Alireza Faridar VIEW CLINICAL PROFILE

Alireza Faridar, MD

Stanley H. Appel Chair in Translational Neuroscience, Stanley H. Appel Department of Neurology
Associate Professor of Neurology, Academic Institute
Associate Member, Research Institute
Houston Methodist
Weill Cornell Medical College


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Biography

After graduation from medical school in 2008, Dr. Faridar gained extensive experiences of running translational research projects as a research fellow and post-doctoral scholar in prestigious institutes in Europe and the USA. His effort as a post-doctoral research scholar in neuroscience department at UCSF culminated in developing a new blood biomarker in Autism. In 2013, Dr. Faridar joined the Neurology Residency Program at the Houston Methodist Neurological Institute. During his residency and subsequent fellowship, he worked on Alzheimer’s disease under the mentorship of Drs. Joseph Masdeu and Stanley H. Appel. He is particularly interested in evaluating the inflammation and potential immunotherapy in Alzheimer disease. Dr. Faridar is a recipient of the prestigious “BrightFocus Alzheimer Disease Research Fellowship” and “Alzheimer’s Association Part-The-Cloud” Awards and has published over 26 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters.

Description of Research

Inflammation is a significant component of neurodegenerative disorder including Alzheimer’s disease. From his research during residency through to his current role as assistant professor of neurology, Dr. Faridar has assessed inflammatory signaling cascades in neurodegenerative process. One of his major contributions in this area is studying the status of the adaptive immune system in Alzheimer’s disease and its role as a potential therapeutic target. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) play a neuroprotective role by suppressing microglia/macrophage-mediated inflammation and modulating adaptive immune reactions. Dr. Faridar and his team observed that Tregs of Alzheimer’s disease patients lose their ability to suppress inflammation. However, these dysfunctional Tregs might be a restorable therapeutic target. Based on this finding, Dr. Faridar and his team are conducting a phase I/IIa study to assess the safety and potential efficacy of an in vivo Treg expansion strategy in Alzheimer’s disease patients with promising preliminary findings.

Publications

A phase 1 open-label pilot study of low-dose interleukine-2 immunotherapy in patients with Alzheimer’s disease
Faridar, A, Eid, AM, Thome, AD, Zhao, W, Beers, DR, Pascual, MB, Nakawah, MO, Roman, GC, Davis, CS, Grundman, M, Masdeu, JC & Appel, SH 2023, , Translational Neurodegeneration, vol. 12, no. 1, 54, pp. 54. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40035-023-00387-5

A phase 1 open-label pilot study of low-dose interleukine-2 immunotherapy in patients with Alzheimer's disease
Faridar, A, Eid, AM, Thome, AD, Zhao, W, Beers, DR, Pascual, MB, Nakawah, MO, Roman, GC, Davis, CS, Grundman, M, Masdeu, JC & Appel, SH 2023, , Translational Neurodegeneration, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 54. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40035-023-00387-5

Neuroinflammation co-localizes highly with tau in amnestic mild cognitive impairment
Appleton, J, Funk, Q, Bradbury, K, Yu, M, Faridar, A, Beers, D, Appel, SH, Fujita, M, Masdeu, JC & Pascual, B 2022, , Alzheimers and Dementia, vol. 18, no. S1, e068025. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.068025

Ex vivo expanded human regulatory T cells modify neuroinflammation in a preclinical model of Alzheimer’s disease
Faridar, A, Vasquez, M, Thome, AD, Yin, Z, Xuan, H, Wang, JH, Wen, S, Li, X, Thonhoff, JR, Zhao, W, Zhao, H, Beers, DR, Wong, STC, Masdeu, JC & Appel, SH 2022, , Acta Neuropathologica Communications, vol. 10, no. 1, 144. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40478-022-01447-z

Extracellular Vesicles Derived From Ex Vivo Expanded Regulatory T Cells Modulate In Vitro and In Vivo Inflammation
Thome, AD, Thonhoff, JR, Zhao, W, Faridar, A, Wang, J, Beers, DR & Appel, SH 2022, , Frontiers in immunology, vol. 13, 875825, pp. 875825. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2022.875825

Tregs Attenuate Peripheral Oxidative Stress and Acute Phase Proteins in ALS
Beers, DR, Thonhoff, JR, Faridar, A, Thome, AD, Zhao, W, Wen, S & Appel, SH 2022, , Annals of Neurology, vol. 92, no. 2, pp. 195-200. https://doi.org/10.1002/ana.26375

Ex vivo expansion of dysfunctional regulatory T lymphocytes restores suppressive function in Parkinson’s disease
Thome, AD, Atassi, F, Wang, J, Faridar, A, Zhao, W, Thonhoff, JR, Beers, DR, Lai, EC & Appel, SH 2021, , npj Parkinsons Disease, vol. 7, no. 1, 41, pp. 41. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41531-021-00188-5

Neuroinflammation is highest in areas of disease progression in semantic dementia
Pascual, B, Funk, Q, Zanotti Fregonara, P, Cykowski, MD, Veronese, M, Rockers, E, Bradbury, K, Yu, M, Nakawah, MO, Román, GC, Schulz, PE, Arumanayagam, AS, Beers, D, Faridar, A, Fujita, M, Appel, SH & Masdeu, JC 2021, , Brain, vol. 144, no. 5, pp. 1565-1575. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awab057

Neuroinflammation is highest in areas of disease progression in semantic dementia
Pascual, B, Funk, Q, Zanotti-Fregonara, P, Cykowski, MD, Veronese, M, Rockers, E, Bradbury, K, Yu, M, Nakawah, MO, Román, GC, Schulz, PE, Arumanayagam, AS, Beers, D, Faridar, A, Fujita, M, Appel, SH & Masdeu, JC 2021, , Brain, vol. 144, no. 5, pp. 1565-1575. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awab057

Serum programmed cell death proteins in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Beers, DR, Zhao, W, Thonhoff, JR, Faridar, A, Thome, AD, Wen, S, Wang, J & Appel, SH 2021, , Brain, behavior, & immunity - health, vol. 12, 100209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbih.2021.100209, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbih.2021.100209

Serum programmed cell death proteins in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Beers, DR, Zhao, W, Thonhoff, JR, Faridar, A, Thome, AD, Wen, S, Wang, J & Appel, SH 2021, , Brain, Behavior, and Immunity - Health, vol. 12, 100209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbih.2021.100209

Elevated acute phase proteins reflect peripheral inflammation and disease severity in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Beers, DR, Zhao, W, Neal, DW, Thonhoff, JR, Thome, AD, Faridar, A, Wen, S, Wang, J & Appel, SH 2020, , Scientific Reports, vol. 10, no. 1, 15295, pp. 15295. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-72247-5

Immunosuppressive Functions of M2 Macrophages Derived from iPSCs of Patients with ALS and Healthy Controls
Zhao, W, Beers, DR, Thonhoff, JR, Thome, AD, Faridar, A, Wang, J, Wen, S, Ornelas, L, Sareen, D, Goodridge, HS, Svendsen, CN & Appel, SH 2020, , iScience, vol. 23, no. 6, 101192. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2020.101192

Restoring regulatory T-cell dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease through ex vivo expansion
Faridar, A, Thome, AD, Zhao, W, Thonhoff, JR, Beers, DR, Pascual, B, Masdeu, JC & Appel, SH 2020, , Brain communications, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. fcaa112. https://doi.org/10.1093/braincomms/fcaa112

Restoring regulatory T-cell dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease through ex vivo expansion
Faridar, A, Thome, AD, Zhao, W, Thonhoff, JR, Beers, DR, Pascual, B, Masdeu, JC & Appel, SH 2020, , Brain Communications, vol. 2, no. 2, fcaa112. https://doi.org/10.1093/braincomms/fcaa112

Influence of a modified preservation solution in kidney transplantation: A comparative experimental study in a porcine model
Golriz, M, Fonouni, H, Kuttymuratov, G, Esmaeilzadeh, M, Rad, MT, Jarahian, P, Longerich, T, Faridar, A, Abbasi, S, Mehrabi, A & Gebhard, MM 2017, , Asian Journal of Surgery, vol. 40, no. 2, pp. 106-115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asjsur.2015.07.001

Evaluation of the modified HTK solution in pancreas transplantation - An experimental model
Esmaeilzadeh, M, Fonouni, H, Golriz, M, Majlesara, A, Kuttymuratov, G, Bergmann, F, Jarahian, P, Khazaeipour, Z, Faridar, A, Rad, MT, Longerich, T, Gebhard, MM & Mehrabi, A 2016, , Asian Journal of Surgery, vol. 39, no. 2, pp. 66-73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asjsur.2015.03.017

Long-term follow-up of kidney transplant recipients with polycystic kidney disease
Mehrabi, A, Golriz, M, Maier, J, Fonouni, H, Garoussi, C, Hafezi, M, Fard, N, Faridar, A, Rezaei, N, Wiesel, M, Mieth, M, Morath, C, Büchler, MW, Tönshoff, B, Zeier, M, Schmidt, J & Schemmer, P 2015, , Experimental and Clinical Transplantation, vol. 13, no. 5, pp. 413-420. https://doi.org/10.6002/ect.2014.0041

Is microdialysis useful for early detection of acute rejection after kidney transplantation?
Fonouni, H, Golriz, M, Majlesara, A, Faridar, A, Esmaeilzadeh, M, Jarahian, P, Tahmasbi Rad, M, Hafezi, M, Garoussi, C, Macher-Goeppinger, S, Longerich, T, Orakcioglu, B, Sakowitz, OW & Mehrabi, A 2015, , International Journal of Surgery, vol. 18, pp. 88-94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsu.2015.03.024

Mapk/Erk activation in an animal model of social deficits shows a possible link to autism
Faridar, A, Jones-Davis, D, Rider, E, Li, J, Gobius, I, Morcom, L, Richards, LJ, Sen, S & Sherr, EH 2014, , Molecular Autism, vol. 5, no. 1, 57. https://doi.org/10.1186/2040-2392-5-57

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