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Samah Zeineb Gadhoum

Instructional Associate Professor

Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division
Email icon samah.gadhoum@kaust.edu.sa

Teaching science is not just about transferring knowledge—it's about lighting a spark of curiosity that empowers future minds to explore the molecular code of life itself. 

Biography

Professor Samah Zeineb Gadhoum is an Instructional Associate Professor with a strong background in cancer research. Since joining KAUST in 2010 as a senior research scientist, she was appointed as an instructor/lecturer of the Teaching BioLab in 2015 and as an Instructional Associate Professor in 2021. 

Professor Gadhoum earned her Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from Faculté René Descartes in Paris, France. She then completed a prestigious six-year postdoctoral fellowship at the Harvard Institutes of Medicine in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. 

Research Interests

Professor Gadhoum's research has focused extensively on cancer biology, with a particular emphasis on leukemic cells. Over the years, she has worked to uncover the molecular mechanisms behind the blockage of differentiation and the abnormal proliferation of these cells, aiming to identify key drivers of disease progression and potential therapeutic targets. 
Keyword tag icon
Hematopoietic stem cells Leukemia differentiating therapy cell signaling

Education Profile

  • Post-doctoral Fellow and Advisor - Harvard Institute of Medicine, Brigham and Woman's Hospital/Harvard Medical School. (2004-2010)

  • Doctor of Philosophy in Cellular and Molecular Biology - Université Paris V - René Descartes, Paris, France and INSERM U268, Villejuif, France & INSERM EMI0003, Paris, France (Dec 2003)

  • Master in Cellular and Molecular Biology - Université Paris V - René Descartes, Paris, France and INSERM U268, Villejuif, France (1998)

  • Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry - Université Paris VI - Pierre and Marie Curie, Paris, France (1994-1997)

Awards and Recognitions

  • Nominee, KAUST Distinguished Teaching Award, 2023 

  • Travel Grant, International Society for Experimental Hematology (ISEH), Tokyo, 2001 

  • Award, Association Nouvelle Recherche Biologique (ANRB), 1999 

  • Fellowship, Association Recherche contre le Cancer (ARC), 1999–2002 

Publications

  • Gadhoum, S.Z., Merzaban, J.S., & Sackstein, R. Glycan engineering of human CD34+ stem cells enhances their ability to home and reconstitute marrow ablated mice. In preparation. 

  • Gadhoum, S.Z., & Merzaban, J.S. Anti-CD44 antibodies inhibit both mTORC1 and mTORC2: a new rationale for CD44-induced AML therapy. Leukemia. 2016; 30(12):2397–2401. 

  • Abu Samra, D.B., Al-Kilani, A., Hamdan, S.M., Sakashita, K., Gadhoum, S.Z., & Merzaban, J.S. Quantitative characterization of E-selectin interaction with native CD44 and PSGL-1 using a real-time immunoprecipitation-based binding assay. J. Biol. Chem. 2015; 290(35):21213–30. 

  • Aouida, M., Eid, A., Ali, Z., Cradick, T., Lee, C., Deshmukh, H., Atef, A., AbuSamra, D., Gadhoum, S.Z., Merzaban, J., Bao, G., & Mahfouz, M. Efficient fdCas9 synthetic endonuclease with improved specificity for precise genome engineering. PLoS One. 2015; 10(7):e0133373 

  • Merzaban, J.S., Burdick, M.M., Gadhoum, S.Z., Dagia, N.M., Chu, J.T., Fuhlbrigge, R.C., & Sackstein, R. Analysis of glycoprotein E-selectin ligands on human and mouse marrow cells enriched for hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells. Blood. 2011; 118(7):1774–83. 

  • Gadhoum, S.Z., & Sackstein, R. CD15 expression in human myeloid cell differentiation is regulated by sialidase activity. Nat. Chem. Biol. 2008; 4(12):751–7. 

  • Delaunay, J., Lecomte, N., Bourcier, S., Qi, J., Gadhoum, Z., Durand, L., Chomienne, C., Robert-Lézénès, J., & Smadja-Joffe, F. Contribution of GM-CSF and IL-8 to the CD44-induced differentiation of acute monoblastic leukemia. Leukemia. 2008; 22(4):873–6. 

  • Dagia, N.M., Gadhoum, S.Z., Knoblauch, C.A., Spencer, J.A., Zamiri, P., Lin, C.P., & Sackstein, R. G-CSF induces E-selectin ligand expression on human myeloid cells. Nat. Med. 2006; 12(10):1185–90. 

  • Maquarre, E., Artus, C., Gadhoum, Z., Jasmin, C., Smadja-Joffe, F., & Robert-Lézénès, J. CD44 ligation induces apoptosis via caspase- and serine protease-dependent pathways in acute promyelocytic leukemia cells. Leukemia. 2005; 19(12):2296–303. 

  • Gadhoum, Z., Leibovitch, M.P., Qi, J., Dumenil, D., Durand, L., Leibovitch, S., & Smadja-Joffe, F. CD44: a new means to inhibit acute myeloid leukemia cell proliferation via p27Kip1. Blood. 2004; 103(3):1059–68 

  • Charrad, R.S., Gadhoum, Z., Qi, J., Glachant, A., Allouche, M., Jasmin, C., Chomienne, C., & Smadja-Joffe, F. Effects of anti-CD44 monoclonal antibodies on differentiation and apoptosis of human myeloid leukemia cell lines. Blood. 2002; 99(1):290–99. 

  • Smadja-Joffe, F., Legras, S., Charrad, S., Gadhoum, Z., & Lesveque, J.P. CD44 et hématopoïèse. Hématologie. 1999; 4:339–49. (in French) 

  • Gadhoum, Z., Delaunay, J., Maquarre, E., Durand, L., Lancereaux, V., Qi, J., Robert-Lezénès, J., Chomienne, C., & Smadja-Joffe, F. The effect of anti-CD44 monoclonal antibodies on differentiation and proliferation of human acute myeloid leukemia cells. Leuk. Lymphoma. 2004; 45(8):1501–10.