Ala F Nassar

Ala F. Nassar, PhD, is a Senior Research Scientist and faculty member at Yale University's School of Medicine. With over 25 years of experience in drug metabolism and preclinical drug development, he has held leadership roles in academia and industry. His expertise spans ADME-Tox studies, mass spectrometry, and bioanalytical chemistry. Nassar leads the Chen Lab, focusing on advancing drug design through structural modifications and leveraging cutting-edge technologies like mass cytometry for single-cell analysis in cancer research.

Education: Postdoctoral training at UCONN in Pharmacology, PhD in Bioanalytical/Drug Metabolism from UCONN, and Visiting Scientist roles at Kyushu and Nagasaki Universities. He has taught advanced courses in mass spectrometry and drug metabolism at institutions like Brandeis University and the University of Connecticut.

Research Interests: His work emphasizes optimizing drug candidates' pharmacokinetic parameters, minimizing toxicity via structural alerts, and applying mass spectrometry for metabolite identification. Current projects include lipid metabolism in cancer, immune cell subset analysis, and developing clinical tools for cellular profiling using mass cytometry.

Key Achievements: Editor of major drug metabolism handbooks, guest editor for Metabolites, and inventor with over 100 peer-reviewed articles and patents. His Laromustine ADME-Tox studies significantly advanced clinical understanding of this anticancer agent. Awards include the Battelle R&D Fellowship and the Nat & Frances Sadow Scholarship.

Professional Contributions: Serves on editorial boards, including Journal of Drug Metabolism Letters and Metabolites. Active in public service as a science fair judge and collaborates with industry on drug development.