Professor Hossein Najmabadi

|| Professor Hossein Najmabadi was born in 1957 in Tehran. After completing primary and secondary education, he earned his bachelor's degree in biology from Texas State University in 1983 and a year later received a bachelor's degree in laboratory sciences from the same university. In 1989, he obtained his PhD in molecular biology and biochemistry in the field of human genetics from the same university, then completed his postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Medicine, where he worked as an assistant professor for two years. After returning to Iran in 1996, he began his scientific activities as a faculty member at the University of Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences and as head of the country's only approved genetic research center. In 2002, he was promoted to associate professor and in 2006 attained the rank of full professor. Through the persistent efforts of Professor Hossein Najmabadi, the Genetic Research Center at the University of Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences became a leading center in identifying genetic causes of intellectual disabilities, physical disabilities, and deafness, achieving reputable scientific rankings nationally and internationally. In 2001, he obtained the license for the country's thalassemia prenatal diagnostic reference laboratory. In 2017, after two years of continuous and round-the-clock efforts, he officially launched the first national genomics center (Iranom) within the Genetic Research Center.

After returning from the United States in 1996, Professor Hossein Najmabadi began cooperation and partnership in the private sector with Professor Mohammad Hassan Kariminejad, and from that date the center's name was changed to Kariminejad-Najmabadi Pathology and Genetics Center. As technical manager and head of the molecular genetics section of the laboratory, he established genetic testing for common inherited diseases in Iran such as beta-thalassemia, spinal muscular atrophy, Duchenne-Becker muscular dystrophy, fragile X syndrome, and male infertility. Given the importance of diagnosing these diseases and the high rate of consanguineous marriages and the number of affected children per family, he also implemented prenatal diagnosis for common diseases such as beta-thalassemia, spinal muscular atrophy, Duchenne-Becker muscular dystrophy, and fragile X syndrome in Iran. Another valuable scientific achievement of his was establishing the first human genome bank in Iran, reported in 2005 in the reputable journal Human Mutation.

Professor Hossein Najmabadi is a pioneer in implementing advanced molecular techniques to identify genetic causes of intellectual disability and inherited deafness in Iran. The results of his scientific activities have been published in reputable international and national scientific journals and are accessible to scientists worldwide. He has introduced new molecular methods to identify carriers of beta-thalassemia mutations, providing quick results to couples, which has significantly contributed to preventing the birth of children with major thalassemia. He also introduced up-to-date molecular techniques such as QF-PCR and MLPA to identify genetic defects in various monogenic and chromosomal diseases rapidly, helping families affected by chromosomal syndromes and microdeletions. Furthermore, he is a pioneer in using molecular sequencing methods to identify many monogenic diseases including phenylketonuria, Mediterranean fever, cystic fibrosis, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, BRCA1, BRCA2, and others in Iran.

One of his valuable and distinctive contributions to the country's genetic knowledge is the identification of over hundreds of new genes related to hereditary intellectual disability in Iranian families, based on research that began in 2004. So far, this work has provided genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis services to hundreds of families affected by intellectual disability. Another notable activity under the management of Dr. Hossein Najmabadi at the molecular genetics section of Kariminejad-Najmabadi Pathology and Genetics Laboratory is the establishment of next-generation sequencing (NGS) services, which began in 2012 and offers services to families with monogenic diseases. Initially, targeted sequencing panels for Mendelian inherited diseases were provided. Concurrently, clinical whole-exome sequencing services were offered, significantly increasing diagnostic power in patients. These services apply to various hereditary diseases including intellectual, cognitive, metabolic, neuromuscular disorders, deafness, blindness, and various cancers, leading to higher diagnostic yields and the discovery of new mutations or genes. Professor Hossein Najmabadi is also a pioneer in diagnosing and implementing somatic mutation detection for cancers such as colorectal, lung, and hematologic leukemias by performing K-RAS, N-RAS, EGFR, and other genetic tests, facilitating more effective cancer treatments.

His research achievements in genetic identification of various inherited diseases such as beta-thalassemia, alpha-thalassemia, SMA, DMD/BMD, FMF, deafness, intellectual disability, and others have been published in dozens of reputable international journals including Nature, Science, PNAS, AJHG, and EJMG. Notably, his article published in Nature in 2011 introduced 50 new genes involved in autosomal recessive intellectual disability, marking him as the second Iranian scientist to achieve such a scientific milestone in the country. He has also authored numerous scientific books on fragile X syndrome, Duchenne-Becker muscular dystrophy, spinal muscular atrophy, and other topics for genetics specialists and students.

Relying on knowledge, dedication, perseverance, and responsibility, Professor Hossein Najmabadi has become a prominent international figure in genetics by publishing numerous valuable articles and conducting various national research projects. He is a member of many national and international scientific societies including the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) since 1996, European Society of Human Genetics (ESHG) since 2008 (permanent member), Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) since 2010, and the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) for over 30 years. Believing that the younger generation is the country's greatest asset, he considers transferring knowledge to them as his mission and has devotedly taught and guided students. He is undoubtedly a rare role model for achieving research ideas with minimal facilities and technology in the country. His educational activities at the University of Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences and the Genetic Research Center have led to the training of dozens of PhD and master's students as well as supervision of many graduate students from other universities such as University of Tehran, Tarbiat Modares, Shahid Beheshti, Khatam, and Azad University.

In 2011, Professor Hossein Najmabadi was recognized as one of the country’s elites and received the Shahid Allameh Tabatabaei Award from the then president. In 2014, he was ranked among the top one percent of scientists worldwide on the Web of Science platform. In 2016, he received the prestigious Razi Festival award as the first place winner in basic medical sciences.