Following a Master in physiology, cellular and molecular biology at the University of Poitiers in France, Dr. ElAli earned a Doctorate (Dr. rer nat) in cellular and molecular neuroscience from the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany, jointly with the University of Zurich in Switzerland. Afterwards, he completed a first postdoctoral training in vascular neurology in cerebrovascular diseases at the Research center of the University Hospital Center of Essen in Germany. He then completed a second postdoctoral training in neuroimmunology in cerebrovascular and neurodegenerative diseases at the Research Center of CHU de Québec – Laval University. Dr. ElAli has joined the Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at Laval University in July 2015. He is the recipient of a career award from the Fonds de recherche du Québec-Santé (FRQS), and has previously received several career awards and prizes of excellence, mainly from the German Research Foundation ‘Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)’, and the ‘Dr Werner Jackstaedt-Stiftung’ Foundation in Germany.
Cerebrovascular diseases mainly include strokes, which constitute a major cause of death and disability in Canadian adults. The great majority of cases are ischemic, caused by the occlusion of a cerebral artery by a blood clot. Beyond thrombolysis that aims at restoring the cerebral blood circulation by dissolving the clot, no effective disease-modifying treatment exists. Recent studies, including those performed by Dr. ElAli, have outlined the presence of a structural and functional remodelling process of the network of cells that constitutes the neurovascular unit following a stroke. This network includes endothelial cells, pericytes, astrocytes, microglia, and neurons that work together to enable the proper functioning of the brain. Emerging evidence suggests that the remodelling process decisively influences the regeneration of the injured tissue, thus providing new perspectives for the development of innovative interventions in stroke therapies.
Dr. ElAli’s research program aims to explore the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in the remodelling of the neurovascular unit following a stroke. He is particularly interested in endothelial cells and pericytes as these two cell types constitute the core of the neurovascular unit. The endothelial cells form the blood-brain barrier that plays an essential role in maintaining the brain homeostasis. The pericytes play a crucial role in stabilization of the vascular system, and act as pluripotent cells capable to be differentiated into vascular, glial and neuronal cells. Dr. ElAli’s laboratory strategy consists of targeting specialized molecular mechanisms in the endothelial cells in order to restore the blood-brain barrier, and the function of pericytes in order to stabilize the vascular system and promote the regenerative potential of these cells. The ultimate goal of this strategy is to re-establish the integrity of the neurovascular unit as a way of regenerating the injured tissue.
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Vascular endothelial growth factor induces contralesional corticobulbar plasticity and functional neurological recovery in the ischemic brain
Journal ArticleActa Neuropathol, 123 (2), 2012.
ATP-binding cassette transporters and their roles in protecting the brain
Journal ArticleNeuroscientist, 17 (4), 2011.
Increased blood-brain barrier permeability and brain edema after focal cerebral ischemia induced by hyperlipidemia: role of lipid peroxidation and calpain-1/2, matrix metalloproteinase-2/9, and RhoA overactivation
Journal ArticleStroke, 42 (11), 2011.
Acute hepatocyte growth factor treatment induces long-term neuroprotection and stroke recovery via mechanisms involving neural precursor cell proliferation and differentiation
Journal ArticleJ Cereb Blood Flow Metab, 31 (5), 2011.
Post-acute delivery of erythropoietin induces stroke recovery by promoting perilesional tissue remodelling and contralesional pyramidal tract plasticity
Journal ArticleBrain, 134 (Pt 1), 2011.
Enhancement of endogenous neurogenesis in ephrin-B3 deficient mice after transient focal cerebral ischemia
Journal ArticleActa Neuropathol, 122 (4), 2011.
Apolipoprotein E controls ATP-binding cassette transporters in the ischemic brain
Journal ArticleSci Signal, 3 (142), 2010.
Combination of tissue-plasminogen activator with erythropoietin induces blood-brain barrier permeability, extracellular matrix disaggregation, and DNA fragmentation after focal cerebral ischemia in mice
Journal ArticleStroke, 41 (5), 2010.
Role of Nogo-A in neuronal survival in the reperfused ischemic brain
Journal ArticleJ Cereb Blood Flow Metab, 30 (5), 2010.
Differential motility of p190bcr-abl- and p210bcr-abl-expressing cells: respective roles of Vav and Bcr-Abl GEFs
Journal ArticleOncogene, 27 (19), 2008.
Active projects
- Canada Research Chair in molecular and cellular neurovascular interactions, from 2020-07-01 to 2025-06-30
- Investigate the mechanisms regulating the fibrotic reaction mediated by perivascular cells in cerebrovascular disorders, from 2023-04-01 to 2028-03-31
- Mechanisms regulating contribution of pericytes to brain repair after stroke, from 2020-04-01 to 2025-03-31
- Role of canonical Wnt pathway in regulating the structural and functional integrity of the blood-brain barrier in the normal adult brain, from 2017-04-01 to 2024-03-31
Recently finished projects
- Bourse de soutien aux nouveaux détenteurs de Chaire de recherche du Canada, from 2020-07-01 to 2022-06-30
- Laboratory of inter-cellular dynamics within the neurovascular unit in cerebrovascular diseases, from 2018-01-01 to 2021-07-31
- Neurovascular Restoration in Stroke: Role of Dickkopf-Related Protein-1 (DKK1), from 2018-07-01 to 2021-06-30
- The role of apolipoprotein E4-canonical Wnt pathway crosstalk at the blood-brain barrier in Alzheimer’s disease, from 2017-10-30 to 2021-12-31