Dr. Al-Shabrawey received his MBBCH (M.D.) from medical school at Mansoura University, Egypt in 1988. He then received his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Anatomical Sciences from the same institute in 1994 and 1999 respectively. Dr. Al-Shabrawey continued his education and research training by joining the Vascular Biology Center at Medical College of Georgia first as a predoctoral fellows between 1996-1998, and then as a postdoctoral fellow in 2002. During his fellowship training at MCG, he developed his research interest in studying the molecular and cellular mechanisms of neurovascular injury in retinal diseases such as diabetic retinopathy, retinopathy of prematurity and age-related macular degeneration. Prior to joining OUWB, Dr. Al-Shabrawey held the position of Professor at Dental and Medical Colleges of Georgia, Augusta University where he directed the craniofacial complex and neuroscience courses and established a strong research portfolio in the area of Vision Sciences and Ophthalmology. 

Dr. Al-Shabrawey taught anatomical sciences to medical and dental students for several years with a special focus on the anatomy of craniofacial complex and neuroscience. He also mentored several undergraduate, graduate and medical students as well as postdoctoral fellows throughout his research career.

Dr. Al-Shabrawey also serves as a reviewer to several funding agencies including NIH, American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association, Diabetes-UK etc., and a reviewer for several journals.  

Dr. Al-Shabrawey joined Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine in August of 2021 as a Professor in the Department of Foundational Medical Studies and a Founding Director of the Eye Research Center; He is a Professor in Eye Research Institute,  a V. Everett Kinsey Endowed Professor and the director of the Eye Research Institute as well.

Dr. Darwish received his M.S and MB.B.CH education from Mansoura University, Egypt, and his Ph.D. education from College of Pharmacy and Health Science, Albany, NY-Medical school, Mansoura University, Egypt, double channel program.

Dr. Darwish has the following experiences:

- Diagnosis of different hematological disorder, leukemia, lymphoma, and targeted therapy approaches.

- Establishing animal models for leukemia, and sickle cell anemia to establish new targeting strategies.

- Cancer cell culture, human embryonic stem cell research, nano-medicine (in vivo and in vitro analysis), angiogenesis, development of animal models for cancer, detection by in vivo imaging in live mice, IVIS and confocal microscopy, molecular studies and flowcytometry

- Genomic instability of cancer and cell cycle – temperature sensitive suspension cancer cell culture, flowcytometry, fluorescence microscopy and FISH analysis

- Cytogenetic studies of genetic disorders and genetic counseling – white blood cell culture and microscopy

Dr. Darwish's present research here at ERI, OUWB is devoted to study the platelet/ endothelium interaction in diabetic retinopathy and to find specific pathways that play an important role in this interaction. He has been involved in the in vitro studies, animal models, and bio-assays required in the proposed studies including flowcytometry, blotting techniques and PCR.

Julia Humble received a Bachelor of Science degree from Liberty University with a major in Biomedical Sciences and a minor in Psychology. She worked as a student researcher in the lab of Dr. Jeong-Ho Kim, where she investigated the cellular mechanisms of glucose metabolism in yeast.  At Liberty University, she also worked as a teaching assistant for undergraduate genetics and histology labs, where she developed a passion for teaching and laboratory research. 

Julia is a research assistant at the Eye Research Institute. Her research primarily focuses on the role of Bone Morphogenetic Proteins (BMPs) in retinal endothelial cells. She investigates the role of BMP signaling in the development of diabetic retinopathy, specifically the breakdown of the blood-retinal-barrier, and neovascularization. Her research utilizes cell lines, mouse models, and human samples, and specializes in the techniques of western blotting, immunofluorescence, and histology. 

Maria Ghishan graduated from Michigan State University with honors in human biology. During her undergraduate years, she had the opportunity to work as a teaching assistant for chemistry and biology courses, which ignited her passion for pursuing new knowledge through science and research. 

She is currently on a premedical track, and her aspiration is to become an oncologist, where she can combine her passion for research with her commitment to providing compassionate patient care.   

Nandini Koneru received a Bachelor of Science degree from Michigan State University with a major in Human Biology and minors in Global Public Health & Epidemiology and Entrepreneurship & Innovation. She worked as a project manager in a research lab studying family-based weight loss intervention, in addition to working as a patient care technician at Sparrow Hospital.

At the Eye Research Institute, she hopes to explore her interest in ophthalmology research. Her research focuses on the molecular and cellular mechanisms of diabetic retinopathy, specifically the role of bone morphogenetic proteins in the breakdown of the blood-retinal barrier and neovascularization.

Gieth Alahdab is a medical graduate from Syria. 

With a strong foundation in clinical medicine and a growing interest in academic research. He is dedicated to advancing medical knowledge through evidence-based investigation.