Mohamed Abou El-Enein

I am currently Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine, Pediatrics, and Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. I also serve as a Teaching Assistant in clinical research at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Instructor in Translational Medicine and Regulatory Science at the Berlin-Brandenburg School for Regenerative Therapies (BSRT). My primary research interests focus on the development and clinical translation of cell and gene therapies. I am also a strong advocate for policies that improve the access to novel biotechnologies to confront global health issues.

Recently, the development of regenerative medicine applications, including stem cell-based therapies, has been rapidly advancing and this has led to an increase in the unregulated stem cell treatments that are offered to desperate patients without proof of safety and efficacy (referred to as stem cell tourism). This has been facilitated by the absence of internationally harmonized regulatory frameworks that govern research and clinical use of these products, especially in the Arab countries. My aim is to establish a transnational network that advocate new forms of research regulation, ethical standards and increase public awareness across the Arab nations in the field of regenerative medicine by using Germany as a role model.