Mohamad Assi

Major achievements

• Discovery of a “non-metabolic” regulation of autophagy driven by the ECM
• Development of the first CRISPR-edited mouse models to explore KRAS biology in embryogenesis and tumorigenesis

Questions

How do cells sense specific ECM cues and convert them into signaling and transcriptional programs that define their biological responses?

Research focus

The Extracellular matrix (ECM) orchestrates various biological processes, including cell adhesion, differentiation, proliferation and migration. Because of its central physiological importance, the ECM undergoes extensive remodeling that contributes to the etiology of various diseases, including cancer.

The ECM consists of two major compartments: the basement membrane (e.g. laminin, collagen-IV) and the interstitial matrix (e.g. collagen-I, fibronectin). Despite its diverse composition, the ECM has been traditionally studied as a single, homogeneous scaffold, leaving multiple facets of ECM biology unexplored.

To address this gap, Mohamad Assi and his team investigate how tumor cells respond to individual ECM components (for example collagen-I versus laminin). Through systematically comparing cells exposed to distinct ECM microenvironments, they identify both shared and component-specific signaling programs. Their work reveals how ECM diversity contributes to tumor heterogeneity and uncovers potential therapeutic vulnerabilities.

Another priority of the Assi Lab is to determine whether the principles governing tumor–ECM interactions can inform research on rare genetic disorders caused by defective ECM sensing. To pursue these questions, the laboratory’s experimental approach combines positive selection CRISPR screens, 3D organotypic cultures, protein biochemistry and mouse models.

Mohamad Assi trained in biochemistry and molecular biology at the Lebanese University (Lebanon) and the University of La Réunion (La Réunion Island). In 2016, he obtained a doctoral degree in cancer biology at the University of Rennes (France), in the laboratory of Prof. Amélie Rébillard. Then, he joined the laboratory of Prof. Patrick Jacquemin at the de Duve institute, as a FNRS postdoctoral fellow. During this stay, he developed tools including transgenic mouse models and antibodies to uncover the inflammatory and redox mechanisms driving pancreas tumorigenesis. From 2021 to 2025, Dr. Assi trained as a postdoctoral fellow in the Lab of Prof. Alec C Kimmelman at the University of New York Langone Health, where he developed an expertise in genetic CRISPR screening. Using this technology, he discovered that the ECM contributes to pancreatic cancer heterogeneity by coordinating diverse biological processes, including tumor cell proliferation and autophagic survival. In 2026, Dr. Assi returned to the de Duve institute through the Brains-for-Brussels program funded by Innoviris. The same year, he obtained a permanent position at the FNRS and became a group leader at the de Duve institute and an associate professor at UCLouvain.

Honors

• Henri Fauconnier Prize, Belgian Royal Academy of Medicine (2026)
• Permanent Research Associate, F.R.S-FNRS (2026)
• Brains-for-Brussels Grant (ECMCAN Project), Innoviris (2025)
• Scholar-in-Training Award, AACR (2025)
• Godin-Savelkoul Prize, Belgian Royal Academy of Medicine (2022)
• Perdieus-Petit Prize, UCLouvain (2021)
• Larry Oberley Award for Best Oral Presentation, SfRBM (2021)
• New Investigator Review Award, American Physiological Society (2017)

Affiliations

• Group Leader, de Duve Institute
• Research Associate, F.R.S.-FNRS
• Associate Professor, UCLouvain