Ayub, staff scientist at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, UK, November 21-23, 2016.
 
The Human Genetics and Genome Research (HGGR) conference, 2016 “Path to the future of Human Genetics, November 8-9, 2016.  
Speaker for a presentation entitled “Utility of whole exome sequencing for the early diagnosis of pediatric-onset cerebellar atrophy associated with developmental delay in an inbred population
 
 
4th Hybrid course in next generation sequencing at the European Society of Human Genetics (ESHG), May 13-16,2015
 
28th Hybrid course in Medical Genetics at the European Society of Human Genetics (ESHG), May 17-21,2015
 
13th Asian European Workshop on Inborn Errors of Metabolism (AEWIEM). January 18-20,2015
 
27th Hybrid course in Medical Genetics at the European Society of Human Genetics (ESHG), May 11-15, 2014
 
3rd Hybrid course in next generation sequencing at the European Society of Human Genetics (ESHG), May 7-10, 2014
 
 
01/09/2014 – 01/01/2015 Postdoctoral fellowship at Institut Imagine-INSERM 1163
Neurogenetics Laboratory, Neker hospital for sick children, Paris, France.
We started to develop a new topic related to the genetics of pediatric cerebellar
defects and how they affect cognitive development. My work was related to this topic
and the project was to identify new genes playing a role in cerebellar and cognitive
development. I used successfully some data generated from next-generation sequencing
technologies (NGS) and could identify several molecular causes of some rare genetic diseases.
Part of this work was submitted for review to the journal Orphanet Journal of rare diseases.
 
08/07/2013 – 12/07/2013 International summer school "clinical practice guide lines on rare               diseases" The National Institute of Health, Rome , Italy.
15/09/2012 – 15/11/2012 Post doctoral attachment at the CNRS, University of Montpellier, France
28-30/08/2012           Extensive work shop on 3D cell culture and stem cell technology.  Clinilab, Cairo, Egypt.
25-30/07/2012           Direct sequencing and RT-PCR work shop. Clinilab, Cairo, Egypt.
6 October 2012          PCR Clinic, Basic applications and practices, Eppendorf Middle East with Trust Medical, Egypt.
09/2011 -12/2011      Postdoctoral fellowship at The Gleeson Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego.
Had extensive training on hereditary spastic paraplegia using Sanger and next generation sequencing, attended weekly lab meetings, seminars and conferences. I was also briefly trained on gene cloning, induced pluripotent stem cell and embryonic stem cell technologies. Attended the 23rd Annual USHA Mahajani Symposium on Molecular Medicine and Stem Cells in Cancer, September 16, 2011. And the UCSD Institute for Genomic Medicine 2nd Annula Symposium, October 24,2011.
October 24, 2011            UCSD Institute for Genomic Medicine, 2nd Annual Symposium
09/2001 – 10/2001 The Fraser of Allander Neuroscience Unit, Yorkhill Hospital, Glasgow, UK
09/2001-05/2002           Paediatric training scheme, Yorkhill Hospital, Glasgow, UK.
This was an overall general paediatrics training scheme focusing on neonatology, paediatric intensive care unit and general paediatrics clinics. This was a training program, which provides training knowledge to allow full registration at the medical health committee in UK.
Clinical attachment under the supervision of Dr. Samir Zuberi. Attended out-patient clinics, staff rounds and a weekly meeting held between the neurology and medical genetics staff at the hospital where interesting cases were reviewed.
06/2001 -07/2001 Institute of Medical Genetics, Yorkhill Hospital, Glasgow, UK.  
Clinical attachment under the supervision of Mr. Gordon Lowther, where I had hands on experience in cytogenetic and molecular genetics techniques (DNA extraction, Tissue and amniotic fluid culture, Karyotype, FISH, PCR and sequencing).
Attended clinics and genetic counselling sessions.
11/2000- 02/2001 Research fellow, Alfigen Institute of Genetics, Pasadena, California, USA.
Over view on cytogenetic and molecular genetics techniques (Karyotype, FISH, tissue and amniotic fluid cultures, screening tests done during the 1st trimester, PCR and DNA sequencing).
Weekly lab meetings and lectures were held at the institute (rotational).
06/2000 – 07/2000 Research fellow, American Naval Medical Research Unit 3 (NAMRU3) Egypt.
Over view on molecular genetics techniques (DNA extraction, purification, PCR, and DNA sequencing).
Qualifications
2010 PhD Molecular Genetics , Northern Institute for Cancer Research, Newcastle University, UK The paediatric brain tumour group at the Northern Institute for Cancer Research. Focused on the molecular bases of medulloblastoma.
2004 MSc. Paediatrics (Very good), Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Egypt
2002 MSc. Medical Genetics, University of Glasgow, UK
1997 M.B.B.Ch. (Very good with honours), Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Egypt
Professional Memberships
The British Association for Cancer Research, (BACR) 2006.
The European Association for Cancer Research, (EACR) 2006.
The American Association for Cancer Research, (AACR) 2009.  
References
Professor Samia El Temtamy: The National Research Centre, Egypt.
Professor Steven Clifford: University of Newcastle upon Tyne.
Dr. Simon Bailey: University of Newcastle upon Tyne.
Dr. Julie Irving: University of Newcastle upon Tyne.
Dr. Joe Gleeson: University of California San Diego, USA.
 
 
Publications
Metabolic Encephalopathy in Egyptian children.
Hindawy A., Gouda A., El-Ayyadi A., Megahed H., Bazaraa H. Bratisl Lek Listy 2007; 108 (2): 75-82.
 
 
Definition of disease-risk stratification groups in childhood medulloblastoma
using combined clinical, pathological and molecular variables
Ellison DW, Kocak M, Dalton J, Megahed H, Lusher ME, Ryan SL, Zhao W, Nicholson SL, Taylor RE, Bailey S, Clifford SC. J Clin Oncol. 2010 Oct 18
 
Rapid diagnosis of medulloblastoma molecular subgroups.
Ed C. Schwalbe1, Janet C. Lindsey1, Debbie Straughton1, Twala L. Hogg2, Michael Cole1, Hisham Megahed1,
Sarra L. Ryan1, Meryl E. Lusher1, Michael D. Taylor4, Richard J. Gilbertson2, David W. Ellison3, Simon Bailey1 and Steven C. Clifford1. Clin Cancer Res. 2011 Apr 1;17(7):1883-94.
 
 
TP53 mutations in favourable risk WNT subtype medulloblastomas
Rebecca M. Hill, Janet C. Lindsey, Hisham Megahed, Ed Schwalbe, Michael Cole, Twala L. Hogg, Richard J. Gilbertson, David W. Ellison, Simon Bailey, Steven C. Clifford. J Clin Oncol. 2011 Apr 20;29(12): 344-6
 
MYC family amplification and clinical risk-factors interact to predict an extremely poor prognosis in childhood medulloblastoma.                                                                                                              Ryan SL, Schwalbe EC, Cole M, Lu Y, Lusher ME, Megahed H, O'Toole K, Nicholson SL, Bognar L, Garami M, Hauser P, Korshunov A, Pfister SM, Williamson D, Taylor RE, Ellison DW, Bailey S, Clifford SC. Acta Neuropathol. 2012 Apr;123(4):501-13
DNA Methylation profiling of medulloblastoma allows robust subclassification and improved outcome prediction using formalin-fixed biopsies. Acta  Neuropathol, (2013)125(3):359-371
Schwalbe EC, Williamson D, Lindsey JC, Hamilton D, Ryan SL, Megahed H, Garami M, Hauser P, Dembowska-Baginska B, Perek D, Northcott PA, Taylor MD, Taylor RE, Ellison DW, Bailey S, Clifford SC.
 
 
Exome sequencing links cortico-spinal motor neuron disease to common neurodegenerative disorders. Science 31; 343(6170:506-511)
Gaia Novarino, Ali G Fenstermaker, Maha S Zaki, MatanHofree, Jennifer L Silhavy, Andrew D Heiberg, MostafaAbdellateef, BasakRosti, Eric Scott, Lobna Mansour, AmiraMasri, HulyaKayserili, Jumana Y Al-Aama, Ghada M H Abdel-Salam, ArianaKarminejad, Majdi Kara, Bulent Kara, BitaBozorgmehri, Tawfeg Ben-Omran, FaezehMojahedi, ImanGamal El Din Mahmoud, NaimaBouslam, Ahmed Bouhouche, Ali Benomar, Sylvain Hanein, Laure Raymond, Sylvie Forlani, Massimo Mascaro, LailaSelim, Nabil Shehata, Nasir Al-Allawi, P S Bindu, MatloobAzam, Murat Gunel, AhmetCaglayan, Kaya Bilguvar, AslihanTolun, Mahmoud Y Issa, Jana Schroth, Emily G Spencer, Rasim O Rosti, NaiaraAkizu, Keith K Vaux, Anide Johansen, Alice A Koh, Hisham Megahed, Alexandra Durr, Alexis Brice, Giovanni Stevanin, Stacy B Gabriel, Trey Ideker, Joseph G Gleeson (2014) Hisham Megahed, Amina Hindawy and Mohamed Mohamedy (2015)
Correlation between clinical features and MECP2 gene mutations in patients with Rett syndrome. Egyptian Pediatric Association Gazette; 63(1):25-31
Hisham Megahed, Amina Hindawy and Hamid El Gawabi (2015) Targeted treatment of tuberous sclerosis complex in Egyptian children Middle East Journal of Medical Genetics; 5(1):31-36
Neuroradiological features in relation to cognitive aspects of tuberous sclerosis complex in Egyptian children Hisham Megahed, Amina Hindawy and Ola Shaheen and Hamid El Gawabi (2016). The International of Child Neuropsychiatry (ESCNP & PACNA).
Risk factors for epilepsy in developmentally delayed Egyptian children with peri-ventricular leukomalacia. Hisham Megahed, Hamid El Gawabi, Sherrin Shalaby and Amina Hindawy (2016). The International Journal of Child Neuropsychiatry (ESCNP & PACNA).
Utility of whole exome sequencing for the early diagnosis of pediatric-onset cerebellar atrophy associated with developmental delay in an inbred population. Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases.
Hisham Megahed (corresponding), Michael Nicouleau, Giulia Barcia, Daniel Medina Cano, Karine Siquier-Pernet, Christine Bole-Feysot, Cecile Masson, Patrick Nitschke, Marlene Rio, Nadia Bahi-Buisson, Isabelle Desguerre, Arnold Munnich, Nathalie Boddaert, Laurence Colleaux, Vincent Cantagrel (corresponding) (2016).
Assessment of phenotype and genotype in Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis amongst Egyptian children.
The Middle East Journal of Medical Genetics. 2018.
Megahed H. (corresponding), Fateen E., ElGawaby H., Galal N., and Hindawy A.
 
Bi-allelic loss of human CTNNA2, encoding alpha N-catenin, leads to ARP2/3 over-activity and disordered cortical neuronal migration. Nat. Genet. 2018. 
 
Schaffer AE, Breuss MW, Caglayan AO, Al-Sanaa N, Al-Abdulwahed HY, Kaymakçalan H, Yılmaz C, Zaki MS, Rosti RO, Copeland B, Baek ST, Musaev D, Scott EC, Ben-Omran T, Kariminejad A, Kayserili H, Mojahedi F, Kara M, Cai N, Silhavy JL, Elsharif S, Fenercioglu E, Barshop BA, Kara B, Wang R, Stanley V, James KN, Nachnani R, Kalur A, Megahed H, Incecik F, Danda S, Alanay Y, Faqeih E, Melikishvili G, Mansour L, Miller I, Sukhudyan B, Chelly J, Dobyns WB, Bilguvar K, Jamra RA, Gunel M, Gleeson JG.