Amin Ghabrial, PhD

  • Associate Professor of Pathology & Cell Biology at CUMC
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Overview

Dr. Ghabrial earned his Ph.D. at Princeton University in the Department of Molecular Biology in the laboratory of Dr. Trudi Schüpbach. His graduate work focused on the checkpoint-dependent coupling of double stranded DNA break repair during meiosis to the establishment of axial polarity in the fruitfly during oogenesis. Dr. Ghabrial did his postdoctoral work with Dr. Mark Krasnow in the Department of Biochemistry at Stanford University. His postdoctoral work focused on the design and completion of a saturation-scale screen for tube morphogenesis genes required during the development of the tracheal (respiratory) system.

Dr. Ghabrial started his own group at the University of Pennsylvania in 2008. His group published studies on the role of the Rab35GAP, Whacked/TBC1D10, in the polarization of seamless tube growth, the role of endocytosis in shaping seamless tubes, and on the role of Drosophila CCM3 and its binding partner Wheezy/GckIII in regulating seamless tube shape. The human ortholog of CCM3 (Cerebral Cavernous Malformations 3) is one of three genes known to be affected in cases of familial cerebral cavernous malformations. Cerebral angiomas are found in as many as 1 in every 200 individuals, and is currently treated by brain surgery. The work of the Ghabrial lab has been supported by grants from the March of Dimes, the American Cancer Society and the NIH.

Dr. Ghabrial moved to Columbia in July of 2017 and is currently focusing on the regulation of tube morphogenesis using novel optogenetic tools, as well as the further elaboration of the CCM3/GckIII pathway.

Email: asg2236@cumc.columbia.edu

Academic Appointments

  • Associate Professor of Pathology & Cell Biology at CUMC

Gender

  • Male

Credentials & Experience

Education & Training

  • AB, Biology/English Literature, Washington University - St. Louis
  • PhD, 2000 Molecular Biology, Princeton University

Honors & Awards

1985-1989 National Merit Scholar

1985-1989 Semcor Scholarship

1989 A.B, Washington University cum laude

2000-2003 NIH NRSA postdoctoral fellowship

2009 McCabe Fellow

2009-2011 Basil O’Connor Scholar of the March of Dimes

2013-2017 Research Scholar of the American Cancer Society

Research

Selected Publications

  • Hudson J, Paul S, Veraksa A, Ghabrial A, Harvey KF, Poon C. NDR kinase tricornered genetically interacts with Ccm3 and metabolic enzymes in Drosophila melanogaster tracheal development. G3 (Bethesda). 2023 Mar 9;13(3):jkad013. doi: 10.1093/g3journal/jkad013. PMID: 36653023; PMCID: PMC9997570
  • Antwi-Adjei E, Burguete AS, Ghabrial AS. Furry is a component of the CCM3-GCKIII signaling pathway. Vessel Plus 2021;5:35. http://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2574-1209.2021.48
  • Schweizer Burguete AB, Ghabrial AS. Dissection of the Role of CCM Genes in Tubulogenesis Using the Drosophila Tracheal System as a Model. Methods Mol Biol. 2020;2152:179-189. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-0640-7_14. PMID: 32524553.
  • Burguete A.S., Francis, D., Rosa, J., and Ghabrial, A.S. (2019) The regulation of cell size and branch complexity in the terminal cells of the Drosophila tracheal system. Developmental Biology 451: 79-85.
  • Poon, C.L.C., Liu, W., Song, Y., Gomez, M., Kulaberoglu, Y., Zhang, X., Xu, W.,Verasksa, A., Hergovich, A., Ghabrial, AS*. and Harvey, K.F.* (2018) A Hippo-like signaling pathway controls tracheal development in Drosophila melanogaster. Developmental Cell 47: 564-75. *Co-Senior PIs.
  • Rosa, J. and Ghabrial, A.S. (2018) An Ichor-dependent apical extracellular matrix regulates seamless tube shape and integrity. PLoS Genetics 14(1):e1007146.
  • Francis, D. and Ghabrial, A.S. (2015) Compensatory branching morphogenesis of stalk cells in the Drosophila trachea. Development 142: 2048-2057.
  • Schottenfeld-Roames, J., Rosa, J. and Ghabrial, A.S. (2014) Seamless tube shape is constrained by endocytosis-dependent regulation of active Moesin. Current Biology 24(15): 1756-64.
  • Song Y, Eng M, and Ghabrial, A.S. (2013) Focal Defects in Single-Celled Tubes Mutant for Cerebral Cavernous Malformation 3, GCKIII, or NSF2. Developmental Cell 25(5):507-19.
  • Schottenfeld-Roames J and Ghabrial, A.S. (2012) Whacked and Rab35 polarize dynein-motor-complex-dependent seamless tube growth. Nature Cell Biology 14(4): 386-93.
  • Ghabrial, A.S., Levi, B.P., and Krasnow, M.A. (2011) A systematic screen for tube morphogenesis and branching genes in the Drosophila tracheal system. PLoS Genetics 7(7): e1002087.
  • Ghabrial, A.S., and Krasnow, M.A. (2006) Social interactions among epithelial cells during tracheal branching morphogenesis. Nature 441: 746-9.
  • Leading Edge summary: R.P. Kruger (2006) In Migration, Its Lead, Follow, or Get out of the Way. Cell 125: 1211.
  • Levi, B.P., Ghabrial, A.S., and Krasnow, M.A. (2006) Drosophila talin and integrin genes are required for maintenance of tracheal terminal branches and luminal organization. Development 133: 2383-93.
  • Abdu, U*., Gonzalez-Reyes, A*., Ghabrial, A.S., and Schüpbach, T. (2003) The Drosophila spn-D gene encodes a RAD51C-like protein that is required exclusively during meiosis. Genetics 165: 197-204.
  • Ghabrial, A.S. and Schüpbach, T. (1999) Activation of a meiotic checkpoint regulates translation of Gurken during Drosophila oogenesis. Nat Cell Biol. 1:354-7
  • News and Views article: Gonzalez-Reyes, A. (1999) DNA repair and pattern formation come together. Nature Cell Biology 1, E150 - E152.
  • Ghabrial, A.S., Ray, R.P., and Schüpbach, T. (1998) okra and spindle-B encode components of the RAD52 DNA repair pathway and affect meiosis and patterning in Drosophila oogenesis. Genes & Development 12: 2711-23.
  • Queenan, A.M., Ghabrial, A.S., and Schüpbach, T. (1997) Ectopic activation of torpedo/Egfr, a Drosophila receptor tyrosine kinase, dorsalizes both the eggshell and the embryo. Development 124: 3871-80.