• Admissions
    • Undergraduate Programs
    • Postgraduate Programs
    • Clinical Attachment
    • Continuous Professional Development
    • Scholarships
  • Academics
    • Academics
    • Academic Calendar
    • Program Catalogs
    • Faculty
    • Student Life
  • Graduate Medical Education
    • Graduate Medical Education
    • Residency Admissions
    • Fellowship Admissions
    • Internship Admissions
  • Research
    • MBRU-Biomedical Research Center
    • The Center for Genomic Discovery
    • Research Facilities
  • Institute of Learning
    • Institute of Learning
    • Healthcare Simulation
    • Organizational Learning
    • Accelerator For Learning (A4L)
    • Health Professions Education (HPE)
    • Center for Outcomes and Research in Education (CORE)
Contrast
Font Size
Login
Previous Search
  • residency
  • Clinical attachment
  • fees
  • dubai
Top Search

Login

Please choose the service you would like to log into.

Academic Admissions

GME Admissions

Student login

  • About MBRU
    • About Dubai Health
    • About MBRU
    • Work @ MBRU
    • Venues
    • Giving
  • Media Center
    • News
    • Events
    • Publications
    • MBRU 360 Newsletter
  • Contact Us
    • Contact Us
    • Visit Us
    • FAQ’s
  • Accessibility
    Contrast
    Font Size
  • Login
  1. A-Z Directory
  2. Fahad Ali
Back to A-Z Directory
Fahad Ali Biography Academic Appointments Professional Education Teaching Honors and Awards Publications Research Interests
Assistant Professor - Molecular Biology

Fahad Ali

Contact Faculty +971 4 383 8740

Dr. Fahad Ali is an Associate Professor of Molecular Biology at the Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, where he leads a Cancer Biology Research Group.
Dr. Ali received his PhD in Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology from the University of Liverpool, where he investigated how genetic polymorphisms and alterations in the epigenetic landscape contribute to the risk of neuropsychiatric conditions such as bipolar disorder and influence treatment response. 

He subsequently undertook extensive postdoctoral training at the University of Cambridge. Within the Department of Oncology, his research focused on the regulation of neuronal cell fate decisions and the molecular mechanisms relevant to neuroblastoma pathobiology, including how disruptions in differentiation programs contribute to tumour development. At the Cambridge Centre for Brain Repair, Dr. Ali worked on cellular reprogramming and disease modelling of neurodegenerative disorders, particularly Parkinson’s disease, examining how lineage specification can be manipulated to understand and model disease phenotypes. 

Since joining MBRU, Dr. Ali has continued to advance research in cancer biology, supervising graduate students and establishing collaborative projects with internationally recognized institutions. His scientific contributions have enhanced the understanding of transcriptional regulation, tumour heterogeneity, and the mechanisms underlying therapeutic resistance in solid tumours, particularly in relation to alterations in chromatin architecture and transcriptional networks that drive tumour behaviour.

Academic Appointments

2025-Present

Assistant Professor

Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, UAE

2018-2025

Assistant Professor

Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, UAE

2022–Present

Director

Biomedical Sciences Master’s Program, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, UAE

2015-2018

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Department of Oncology, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom

2011-2015

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Cambridge Centre for Brain Repair, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom

2009-2011

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Department of Oncology, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom

Professional Education

2008

PhD Cellular and Molecular Biology

The University of Liverpool, United Kingdom

2005

MRes Cellular and Molecular Physiology

The University of Liverpool, United Kingdom

2003

M.Sc. Industrial Biotechnology

Liverpool John Moores University, United Kingdom

2002

Postgraduate Diploma Biological and Medical Analysis

University of Jordan, Jordan

2001

B.Sc. Biological Sciences

University of Jordan, Jordan

Teaching

  • Genetics and Molecular Biology, College of Medicine, MBRU
  • Mentor for graduate and undergraduate students, University of Cambridge

Honors and Awards

2005

Overseas Research Students Awards Scheme (ORSAS)

United Kingdom

2004

Wellcome-Trust Ph.D Programme Award

Wellcome Trust / University of Liverpool, United Kingdom

Publications

FBXO22 deficiency defines a pleiotropic syndrome of growth restriction and multi-system anomalies associated with a unique epigenetic signature. 2025; The American Journal of Human Genetics,

View on PubMed

Genomics of rare diseases in the Greater Middle East, 2025, Nature Genetics,

View on PubMed

Conserved Role of FOXC1 in TNBC is parallel to FOXA1 in ER+ Breast Cancer. 2024, iScience

View on PubMed

Palbociclib releases the latent differentiation capacity of neuroblastoma cells. 2023, Dev Cell.

View on PubMed

The proneural transcription factor ASCL1 regulates cell proliferation and primes for differentiation in neuroblastoma. 2022, Front Cell Dev Biol.

View on PubMed

Tumoral heterogeneity in neuroblastoma. 2022, Biochim Biophys Acta Rev Cancer.

View on PubMed

Super-enhancer-associated core regulatory circuits mediate susceptibility to retinoic acid in neuroblastoma cells. 2022, Front Cell Dev Biol.

View on PubMed

Elevated ASCL1 activity creates de novo regulatory elements associated with neuronal differentiation, 2022, BMC Genomics

View on PubMed

Dephosphorylation of the proneural transcription factor ASCL1 re-engages a latent post-mitotic differentiation programme in neuroblastoma. 2020; Molecular Cancer Research.

View on PubMed

Neurogenin phosphorylation controls pancreatic endocrine differentiation and maintenance of β-cell identity

View on PubMed

The phosphorylation status of Ascl1 is a key determinant of neuronal differentiation and maturationin vivo and in vitro

View on PubMed

Cell cycle regulation of proliferation versus differentiation in the central nervous system

View on PubMed

Stem cells and the treatment of Parkinson's disease

View on PubMed

Post-translational modification of Ngn2 differentially affects transcription of distinct targets to regulate the balance between progenitor maintenance and differentiation

View on PubMed

Cell cycle-regulated multi-site phosphorylation of Neurogenin 2 coordinates cell cycling with differentiation during neurogenesis

View on PubMed

The SLC6A4 VNTR genotype determines transcription factor binding and epigenetic variation of this gene in response to cocaine in vitro

View on PubMed

Combinatorial interaction between two human serotonin transporter gene variable number tandem repeats and their regulation by CTCF

View on PubMed

Assessing the Impact of Genetic Variation on Transcriptional Regulation In Vitro

View on PubMed

Molecular genetics of monoamine transporters: relevance to brain disorders

View on PubMed

Research Interests

  • Molecular, epigenetic, and transcriptional mechanisms driving cancer progression and therapeutic resistance.
  • Regulation of cell identity, lineage plasticity, and differentiation states in solid tumours.
  • Chromatin remodeling and transcriptional network alterations underlying tumour heterogeneity.
  • Mechanisms enabling tumour immune evasion and their impact on immunotherapy response.
  • Identification of biomarkers to improve patient stratification and guide precision oncology.
  • Discovery and characterization of potentially druggable targets involved in tumour progression.
  • Application of CRISPR-based functional genomics, transcriptomics, and chromatin accessibility profiling to map regulatory pathways in cancer.
  • Integration of artificial intelligence with functional genomics to model resistance trajectories and personalise therapeutic strategies.
  • Hamdan Bin Mohammed College of Dental Medicine
  • Hind Bint Maktoum College of Nursing and Midwifery
  • College of Medicine
  • Research
  • Learning Resources
  • About MBRU
  • Life at MBRU
  • Media Center
  • FAQ’s
  • Faculty & Staff
  • Giving
  • A-Z Directory
  • Work @ MBRU
Reach us on 800 MBRU (6278) info@mbru.ac.ae

Building 14, Dubai Healthcare City P.O Box 505055, Dubai UAE

© Copyright MBRU 2025 All rights reserved.

Back to Dubai Health
Library Work @ MBRU Locations Contact Us
We use cookies to enhance your browsing experience. By continuing to use this site, you consent to our use of cookies in accordance with our privacy policy.