Biography

Dr. Khaled Elmasry, MD, MSc, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Human Anatomy and Embryology in the Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Dubai Medical University, Dubai, UAE. He graduated with an MBBS (MD) with Honors from the Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Egypt (2007) and completed an MSc in Basic Medical Sciences (Human Anatomy and Embryology) at the same university (2011). Dr. Elmasry earned his PhD in Biomedical Sciences (Cellular Biology and Anatomy) from the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, USA (2018). His postgraduate training includes postdoctoral fellowships at Schepens Eye Research Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA (2018-2019) and at Oakland University’s Eye Research Institute, Rochester, MI, USA (2021–2022).

Dr. Elmasry previously served as an Assistant Professor of Human Anatomy and Embryology at Mansoura Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt (2019–2024) and later at the Dental College of Georgia, Augusta University (2022–2025), where he directed courses in craniofacial and gastrointestinal anatomy and led Bio clinical seminars. His research focuses on extracellular vesicle signaling, hypoxia and inflammation in diabetic retinopathy, bone morphogenetic proteins, retinal neurovascular physiology, and the therapeutic effects of natural compounds. He has authored numerous peer‑reviewed articles and received multiple awards, including the Vision Discovery Institute award of excellence in vision research and the 2018 People’s Choice Prize in the Three‑Minute Thesis competition. He was also awarded the New Faculty Teaching Excellence Award from the Dental College of Georgia (2024). Dr. Elmasry is an active member of professional societies, such as the Egyptian Medical Syndicate and the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.

Teaching & Service

• Dubai Medical University (2025‑Present) – Assistant Professor of Human Anatomy & Embryology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, teaching Human Structure and Function 2 to Year 3 and Year 4 medical students (Batch 37 and Batch 36).
• Augusta University, Dental College of Georgia (2022‑2025) – Course director for the Craniofacial Complex Anatomy course (BMCC 5201) and the Gastrointestinal Tract System Module (D2). Lead faculty for Bioclinical Seminar courses (BMBS 5201/5403). Participated in courses on cardiovascular, respiratory, and neuroscience systems.
• Mansoura University, Egypt (2008‑2024) – Instructor and later assistant professor teaching Human Anatomy and Embryology, surgical anatomy and anatomy courses for dental and physical therapy students. Provided problem‑based learning tutoring, served as academic advisor and poster presentation referee.
• Professional Service – Member of the Egyptian Medical Syndicate, ARVO and American Heart Association; former executive member of the Institutional Review Board of Mansoura Faculty of Medicine (2020). Invited reviewer for journals including Experimental Eye Research, Scientific Reports, Inflammation and Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science.

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Education

• MD (MBBCh) – Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Egypt (2000–2007)
• MSc in Basic Medical Sciences (Human Anatomy and Embryology), Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Egypt (2008–2011)
• PhD in Biomedical Sciences (Cellular Biology and Anatomy) – Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, USA (2014–2018)

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Research Interests

• Extracellular vesicle signaling in retinal and systemic diseases
• Diabetic retinopathy and retinal neurovascular disorders
  Hypoxia‑induced metabolic and inflammatory pathways in the retina
• Bone morphogenetic proteins and endoplasmic reticulum stress in ocular diseases
• Roles of autophagy and immune modulation in infectious diseases
• Therapeutic potential of bioactive lipids and natural antioxidants

Research Publications

• [1] Mansour, A. M., Gad, M. S., Habib, S., & Elmasry, K. * (2025). Bidirectional Hypoxic Extracellular Vesicle Signaling Between Müller Glia and Retinal Pigment Epithelium Regulates Retinal Metabolism and Barrier Function. Biology, 14(8), 1014. https://doi.org/10.3390/biology14081014
• [2] Habib, S., Hany, H., Elzoheiry, M., Elmehankar, M.S., Elgendy, S.H., Hussin E., Elmasry, K., Aboukamar W.A.(2025). Autophagic Response of the Liver Cells to Schistosoma mansoni Infection and Praziquantel Treatment. Acta Parasit. 70, 120 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11686-025-01028-9
• [3] Karim M. Saad, Khaled Elmasry, Babak Baban, Man J. Livingston, Zheng Dong, Marwa E. Abdelmageed, Rania R. Abdelaziz, Ghada M. Suddek, Ahmed Elmarakby *(2025) Protocatechuic Acid Ameliorates Cisplatin Induced Inflammation and Apoptosis in Mouse Proximal Tubular Cells. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(9), 4115; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26094115
• [4] Elmasry, K.*; Habib, S.; Helwa, I.; Khaled, M.L.; Ibrahim, A.S.; Tawfik, A.; Al-Shabrawey, M.* Possible Role of Endothelial-Derived Cellular and Exosomal-miRNAs in Lipid-Mediated Diabetic Retinopathy: Microarray Studies. Cells 2024, 13, 1886. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells13221886
• [5] Habib, S., M. Mansour, A., Baban, B., & Elmasry, K*. (2024). Extracellular Vesicles and Diabetic Retinopathy: Nano-sized Vesicles With Mega-sized Hopes. IntechOpen. doi: 10.5772/intechopen.1005791
• [6] Habib S, Hamza E, El-Gamal R, Nosser NA, Aboukamar WA, Abdelsalam S, Sobh A, Elegezy M, Elbayoumy  M, Eldars W, Elmasry K*, Elnagdy MH. Clinical and Immunological Impacts of Latent Toxoplasmosis on COVID-19 Patients. Cureus. 2023 Sep 26;15(9):e45989. doi: 10.7759/cureus.45989. PMID: 37900421; PMCID: PMC10601516.
• [7] Mohammed SR, Elmasry K, El-Gamal R, El-Shahat MA, Sherif RN. Alteration of Aquaporins 1 and 4 immunohistochemical and gene expression in the cerebellum of diabetic albino rat. Tissue Cell. 2023 Mar 21;82: 102076. doi: 10.1016/j.tice.2023.102076. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36989704.
• [8] Darwish NHE, Hussein KA, Elmasry K, Ibrahim AS, Humble J, Moustafa M, Awadalla F, Al-Shabrawey M, Bone Morphogenetic Protein-4 Impairs Retinal Endothelial Cell Barrier, a Potential Role in Diabetic Retinopathy. Cells 12 (9), 1279
• [9] Elmasry K, Moustafa M, Al-Shabrawey M. Retinal Explant of the Adult Mouse Retina as an Ex Vivo Model for Studying Retinal Neurovascular Diseases. Journal of Visualized Experiments: Jove. 2022 Dec (190). DOI: 10.3791/63966. PMID: 36571409.
• [10] Ramadan NM, Elmasry K, Elsayed HRH, El-Mesery A, Eraky SM. The hepatoprotective effects of n3-polyunsaturated fatty acids against non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in diabetic rats through the FOXO1/PPARα/GABARAPL1 signalling pathway. Life Sci. 2022 Dec 15;311(Pt A):121145. doi: 10.1016/j.lfs.2022.121145. Epub 2022 Nov 3. PMID: 36336129.
• [11] Hassanin, A., Elmasry, K., Saleh, D., Bondok, A. (2022). ‘Possible Synergistic Effect of Curcumin on Captopril /Losartan Combined Therapy in Diabetic Nephropathy’, Zagazig University Medical Journal, (), pp. -. doi: 10.21608/zumj.2022.111158.24335
• [12] Habib S, Azab M, Elmasry K, Handoussa A. Leishmania donovani: Immune response and immune evasion with emphasis on PD-1/PDL-1 pathway and role of autophagy. Asian Pac J Trop Med 2021;14:195-208
• [13] Elmasry K, Habib S, Moustafa M, Al-Shabrawey M. Bone Morphogenetic Proteins and Diabetic Retinopathy. Biomolecules. 2021 Apr 18;11(4):593. doi: 10.3390/biom11040593. PMID: 33919531; PMCID: PMC8073699.
• [14] Al-Shabrawey M, Hussein K, Wang F, Wan M, Elmasry K, Elsherbiny N, Saleh H, Yu PB, Tawfik A, Ibrahim AS. Bone Morphogenetic Protein-2 Induces Non-Canonical Inflammatory and Oxidative Pathways in Human Retinal Endothelial Cells. Front Immunol. 2021 Jan 29;11:568795. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.568795. PMID: 33584642; PMCID: PMC7878387.
• [15] Atawia RT, Bunch KL, Fouda AY, Lemtalsi T, Eldahshan W, Xu Z, Saul A, Elmasry K, Al-Shabrawey M, Caldwell RB, Caldwell RW. (2020) Role of Arginase 2 in Murine Retinopathy Associated with Western Diet-Induced Obesity. J Clin Med. 2020 Jan 22;9(2). pii: E317. doi: 10.3390/jcm9020317.
• [16] Elmasry K, Ibrahim AS, Abdulmoneim S, Al-Shabrawey M. Bioactive lipids and pathological retinal angiogenesis. Br J Pharmacol. 2019 Jan;176(1):93-109. doi: 10.1111/bph.14507. Epub 2018 Nov 19. PMID: 30276789; PMCID: PMC6284336.
• [17] Ibrahim, A. S., Elmasry, K., Wan, M., Abdulmoneim, S., Still, A., Khan, F., Khalil, A., Saul, A., Hoda, M. N., … Al-Shabrawey, M. (2018). A Controlled Impact of Optic Nerve as a New Model of Traumatic Optic Neuropathy in Mouse. Investigative ophthalmology & visual science, 59(13), 5548-5557.
• [18] Elmasry K, Ibrahim AS, Saleh H, Elsherbiny N, Elshafey S, Hussein KA, Al-Shabrawey M.: Role of Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in 12/15 Lipoxygenase Induced Retinal Microvascular Dysfunction in A Mouse Model of Diabetic Retinopathy, Diabetologia (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00125-018-4560-z
• [19] Elmasry K, Mohamed R, Sharma I, Elsherbiny N, Liu Y, Al-Shabrawey M, Tawfik A. Epigenetic Modifications in Hyperhomocysteinemia; Potential Role in Diabetic Retinopathy and Age-Related Macular Degeneration, Oncotarget 2018, https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.24333.
• [20] Habib S, El Andaloussi A, Elmasry K, Handoussa A, Azab M, Elsawey A, Al-Hendy A, Ismail N. PDL-1 Blockade Prevents T Cell Exhaustion, Inhibits Autophagy, and Promotes Clearance of Leishmania donovani. Infect Immun. 2018 May 22;86(6):e00019-18. doi: 10.1128/IAI.00019-18. PMID: 29610255; PMCID: PMC5964517.
• [21] Samra YA, Saleh HM, Hussein KA, Elsherbiny NM, Ibrahim AS, Elmasry K, Fulzele S, ElShishtawy MM, Eissa LA, Al-Shabrawey M, Liou GI. Adenosine Deaminase-2-Induced Hyperpermeability in Human Retinal Vascular Endothelial Cells Is Suppressed by MicroRNA-146b-3p, Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2017, 58:933-943.6
• [22] Ibrahim AS, Saleh H, El-Shafey M, Hussein KA, El-Masry K, Baban B, Sheibani N, Wang MH, Tawfik A, Al-Shabrawey M. Targeting of 12/15-Lipoxygenase in retinal endothelial cells, but not in monocytes/macrophages, attenuates high glucose-induced retinal leukostasis, Biochim Biophys Acta 2017, 1862:636-645.
• [23] Mohamed R, Sharma I, Ibrahim AS, Saleh H, Elsherbiny NM, Fulzele S, Elmasry K, Smith SB, Al-Shabrawey M, Tawfik A. Hyperhomocysteinemia Alters Retinal Endothelial Cells Barrier Function and Angiogenic Potential via Activation of Oxidative Stress, Sci Rep 2017, 7:11952

• 2022 ARVO Annual Meeting Denver, CO.
• Elmasry, Khaled; S Ibrahim, Ahmed; Moustafa, Mohamed; Shin, Yunjoo; Albishara, Kathereen ; AlShabrawey, Mohamed A. Bone morphogenetic protein 2 contributes to diabetes-induced extracellular matrix deposition and apoptosis in retinal microvasculature.
• 2022 Vision Discovery Institute at Medical College of Georgia oral presentation, Extracellular  vesicles in retinopathies, nanosized vesicles and mega-sized hope.
• 2023, ARVO Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA, USA; Poster Session Moderator.
• 2023 ARVO Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA, USA
• Darwish N, Morsi A, Mishina Y, Moustafa M, Elmasry K, Al-Shabrawey M. BMP/ALK pathway and pathological retinal neovascularization.
• 2023 ARVO Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA, USA
• Julia Humble, Noureldien Darwish, Khaled Elmasry, Mohamed Moustafa, Fatma Awadalla, Ahmed Ibrahim, Mohamed Al-Sayed Al-Shabrawey. Bone Morphogenic Protein 4 (BMP4); a potential player in diabetic retinopathy.
• 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, Seattle, Washington, USA; Poster session moderator
• 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, Seattle, Washington, USA
• Elmasry K, Eisa A, Abushehab M, Habib S. Generation of a stable Muller cell line spontaneously releasing fluorescently labelled exosomes; An in vitro model to study trafficking of retinal extracellular vesicles.
• 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, Seattle, Washington, USA
• Maria Ghishan, Nandini Koneru, Sonali Sharma, Khaled Elmasry, Mohamed Al-Sayed Al Shabrawey; Deciphering the Role of Bone Morphogenetic Proteins in Pathological Retinal Neovascularization through Epigenetic Modifications. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2024;65(7):281
• 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, Seattle, Washington, USA
• Suhani Gupta, Chloe Connelly, Khaled Elmasry, Mohamed Al-Sayed Al-Shabrawey; Hyperglycemia, Hypoxia, and their Synergistic Effects on miRNA Expression in Human Retinal Endothelial Cells. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2024;65(7):866.
• 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, Seattle, Washington, USA
• Nandini Koneru, Maria Ghishan, Julia Humble, Anusha Reddy, Khaled Elmasry, Mohamed Al-Sayed Al-Shabrawey; Exploring the Regulatory Role of Bone Morphogenetic Proteins on Retinal Proteomes in Experimental Diabetes. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2024;65(7):329.
• 2025 ARVO Annual Meeting, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
• Khaled Elmasry, Samar Habib, Alaa M Mansour; Hypoxia-Conditioned Retinal Pigment Epithelium-derived Extracellular Vesicles Induce Temporal Proteomic Reprogramming in Müller Glia Cells. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2025;66(8):2574.
• 2025 ARVO Annual Meeting, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
• Chloe Connelly, Brandon Tisviste, Khaled Elmasry, Mohamed Al-Sayed Al-Shabrawey; miR126 as a Key Regulator of Bone Morphogenetic Protein2 (BMP2)-Induced Retinal Endothelial Cell Angiogenesis. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2025;66(8):4846.