relate to fetal medicine and female urinary incontinence.

During his training in the UK, he had an extensive research experience in the field of prenatal gene and stem cell therapy using clinically applicable methods such as ultrasound-guided gene delivery methods and open fetal surgery. His principle project involved gene therapy to the uterine arteries of pregnant sheep with an aim to increase uterine artery blood flow and ultimately, treat placental insufficiency which is a major potentially treatable cause of fetal growth restriction and preeclampsia . The encouraging results which are now fully published in scientific journals (see publications below) were presented in prestigious scientific meetings, collected first award winning prizes, and have been featured in The Times and the BBC. Based on these studies, a large multi center trial is currently being conducted to test this new therapy in pregnant women. read more

After returning to Beirut, Dr Abi Nader was determined to perform high-level research despite the known barriers. In 2012, he obtained a research grant (principal investigator) from the National Council for Scientific Research to study the use of stem cells in the treatment of stress urinary incontinence. The aim of the project is to investigate the use of amniotic fluid derived mesenchymal stem cells (AFMSCs) in the regeneration of the damaged urethral sphincter and treatment of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) in a rat model. The long-term aim remains to translate AFMSC therapy for SUI into the clinic where it may replace the current surgical approaches in affected women. Success of the study means that the possibility exists for the use of a directly available source of stem cells in the treatment of stress urinary incontinence, a condition affecting the quality of life of millions of women around the world.

Please see below the scientific publications of Dr Khalil Abi Nader in peer-reviewed journals as indexed by the US National Library of Medicine: