Molecular Innovation
Like most 14-year-olds, Dr. Al-Abed liked
to play with his neighborhood friends. One
day, he witnessed something that he could
not comprehend; his best friend had his
first seizure. No one knew what to do. For
Dr. Al-Abed, those minutes were the longest
of his life. Later, Dr. Al-Abed learned that
his friend was diagnosed with epilepsy. He
was shocked by how suddenly his friend
changed from being just like him to being
aff licted with illness. He was consumed with
the question of how one day people can be
"normal" and then the next day completely
changed. This question compelled Dr.
Al-Abed to pursue chemistry, science and
medicine, inspiring his work to discover new
therapies to help patients.
INNOVATION
Innovation leads the discovery
and development of novel
therapeutics for human diseases,
including lupus, arthritis,
diabetes, Alzheimer's disease and
sepsis. It integrates approaches
in target discovery with medicinal
chemistry to generate small
organic compounds and potential
drugs. The center has successfully
identified several drug candidates
and has repurposed existing
drugs to target critical proteins
involved in neurodegenerative
and autoimmune diseases.