Professor Hisham Darwish obtained his PhD in Biochemistry from the State University of New York at Buffalo (SUNY-Buffalo) in USA. He joined the faculty of the Biology Department at the college of science and technology in Abu Dies- Jerusalem, Palestine for two years then left to join the lab of Professor Hector Deluca in the Biochemistry Department at the University of Wisconsin, Madison in USA as a postdoctoral fellow to work on the Molecular Genetics of vitamin D and other steroid hormones mechanism of action. He later obtained a senior scientist position in the department and continued his research work in the same field. Professor Darwish was recruited to join the newly established Faculty of Medicine at AlQuds university in Palestine as an Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology to help develop the basic medical sciences curriculum and teach medical and dental students. Professor Darwish research in molecular genetics continued to include inherited diseases predominant in the Palestinian community including beta Thalassemia, FMF, Colon Cancer, Tyrosinemia and Osteoporosis. Professor Darwish was promoted to full professor and expanded his work to include Diabetes, Breast Cancer and Neuro-genetics. He was involved with other colleagues to develop an MSC program in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and supervised and supervised many graduate students in molecular Biology, public health, and other multidisciplinary programs. He later joined the Arab American University (AAUP) and worked to develop an MSC program in molecular genetics and genetics toxicology which included the establishment of a very modern molecular genetics laboratory facility supported from the AAUP administration. He published significant number of papers in leading international Journals and holds some patents from his work. All his research work was funded by grants from international and local agencies. His technical experience includes wide range of in vivo and in vitro systems including all basic techniques in preparing, handling and analyzing molecular genetics data generated from in vivo (using lab animals) and in vitro culture systems techniques. His experience extends to include advanced technology in the field like modern DNA sequencing techniques, gene isolation, cloning and functional testing, Karyotyping and the unique comet assay technology. Professor
Darwish is active as a volunteer in several medical societies in Palestine including the Palestinian Society for Bleeding Disorders (PSBD), Thalassemia Patients Friends Society (TPFS) and the Palestinian Osteoporosis Prevention Society (POPS). Professor Darwish has special interest in intellectual thinking and is active with some international groups in this field.
Selected publications.
Hisham M. Darwish, James K. Burmester, Valerie E. Moss and Hector F. Deluca. Transcriptional Activation Of the 1,25(OH)2 Vitamin D3 Receptor Is Mediate By
Phosphorylation. Biochem. Biophys. Acta 1167: 29-36 (1993).
Hisham M. Darwish and Hector F. Deluca
Identification of a Putative Transcription factor That Binds to the Promoter
Region of the Human Parathyroid Hormone Gene
Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics, 365: 123-130 (1999).
Christine Jehan, Hisham M. Darwish, Steve A. Strugnell, Fredric Jehan, Bridgette Wiefling and Hector F. Deluca
DNA bending Is Induced by Binding of Vitamin D receptor-Retinoid X Receptor
Heterodimer to Vitamin D Response Elements. Journal of Cellular Biochemistry, 74: 220-228 (1999).
H. Darwish, I.E. Trejo, M. Sughayer, B. Stern, M. Shaked, L. Baron, H.
Hibshoosh, Samer Oweineh, Z. Halpren, and N. Arber.
Fighting Colorectal Cancer Through Collaboration: Molecular Epidemeology
Differences Among Palestinians, Ashkanazi and Sephardic Jews.
Annals of Oncology, 13, 1497-1501 (2002).
Hisham M. Darwish, Fadia F. El-Khatib, and Suhail Ayesh
Spectrum of ß-Globin Gene Mutations Among Thalassemia Patients in the West
Bank region of Palestine
Hemoglobin, 29 (2): 119-131 (2005).
Suhail K. Ayesh, Suhair M. Nassar, Wasif A. Al-Sharif, Bassam Y. Abu-Libdeh
and Hisham M. Darwish
Genetic Screening of Familial Mediterranean Fever Mutations in the Palestinian
Polpulation. Saudi Medical J. 26 (5): 447-452 (2005)
Ayman S. Hussein, Khaled Shelbayeh, and Hisham Darwish (2010)
Intisser Abd-Alhameed, Elias Saba, and Hisham Darwish (2010)
Prevalence and Awareness and of Osteoporosis Among Postmenopausal
Palestinian Women. Archives Of Osteoporosis, 10.1007/s11657-010-0041-9. 5, 111-118.
Association Between Factor V Leiden Mutation and Poor Pregnancy Outcomes
Among Palestinian Women. Thrombosis Research, 126(2), e78-e82.
Akram Kharroubi and Hisham Darwish.
Diabetes Mellitus; The epidemic of the century. World J Diabetes 2015 June 25, 6[6]; 850-867.
Akram Kharroubi, Elias Saba, Riham Smoom, Khaldonn Bader and Hisham Darwi Serum 25 Hydroxy Vitamin D and other bone turnover markers in Palestinian
postmenopausal osteoporosis and normal women. Archives of Osteoporosis, 12:13 (2017).
Riham Smoom, Imad Abushkedem and Hisham Darwish
Identification of Two Novel Mutations in the Factor X Gene; A 5’ Donor Splce-
Site Mutation [IVS+1G>T] and a Missense Mutation [Asp413Asn G>T] in
Unrelated Palestinian Factor X Deficient Patients. Journal of Blood Disorders and Transfusion 2015, 6[4]; 1-5 ISSN;2155-9864 100029.
Niveen Rimawi, Annie RAMBAUD-COUSSON, and Hisham Darwish
Aminotrasferase (TAT) Gene Mutations Among Palestinian Tyrosinemia Type II Patients; An extended study. Journal of the Arab American University 4(1), 1-17 (2018)
Nouar Qutob, Zaidoun Salah, Damien Richard, Hisham Darwish, Husam Sallam, Issa Shtayeh, Osama Najjar, Mahmoud Ruzayqat, Dana Najjar, Francois Blloux and Lucy Dorp; Genomics epidememiology of the first wave of SARS-CoV-2 in Palestine. Microbial Genomics, In Press, 2021.