Sara Al-Ghadban, PhD

Dr. Sara Al-Ghadban is a Senior Research Scientist at the University of Virginia’s Department of Plastic Surgery. She earned her Ph.D. in Cell Biology from Leibniz University in Hannover, Germany, in 2016, focusing on the inflammatory microenvironment in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Dr. Al-Ghadban brings 9 years of expertise in lipedema research, a fat disorder affecting up to 10% of women worldwide. Her research investigates the complex relationships between stem cells, hormones, inflammation, and angiogenesis in the development and progression of lipedema. Understanding the tissue microenvironment is crucial for unraveling the underlying mechanisms of the disease and developing targeted therapies.

Representative publications (* corresponding author)

1. Sara Al-Ghadban^*, Spencer U. Isern, Karen L. Herbst, and Bruce A. Bunnell. 2024. The Expression of Adipogenic Marker Is Significantly Increased in Estrogen-Treated Lipedema Adipocytes Differentiated from Adipose Stem Cells In Vitro. Biomedicines 12(5), 1042. https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/12/5/1042
2. Sara Al-Ghadban^*, Samantha G. Walczak, Spencer U. Isern, Elizabeth C. Martin, Karen L. Herbst and Bruce A. Bunnell^*. 2023. Enhanced Angiogenesis in HUVECs Preconditioned with Media from Adipocytes Differentiated from Lipedema Adipose Stem Cells In Vitro. Int J Mol Sci. 24(17): 13572; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241713572
3. Adri Chakraborty, Rachelle Crescenzi, Timaj A. Usman, Andrea J. Reyna, Maria E. Garza, Sara Al-Ghadban, Karen L. Herbst, Paula M. C. Donahue, Joseph M. Rutkowski. 2022. Indications of Peripheral Pain, Dermal Hypersensitivity, and Neurogenic Inflammation in Patients with Lipedema. Int J Mol Sci, 23(18):10313. https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/23/18/10313
4. Sara Al-Ghadban^*, India A Pursell, Zaidmara T Diaz, Karen L. Herbst, Bruce A. Bunnell^*. 2020. 3D Spheroids Derived from Human Lipedema ASCs Demonstrated Similar Adipogenic Differentiation Potential and ECM Remodeling to Non-Lipedema ASCs In Vitro. Int J Mol Sci. 7;21(21):8350; doi: 10.3390/ijms21218350.
5. Sara Al-Ghadban^*, Zaidmara T. Diaz, Hallie J. Singer, Karya B. Mert, Bruce A. Bunnell. 2020. Increase in Leptin and PPAR-Gene Expression in Lipedema Adipocytes Differentiated in vitro from Adipose-Derived Stem Cells. Cells 9, 430; https://doi:10.3390/cells9020430
6. Sara Al-Ghadban^*, Walter Cromer, Marisol Allen, Chris Ussery, Michael Badowski, David Harris, Karen L. Herbst. 2019. Dilated blood and lymphatic micro-vessels, angiogenesis, increased macrophages and adipocyte hypertrophy in lipedema thigh skin and fat tissue. Journal of Obesity, 2019, Article ID 8747461, https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/8747461

Complete List of Published Work in My Bibliography