Nabil G. Seidah, (born 1949) is a Canadian Québécois scientist. Born in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

, he was educated at

Cairo University Cairo University ( ar, جامعة القاهرة, Jāmi‘a al-Qāhira), also known as the Egyptian University from 1908 to 1940, and King Fuad I University and Fu'ād al-Awwal University from 1940 to 1952, is Egypt's premier public university ...

, and subsequently at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

where he obtained his Ph.D. in 1973. He emigrated to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and has been working at the Clinical Research Institute of Montreal (IRCM) since 1974. He is the director of the laboratory of Biochemical Neuroendocrinology. He discovered and cloned seven (PC1, PC2, PC4, PC5, PC7, SKI-1 and PCSK9) of the nine known enzymes belonging to the convertase family. During this period, he also greatly contributed to demonstrating that the proteolysis by the proprotein convertases is a wide mechanism that also concerns “non-neuropeptide” proteins such as

growth factors A growth factor is a naturally occurring substance capable of stimulating cell proliferation, wound healing, and occasionally cellular differentiation. Usually it is a secreted protein or a steroid hormone. Growth factors are important for reg ...

, α-integrins, receptors, enzymes, membrane-bound transcription factors, and bacterial and viral proteins. In 2003, he discovered PCSK9 and showed that point mutations in the

PCSK9 Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) is an enzyme encoded by the ''PCSK9'' gene in humans on chromosome 1. It is the 9th member of the proprotein convertase family of proteins that activate other proteins. Similar genes (ortholog ...

gene cause dominant familial hypercholesterolemia, likely because of a gain of function related to the ability of PCSK9 to enhance the degradation of cell surface receptors, such as the low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR). He has since worked on the elucidation of the functions and mechanisms of action of PCSK9 and PCSK7 both in cells and in vivo, and is developing specific PCSK9 and PCSK7 inhibitors/silencers.

Awards

* 1977 - The Clarke Institute of Psychiatry Award * 1983 - Marcel-Piché Prize * 1991 - Made Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada * 1994 - Manning Award of Distinction * 1995 - Medical Research Council Distinguished Scientist Award * 1997 - Made Officer of the Ordre national du Québec * 1999 - Made member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

* 1999 - Medal of Honor, Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association of Canada (PMAC) Health Research Foundation * 2001 - Winner of the McLaughlin medal * 2001 - Winner of the Léo-Pariseau Prize * 2003-2024 - Canada Chair Tier 1 in Precursor Proteolysis * 2009 - Pfizer Distinguished Cardiovascular-Metabolic Research Jean-Davignon Award * 2011 - Wilder-Penfield Prize in Biomedical Research in Québec * 2013 -

Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (french: Médaille du jubilé de diamant de la reine Elizabeth II) or The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's ...

* 2013 - Simon Pierre-Noël Memorial Lecture Award in Lipid Research * 2014 - Jacques Genest Award from the Canadian Society of Endocrinology & Metabolism * 2015 - Anne and Neil McArthur Research Award * 2016 - CIHR Distinguished Lecturer Award in Cardiovascular Sciences * 2018 - Grand Prix scientifique de la Fondation Lefoulon-Delalande * 2018 - Akira Endo Award * 2018 - Lucian Award * 2021 - Elected member of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences AHS

References

1949 births Living people Scientists from Montreal Egyptian scientists Egyptian chemists Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Members of the Order of Canada Officers of the National Order of Quebec Cairo University alumni Georgetown University alumni Canadian biochemists 20th-century Canadian scientists 21st-century Canadian scientists {{Canada-scientist-stub