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Dr. Ebrahim earned his bachelor's degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the College of Pharmacy at Helwan University, Egypt, where he also completed his master's degree in the same field. He then got his Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmacy from the University of Louisiana Monroe, United States. His PhD research work focused on developing bioactive molecules derived from natural sources, including plants, fungi, mushrooms, lichens, and marine organisms, to inhibit breast cancer progression in preclinical models.

Dr. Ebrahim began his academic career as an Assistant Professor at the College of Pharmacy, Helwan University, where he later advanced to the rank of Associate Professor. He also worked as a postdoctoral research fellow in Dr. El Sayed’s lab at the University of Louisiana Monroe, focusing on anti-prostate cancer drug discovery from natural products. Currently, Dr. Ebrahim serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM), University of Louisiana Monroe.
 

Education

Research Interests

Nature has long been, and will undoubtedly remain, a crucial source of innovation in drug discovery. Natural products and their derivatives constitute a significant portion of FDA-approved drugs, particularly in oncology and infectious disease treatment. My research group leverages extensive expertise in molecular pharmacology and medicinal chemistry to develop anticancer lead compounds and potential drug candidates. We isolate and characterize bioactive metabolites from various natural sources, including lichens, plants, fungi, and marine organisms. Currently, my research focuses on developing natural product-based lead compounds for targeting solid tumors. Among the promising proto-oncogene targets in cancer therapy, receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) have emerged as a key focus, with c-Met being a particularly viable candidate for investigation. c-Met, also known as the hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) receptor, plays a pivotal role in the initiation and progression of multiple cancers, including breast and prostate. c-Met/HGF signaling pathway regulates key cellular processes such as proliferation, migration, invasion, survival, and angiogenesis, all of which contribute to cancer development and metastasis. Given its involvement in tumorigenesis and drug resistance, my research group is focusing on discovering natural product-based c-Met modulators for the control of Met-addicted malignancies.

Selected publications

• Tarun, M.T.I.; Elsayed, H.E.; Ebrahim, H. Y.; El Sayed, K.A. The Olive Oil Phenolic S-(-)-Oleocanthal Suppresses Colorectal Cancer Progression and Recurrence by Modulating SMYD2-EZH2 and c-MET Activation. Nutrients, 2025, 17, 397.
• Ethar A. Mudhish, Ebrahim, H.Y., Iman E. Helal, Abdullah T. Alhowiriny, and Khalid A. El Sayed. Cannabidiol Suppresses Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Progression and Recurrence through Modulating Tryptophan Catabolism. ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science 2024, 7(12), 3902-3913.
• Sweilem B. Al Rihani, Khaled H. Elfakhri, Ebrahim, H. Y., Nour F. Al-Ghraiybah, Amer E. Alkhalifa, Khalid A.El Sayed, and Amal Kaddoumi. The Usnic Acid Analogue 4-FPBUA Enhances the Blood–Brain Barrier Function and Induces Autophagy in Alzheimer’s Disease Mouse Models. ACS Chemical Neuroscience 2024 15(17), 
  3152-3167.
• Oliver C. McGehee, Ebrahim, H. Y., Ashkan H. Rad, Khaldoun S. Abdelwahed, Ethar A. Mudhish, Judy A. King, Iman E. Helal, Sharon A. Meyer; Khalid A. El Sayed. Towards Developing Novel Prostate Cancer Recurrence Suppressors: Acute Toxicity of Pseurotin A, an Orally Active PCSK9 Axis-Targeting Small-Molecule in Swiss Albino Mice. Molecules 2023, 28, 1460.
• Abdelwahed, Khaldoun S., Abu Bakar Siddique, Ebrahim, H. Y., Mohammed H. Qusa, Ethar A. Mudhish, Ashkan H. Rad, Mourad Zerfaoui, Zakaria Y. Abd Elmageed, and Khalid A. El Sayed. Pseurotin A Validation as a Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Recurrence-Suppressing Lead via PCSK9-LDLR Axis Modulation. Marine Drugs 2023, 21, 4, 215.
• Ebrahim, H. Y., Mohamed S Mady, Hanaa B Atya, Sahar A Ali, Heba E Elsayed, Fatma A Moharram. Melaleuca rugulosa (Link) Craven Tannins: Appraisal of anti-inflammatory, radical scavenging activities, and molecular modeling studies. J Ethnopharmacol, 2022, 298, 115596.
• El Sayed, KA; Siddique, AB, Ebrahim, H.Y. Oleocanthal Isolation and Cancer Treatment. US Patent number 10945983, 2021.
• Halawa, A. H.; Elgammal, W. E.; Hassan, S. M.; Hassan, A. H.; Nassar, H. S.; Ebrahim, H. Y.; Mehany, El-Agrody, A. M. Synthesis, anticancer evaluation and molecular docking studies of new heterocycles linked to sulfonamide moiety as novel human topoisomerase types I and II poisons. Bioorganic Chem. 2020, 98, 103725.
  Elsayed, H. E; Ebrahim, H. Y., Haggag, E. G.; Kamal, A. M.; El Sayed, K. A. Rationally designed hecogenin thiosemicarbazone analogs as novel MEK inhibitors for the control of breast malignancies. Bioorg. Med. Chem. 2017, 25 (24), 6297-6312.
• Ebrahim, H.Y.; Mohyeldin, M. M.; Hailat, M. M.; El Sayed, K. A. (1S,2E,4S,7E,11E)-2,7,11-Cembratriene-4,6-diol semisynthetic analogs as novel c-Met inhibitors for the control of c-Met-dependent breast malignancies. Bioorg. Med. Chem. 2016, doi:10.1016/ j.bmc.2016.09.032
• Ebrahim, H.Y.; El Sayed, K. A. Discovery of novel antiangiogenic marine natural product scaffolds. Mar. Drugs 2016, 14, 57.
• Ebrahim, H.Y.; Elsayed, H. E.; Mohyeldin, M. M.; Akl, M. R.; Bhattacharjee, J.; Egbert, S.; El Sayed, K. A. Norstictic acid inhibits breast cancer cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and in vivo invasive growth through targeting c-Met. Phytother. Res. 2016, 60, 557-566