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Meet Our Faculty: Dr. Tawfeeq Shekh-Ahmad | Campaign

Meet Our Faculty: Dr. Tawfeeq Shekh-Ahmad

Dr. Shekh-Ahmad

Dr. Tawfeeq Shekh-Ahmad

The School of Pharmacy in the Faculty of Medicine

Dr. Tawfeeq Shekh-Ahmad is no newcomer to the Hebrew University. He gained all three of his first degrees – a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy, a master’s degree in pharmaceutical sciences, and a doctorate researching new anti-epileptic drugs – all from the Hebrew University’s School of Pharmacy.

Born and raised in Ibillin, Israel, Dr. Shekh-Ahmad is looking into cures for epilepsy. His research focuses principally on developing new treatments for uncontrolled or refractory epilepsy, the case when a patient’s seizures fail to respond to available antiepileptic medications.

Upon completing his doctorate, he took up a postdoctoral research fellowship at the University College London’s Department of Clinical and Experimental Epilepsy. His research has been widely published in leading journals such as Brain, Redox Biology, and Journal of Neuroscience.

Throughout his career, Dr. Shekh-Ahmad has received many awards and fellowships, including the Council for Higher Education and the Planning and Budgeting Committee (VATAT) - Israel Postdoc Fellowship, the Hebrew University Excellence Award for Teaching and Contribution to the Institute of Drug Research, and the Hebrew University Excellence Award in B.Sc. degree studies, to name but a few.

Dr. Shekh-Ahmad lives with his wife and little girl, in Jerusalem. In his free time he enjoys playing sports, reading and travelling.

Dr. Shekh-Ahmad’s Research: New Frontiers in Treating Epilepsy

Epilepsy affects more than 65 million people around the world.

In approximately 40% of all cases, the etiology is known; including brain insults such traumatic brain injuries, strokes, tumors, several neurodegenerative diseases, and prolonged acute symptomatic seizures.

As such, epilepsy is one of the only brain diseases in which people at risk can be identified. And yet, there is currently no prophylactic treatment to prevent the development of epilepsy in those at risk. Currently available antiepileptic therapies target only symptoms of the disease, failing to adequately prevent seizure development, or permanently halt the occurrence of seizures.

Furthermore, about one-third of patients with epilepsy are resistant to the available antiepileptic drugs.

Dr. Shekh-Ahmad is tackling this problem.

He is investigating different mechanisms for preventing the emergence of epileptic seizures, following damage to the brain. Usually, following a brain injury, there is a latent period, during which time there are no seizures. During this interval much is happening in the brain, multiple mechanisms that eventually all converge leading to the epileptic seizure.

In an attempt to break this pattern, block this pathway, and prevent the emergence of epilepsy, Dr. Shekh-Ahmad is investigating the role that reactive oxygen species play in damaging brain cells. In this context, his lab at the Hebrew University, is researching developing antioxidant therapies that will lead to the development of drugs for preventing epilepsy after brain injury.

In short, Dr. Shekh-Ahmad is working on the development of prophylactic preventative treatment for epilepsy. At the same time, he is also attempting to modify the disease by reducing the severity and frequency of seizures.

In addition, Dr. Shekh-Ahmad is studying novel gene therapy approaches for use in applying the treatments that he is developing. With this approach he hopes to identify a set of techniques that will introduce, overexpress, knock down or edit particular genes for therapeutic purposes. As such, gene therapy theoretically provides what traditional pharmacotherapy cannot: a long-lasting intervention delivered to a predetermined population of target cells. The main advantage of this approach will be the ability to modify only the affected neurons/cells, therefore sparing the healthy cells in surrounding tissues. Such discoveries will open up the possibility for treatments in regions of the brain that are essential for function which cannot be surgically removed.

According to Dr. Shekh-Ahmad, “I dream of just helping one person. If we add one element to the research, and help just one person, that is enough for me.”

In Tawfeeq Shekh-Ahmad’s own words…

How did you get into your field?

Somewhere in the depths of my mind I have a distant memory from my childhood. I lived in a small village. I remember playing in the village and seeing this one child twitching his arms and legs, and hitting his face on the floor before ‘falling asleep’ and being taken home by an embarrassed and angry looking family member. It literally looked as if a demon had entered the child’s body.

Fast forward several more years. I am now a teenager playing video games with my friends. At the start of each game a warning appears on the screen, warning people with epilepsy not to play. How though, were we supposed to know who had epilepsy and who didn’t? What did the warnings mean? And why couldn’t they play?

My curiosity and my empathy were piqued. I knew from that time that I had a deep-seated interest in neuroscience and in understanding more about epilepsy. I wanted to prove that no demons were involved and that it wasn’t that little child’s fault!

What is your daily motivation for your work? 

Beyond the obvious desire to find a cure for epilepsy, I am motivated by the simple desire to help people.

Quite often, out of the blue, I am contacted by someone trying to help a family member struggling with a very complicated condition connected to epilepsy. Through a quick google search they find my name associated with epilepsy research. Not being an actual doctor, often the most that I can do is to connect them with someone in the field that can help them. But I have found that even that little step, just that little moment of connection is enough to give them hope and direction.

If I can change the future of just one individual person, in one small way, I will feel that I have fulfilled my role here on earth. And just imagine if my research helps a much larger group of people. That would be tremendous.

How do you feel about returning to Israel?

We spent four and a half fabulous years in London. But we always wanted to return – to Israel, to the Hebrew University, and to the close proximity of our families. I honestly feel that despite being away for several years, returning now to the School of Pharmacy in the Hebrew University is a homecoming for me. This is the place where I spent twelve years of my life, the place where I literally grew up. It is wonderful to be back.

What are your reflections on the Hebrew University?

During the entire period of time that I spent researching at University College London, I felt proud every time I mentioned that I was from the School of Pharmacy of the Hebrew University. It has a very prestigious global reputation and I feel tremendous pride in belonging to this community. I knew I always wanted to return.

In fact, over all the years, every time I leave the country and every time I return, airport officials ask me who I am representing. Every single time, regardless of where I was officially studying at the time, my answer was always, “The Hebrew University”. From the earliest days of my bachelor’s degree until this very day, it has been my home. It is a badge I wear with great pride.