Mohamed Salama, MD, PhD, is the recipient of the 2016 SOT Translational/Bridging Travel Award. Dr. Salama’s passion and dedication to bridge the divide between basic and clinical research and to further the field of translational research is clearly evidenced through his many contributions to this field. Dr. Salama obtained his Medical Degree in 1999 from Mansoura University, Egypt. There he began his clinical training and shortly thereafter started his post as clinical toxicologist at Mansoura University Poison Control Center.
Mohamed Salama is the Recipient of the 2016 SOT Translational/Bridging Award
He received his MSc in Toxicology in 2006, and through a German Academic Exchange Service (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst, DAAD) scholarship, his PhD degree in Neurotoxicology in 2011 through collaboration with Philipps University in Marburg, Germany. Upon returning to Egypt, he realized that there was a large gap between basic neurotoxicology research and the clinical field. Translational initiatives were totally absent. Either one was a neuroscientist in a closed lab, or a neurologist busy with patients.
Dr. Salama established the first Experimental Neurology Unit in Egypt, resulting in published findings in international journals and invited presentations. His research on strategies that protect nerve cells from dying in Parkinson’s disease received recognition, including the best research in Egypt for the year 2013, the best presentation in neurology at the International Student Congress of Medical Sciences (ISCOMS) in 2012, and Misr El-Kheir Foundation (MEK) international publications award in 2013. Following his success, many students became interested in experimental neurology and his program has since grown.
Continuing to close the gap between basic and clinical neurotoxicology, he established relationships with clinicians in the neurology field by focusing on translational research projects and by funding from international organizations. In his third year of a DAAD-funded project (230,000 Euros), Dr. Salama is trying to evaluate the environment-gene interaction in Parkinson’s disease. These studies bring together basic neurotoxicologists, clinical neurologists, and geneticists in one project.
Dr. Salama was selected as an SOT Global Senior Scholar in 2013 and was hosted by Dr. M.B. Abou-Donia of Duke University. Through their collaboration, he was able to establish the first Translational Neurotoxicology Fellowship degree in Egypt at Mansoura University.