Assoc. Prof. Dr. Essa M. Saied | Computer-Aided Drug Design | Research Excellence Award
Humboldt University of Berlin | Germany
Dr. Essa M. Saied is a distinguished bioorganic and biochemistry researcher whose work bridges synthetic medicinal chemistry, lipid biology, and small-molecule drug discovery. His research focuses on designing and synthesizing bioactive molecules, stereoselective synthetic methodologies, heterocyclic compounds, and lipid-based probes to investigate fundamental biological processes. He has made landmark contributions to understanding sphingolipid metabolism, ceramidase activity, lipid transfer mechanisms, and the structure–function relationships of bioactive lipids. His expertise spans synthetic chemistry, combinatorial library design, high-throughput screening, molecular modelling, virtual screening, enzymatic assay development, and structure–activity relationship optimization. Dr. Saied’s research has advanced knowledge of lipid-associated diseases, anticancer agents, antimicrobial strategies, and molecular mechanisms underlying metabolic and neurological disorders. He has authored around 70 peer-reviewed publications with strong global impact, reflected in a Scopus h-index of 31 with over 2,229 citations and a Google Scholar h-index of 35 with more than 2,872 citations. His body of work is widely referenced across the fields of lipidomics, medicinal chemistry, structural biology, and biochemical pharmacology. Dr. Saied’s publications include pioneering structural studies of adiponectin receptors, mechanistic analysis of ceramide-related pathways, discovery of small-molecule enzyme inhibitors, and the development of innovative analytical and spectroscopic tools to characterize lipid isomers. His research output demonstrates a consistent record of high-impact contributions, shaping modern understanding of lipid chemistry and its role in human disease.
Publication Profile
Scopus | ORCID | Google Scholar
Featured Publications
Vasiliauskaite-Brooks, I., Sounier, R., Rochaix, P., Bellot, G., Fortier, M., Hoh, F., Bechara, C., Saied, E. M., Arenz, C., Leyrat, C., De Colibus, L., & Granier, S. (2017). Structural basis for the ceramidase activity of adiponectin receptors. Nature, 544, 120–123. Citations: 230.
Vasiliauskaité-Brooks, I., Healey, R. D., Rochaix, P., Saint-Paul, J., Sounier, R., Grison, C., Waltrich-Augusto, T., Fortier, M., Hoh, F., Saied, E. M., Arenz, C., Leyrat, C., & Granier, S. (2018). Structure of a human intramembrane ceramidase explains enzymatic dysfunction found in leukodystrophy. Nature Communications, 9, 5437. Citations: 51.
Lone, M. A., Huelsmeier, A. J., Saied, E. M., Karsai, G., Arenz, C., von Eckardstein, A., & Hornemann, T. (2020). Subunit composition of the mammalian serine-palmitoyltransferase defines the spectrum of straight and methyl-branched long-chain bases. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117, 15591–15598. Citations: 85.
Saied, E. M., El-Maradny, Y. A., Osman, A. A., Darwish, A. M. G., Abo Nahas, H. H., & El-Seedi, H. R. (2021). A comprehensive review about the molecular structure of SARS-CoV-2: Insights into natural products against COVID-19. Pharmaceutics, 13, 1759. Citations: 66.
Kirschbaum, C., Saied, E. M., Greis, K., Mucha, E., Gewinner, S., Schöllkopf, W., Meijer, G. J. M., von Helden, G., Poad, B. L. J., Blanksby, S. J., Arenz, C., & Pagel, K. (2020). Resolving sphingolipid isomers using cryogenic infrared spectroscopy. Angewandte Chemie, 132, 13740. Citations: 51.