Omaima Sabek

Omaima Sabek, PhD

Associate Research Professor of Surgery, Academic Institute
Associate Research Member, Research Institute
Houston Methodist
Weill Cornell Medical College


Biography

Dr. Sabek Recieved her PhD from University College London. After completion of her postdoctoral training, Dr. Sabek received dual appointments as an Assistant Professor in the College of Nursing and Department of Surgery at the University of Tennessee in Memphis, Tennessee. She has collaborated on several NIH-funded research grants and published over 30 peer-reviewed papers. Dr. Sabek joined The Methodist Hospital Research Institute in 2007.

Description of Research

Over the last 15 years; as the Director of Quality Assurance & Control of the Islet Transplant Laboratory; I have focused on research involving pancreatic islet biology as well as examining the potential of human Mesenchymal stem cells in the treatment of diabetes. At the Houston Methodist J.C. Walter Jr. Transplant Center, I have been heavily involved in human islet isolation and transplantation. In our center, we have isolated human islets from over 420 cadaver donors. I design and perform experiments aimed at improving human pancreatic islet recovery, engraftment, and function, accounting for donor variables, isolation methods, and islet preservation. Moreover, my group has identified a gene expression profile that can predict islet function, specifically measuring the expression of those genes over 2 weeks of culture using microarray analysis. Identifying and validating this set of genes has been advantageous in developing a potency assay for screening human islet preparations before clinical transplant and in devising strategies for potentially improving post-transplant functionality. In our center, we’ve performed 15 islets auto-transplants for patients with chronic pancreatitis and one allo-transplant, which resulted in a Case report publication, the first in the literature to demonstrate islet de-differentiation in patients with chronic pancreatitis without established diabetes. Building upon my research in pancreatic islet biology, I have recently been investigating the role and potential mechanism underlying the actions of the bone hormone osteocalcin in early diabetes and its role in restoring beta cell identity. My work has been funded continuously for the last 8 years from multiple foundations (The Brown Foundation and the Vivian L. Smith Foundation) and earlier by an NIH funded grants “Impact of standardization and procedure optimization on islet isolation”.

Areas Of Expertise

Diabetes Islet cell transplantation Allograft rejection Osteocalcin Functional genomics
Education & Training

Postdoctoral Fellowship, Department of Biochemistry, University of Tennessee, Memphis, TN
PhD, University College London
Publications

Osteocalcin protects islet identity in low-density lipoprotein receptor knockout mice on high-fat diet
Beamish, CA, Lee, YK, Gaber, AO, Chanana, P, Graviss, EA, Kloc, M, Gaber, MW, Hsueh, WA & Sabek, OM 2024, , Journal of Endocrinology, vol. 261, no. 1. https://doi.org/10.1530/JOE-23-0352

High variability in short and long-term recovery kinetic of blood cell count and blood chemistry in a partial body irradiation mouse model
Tang, TT, Zawaski, JA, Sabek, OM & Gaber, MW 2024, , International Journal of Radiation Biology. https://doi.org/10.1080/09553002.2024.2304833

Pretransplant HOMA-ß Is Predictive of Insulin Independence in 7 Patients With Chronic Pancreatitis Undergoing Islet Autotransplantation
Beamish, CA, Gaber, AO, Fraga, DW, Hamilton, DJ & Sabek, OM 2022, , Transplantation Direct, vol. 8, no. 10, pp. E1367. https://doi.org/10.1097/TXD.0000000000001367

Biomarkers of Diabetes in Kidney Transplant Recipients
Sabek, O 2022, .

The osteocalcin and beta-cell maturity
Sabek, O 2022, .

Human pancreatic microenvironment promotes ß-cell differentiation via non-canonical WNT5A/JNK and BMP signaling
Chmielowiec, J, Szlachcic, WJ, Yang, D, Scavuzzo, MA, Wamble, K, Sarrion-Perdigones, A, Sabek, OM, Venken, KJT & Borowiak, M 2022, , Nature Communications, vol. 13, no. 1, 1952, pp. 1952. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-29646-1

From Mesenchymal Stromal/Stem Cells to Insulin-Producing Cells: Immunological Considerations
Refaie, AF, Elbassiouny, BL, Kloc, M, Sabek, OM, Khater, SM, Ismail, AM, Mohamed, RH & Ghoneim, MA 2021, , Frontiers in immunology, vol. 12, 690623, pp. 690623. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2021.690623

NF-?B Blockade by NEMO Binding Domain Peptide Ameliorates Inflammation and Neurobehavioral Sequelae After Cranial Radiation Therapy in Juvenile Mice
Beamish, CA, Zawaski, JA, Inoue, T, Sarkar, P, Grosshans, DR, Sabek, OM & Gaber, MW 2021, , International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics, vol. 109, no. 5, pp. 1508-1520. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrobp.2020.11.067

Cognitive and Imaging Differences After Proton and Photon Whole Brain Irradiation in a Preclinical Model
Tang, TT, Zawaski, JA, Kesler, S, Beamish, CA, Inoue, T, Perez, EC, Bronk, L, Poenisch, F, Briere, TM, Sabek, OM, Grosshans, DR & Waleed Gaber, M 2022, , International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics, vol. 112, no. 2, pp. 554-564. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrobp.2021.09.005

NF-?B Blockade by NEMO Binding Domain Peptide Ameliorates Inflammation and Neurobehavioral Sequelae After Cranial Radiation Therapy in Juvenile Mice
Beamish, CA, Zawaski, JA, Inoue, T, Sarkar, P, Grosshans, DR, Sabek, OM & Gaber, MW 2021, , International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics, vol. 109, no. 5, pp. 1508-1520. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrobp.2020.11.067

Novel Silicon Titanium Diboride Micropatterned Substrates for Cellular Patterning
Friguglietti, J, Das, S, Le, P, Fraga, D, Quintela, M, Gazze, SA, McPhail, D, Gu, J, Sabek, O, Gaber, AO, Francis, LW, Zagozdzon-Wosik, W & Merchant, FA 2020, , Biomaterials, vol. 244, 119927, pp. 119927. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2020.119927

Tead1 reciprocally regulates adult ß-cell proliferation and function
Lee, J, Liu, R, Kim, BS, Zhang, Y, Li, F, Jagannathan, R, Yang, P, Negi, V, Perez-Garcia, EM, Saha, PK, Sabek, O, Coarfa, C, Creighton, CJ, Huising, MO, Bottino, R, Ma, K, Moulik, M & Yechoor, VK 2020, , bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.03.05.979450

Serum C-peptide and osteocalcin levels in children with recently diagnosed diabetes
Sabek, OM, Redondo, MJ, Nguyen, DT, Beamish, CA, Fraga, DW, Hampe, CS, Mulukutla, SN, Graviss, EA & Gaber, AO 2020, , Endocrinology, diabetes & metabolism, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. e00104. https://doi.org/10.1002/edm2.104

Tead1 reciprocally regulates adult ß-cell proliferation and function
Sabek, O 2020, , bioRxiv preprint. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.03.05.979450

Serum C-peptide and osteocalcin levels in children with recently diagnosed diabetes
Sabek, OM, Redondo, MJ, Nguyen, DT, Beamish, CA, Fraga, DW, Hampe, CS, Mulukutla, SN, Graviss, EA & Gaber, AO 2020, , Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, vol. 3, no. 1, e00104. https://doi.org/10.1002/edm2.104

Islet Identity in Transplantation Procedures: The Intersection of Cellular Maturity and Function
Beamish, CA & Sabek, OM 2019, , OBM Transplantation, vol. 3, no. 1. https://doi.org/10.21926/obm.transplant.1901055

A comprehensive preclinical assessment of late-term imaging markers of radiation-induced brain injury
Tang, TT, Zawaski, JA, Kesler, SR, Beamish, CA, Reddick, WE, Glass, JO, Carney, DH, Sabek, OM, Grosshans, DR & Gaber, MW 2019, , Neuro-Oncology Advances, vol. 1, no. 1, vdz012. https://doi.org/10.1093/noajnl/vdz012

Islet Identity in Transplantation Procedures: The Intersection of Cellular Maturity and Function
Beamish, CA & Sabek, O 2019, , OBM Transplantation , vol. 3, no. 1. https://doi.org/10.21926/obm.transplant.1901055

Cross-sectional evaluation of the relationship between Vitamin D status and supplement use across levels of kidney function in adults
Moore, LW, Suki, WN, Lunsford, KE, Sabek, OM, Knight, RJ & Gaber, AO 2019, , BMJ open, vol. 9, no. 2, e022471. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-022471

Differentiation of Heterogeneous Radiation Exposure Using Hematology and Blood Chemistry
Gaber, MW, Rodgers, SP, Tang, TT, Sabek, O & Zawaski, JA 2019, , Radiation Research, vol. 193, no. 1, pp. 24-33. https://doi.org/10.1667/RR15411.1