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Jamal A. Ibdah, MD, PhD
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Senior Associate Dean for Research; Director, MU-iCATS
Dr. Ibdah received his MD degree from the University of Jordan and a PhD degree in Biochemistry from the Medical College of Pennsylvania followed by postdoctoral training applying physical chemistry principles to study lipid-protein interactions. After completing a 3-year clinical residency in internal medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Dr. Ibdah underwent clinical fellowship training in adult gastroenterology at Washington University School of Medicine and research fellowship training in the Department of Pediatrics at Saint Louis Children’s Hospital. Dr. Ibdah is board certified in both internal medicine and gastroenterology.
Dr. Ibdah is currently Senior Associate Dean for Research and Professor of Internal Medicine, Medical Pharmacology and Physiology, Raymond E. and Vaona H. Peck Chair, and Director of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Dr. Ibdah currently serves on the Editorial Board of World Journal of Gastroenterology and is a Senior Editor for the Journal of Cardio Metabolic Syndrome. Dr. Ibdah has served as ad hoc member on the hepatobiliary pathophysiology (HBPP) NIH study section and on several NIH special emphasis panels in clinical research; he is currently a permanent charter member of the NCRR Clinical Research Review Committee.
Dr. Ibdah has devoted his research career to translational sciences in multidisciplinary environments, and his work exemplifies the translational approach from bench, to bedside, and back. His studies involve generation of novel knockout mouse models as a tool to translate human disease to the bench. For instance, Dr. Ibdah has carried to the bench a clinical observation of an association between liver disease in pregnant women and pediatric fatty acid oxidation disorders. This has lead to a discovery that contributed to the understanding of the pathogenesis of a disease that has been long considered to be mysterious. This seminal observation was reported in a landmark article (New England Journal of Medicine, 1999). In subsequent work, the clinical impact of this discovery in practice has lead to an important recommendation reported in another landmark article (JAMA, 2002). Subsequently, Dr. Ibdah’s work has focused on elucidating the cellular mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of these disorders by generating knockout mouse models. Work in his laboratory has uncovered the molecular basis for a link between fatty acid oxidation disorders and sudden unexpected infant death (Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2001). Utilizing these novel mouse models, Dr. Ibdah’s work has lead to important contributions that have crossed boundaries among disciplines. For instance, recent work in Dr. Ibdah’s laboratory has documented that mice with mitochondrial dysfunction are susceptible to insulin resistance and fatty liver disease (Gastroenterology, 2005) as well as to development of liver cancer (work in progress). All studies were conducted in collaborative, multidisciplinary environments with a team approach that involved investigators in Pediatrics, Obstetrics, Endocrinology, Biochemistry, Comparative Medicine, Cancer Biology, and other disciplines. Dr. Ibdah’s work has been continuously funded by NIH, including an earlier career development award (KO8). Currently, Dr. Ibdah is the PI on two R01 grants: 5 R01 DK 56345 and 1 R01 DK 068210 and an R01 supplement (3 R01 DK 56345-S1) to support a minority PhD graduate student. Dr. Ibdah serves as a Co-Investigator on another R01 grant: 1 R01 DK67763.
Dr. Ibdah has a lifelong commitment to mentoring and educating young investigators. He has served on five Ph.D. graduate student committees and two mentorship committees for MDs. He has served as the primary mentor for two Ph.D. students in Molecular Medicine, which is a clinical and translational science graduate degree program at Wake Forest University. Dr. Ibdah has mentored five postdoctoral fellowship trainees in clinical and translational research. Currently, Dr. Ibdah is the primary mentor for a junior faculty member (John Thyfault, PhD) on a funded VA Career Development Award, and he is the primary mentor for two other faculty members who are submitting career development applications.
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Dr. Ibdah is currently Senior Associate Dean for Research and Professor of Internal Medicine, Medical Pharmacology and Physiology, Raymond E. and Vaona H. Peck Chair, and Director of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Dr. Ibdah currently serves on the Editorial Board of World Journal of Gastroenterology and is a Senior Editor for the Journal of Cardio Metabolic Syndrome. Dr. Ibdah has served as ad hoc member on the hepatobiliary pathophysiology (HBPP) NIH study section and on several NIH special emphasis panels in clinical research; he is currently a permanent charter member of the NCRR Clinical Research Review Committee.
Dr. Ibdah has devoted his research career to translational sciences in multidisciplinary environments, and his work exemplifies the translational approach from bench, to bedside, and back. His studies involve generation of novel knockout mouse models as a tool to translate human disease to the bench. For instance, Dr. Ibdah has carried to the bench a clinical observation of an association between liver disease in pregnant women and pediatric fatty acid oxidation disorders. This has lead to a discovery that contributed to the understanding of the pathogenesis of a disease that has been long considered to be mysterious. This seminal observation was reported in a landmark article (New England Journal of Medicine, 1999). In subsequent work, the clinical impact of this discovery in practice has lead to an important recommendation reported in another landmark article (JAMA, 2002). Subsequently, Dr. Ibdah’s work has focused on elucidating the cellular mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of these disorders by generating knockout mouse models. Work in his laboratory has uncovered the molecular basis for a link between fatty acid oxidation disorders and sudden unexpected infant death (Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2001). Utilizing these novel mouse models, Dr. Ibdah’s work has lead to important contributions that have crossed boundaries among disciplines. For instance, recent work in Dr. Ibdah’s laboratory has documented that mice with mitochondrial dysfunction are susceptible to insulin resistance and fatty liver disease (Gastroenterology, 2005) as well as to development of liver cancer (work in progress). All studies were conducted in collaborative, multidisciplinary environments with a team approach that involved investigators in Pediatrics, Obstetrics, Endocrinology, Biochemistry, Comparative Medicine, Cancer Biology, and other disciplines. Dr. Ibdah’s work has been continuously funded by NIH, including an earlier career development award (KO8). Currently, Dr. Ibdah is the PI on two R01 grants: 5 R01 DK 56345 and 1 R01 DK 068210 and an R01 supplement (3 R01 DK 56345-S1) to support a minority PhD graduate student. Dr. Ibdah serves as a Co-Investigator on another R01 grant: 1 R01 DK67763.
Dr. Ibdah has a lifelong commitment to mentoring and educating young investigators. He has served on five Ph.D. graduate student committees and two mentorship committees for MDs. He has served as the primary mentor for two Ph.D. students in Molecular Medicine, which is a clinical and translational science graduate degree program at Wake Forest University. Dr. Ibdah has mentored five postdoctoral fellowship trainees in clinical and translational research. Currently, Dr. Ibdah is the primary mentor for a junior faculty member (John Thyfault, PhD) on a funded VA Career Development Award, and he is the primary mentor for two other faculty members who are submitting career development applications.
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