Dr Abdelhadi Saoudi

Country: France

Institution: INSERM

Research Areas: Immunology, Autoimmunity, Cancer and transplantation

Lab Website: www.cptp.inserm.fr/equipes-de-recherche-2/equipe-5-r-liblau-a-saoudi

The team “inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system: mechanisms and therapies” headed by Dr Abdelhadi Saoudi has a long-time standing interest in the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) with a central focus on multiple sclerosis (MS). Current therapies can prevent the appearance of new lesions, but they have much less effect on disease progression. There is therefore an urgent need for the identification of new therapeutic targets in MS. A comprehensive understanding of MS etiology and of pathways leading to disease could provide rational bases for developing new treatments. Our team studies the pathophysiology of MS and other neurological disorders by developing experimental animal models aimed at understanding the immune mechanisms underlying CNS autoimmunity. We also decipher the basic mechanisms involved in the control of human immune cell functions and study these in patients with chronic inflammatory diseases. In a parallel translational approach, we aim at identifying new biomarkers that could be useful for the care of people with MS under disease-modifying therapies and new therapeutic targets in several CNS inflammatory diseases such as narcolepsy. The cross-fertilization between information drawn from animal experiments and clinical research should ensure the relevance of the new knowledge.