Résumé

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 Elie D. Al-Chaer, MS, PhD, JD

120 Traveler Lane                                                                                                                           (501) 851-9595
Maumelle, AR 72113                                                                                                           ealchaer@uams.edu

A multilingual professional and a very quick mind with an insider's perspective and proven leadership in science, biotechnology, health care and related laws. Outstanding research design and writing skills, with high-impact executive presentation abilities. A demonstrated talent to select, train and retain self-motivated goal-oriented scientists. Well published and recipient of numerous awards and recognitions in Medicine, Biomedical Research and Law. Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills with an extensive background in the following:

Neuroscience                                       Strategic Planning                                           Legal Counsel

Basic Research                                    Collaboration and Outreach                            High-caliber negotiation

Clinical & Translational Sciences        Management & Conflict Resolution                 Visioning & Persuasion
 

• Demonstrated ability to promote basic research, translate it to pre-clinical and clinical application, while generating momentum through publicizing and maximizing support.
• A solid track record of cultivating productive relationships with key decision makers and managing projects on a global basis to achieve institutional goals.
• Excellent qualifications in strategic planning with comprehensive knowledge of governance, management, organizational development, team building and project execution.

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) – Little Rock, Arkansas                                      2004 - Present

Professor, Departments of Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences
Founder and Director, Center for Pain Research
Planning Director, Institute of Translational and Clinical Sciences

 A record of successful multitasking combining an active research program with ongoing strategic planning and visionary leadership. In addition to the traditional chores of an associate professor and a research center director (institutional boards, cabinets and committees, faculty meetings, etc.):

• Manage and supervise a research program on pain and neurosciences in all its aspects and collaborations
• Teach medical and graduate students and mentor postgraduate fellows and junior faculty

• Recruit mid-level and junior faculty needed for a number of programs

• Design, implement and direct a leadership core for the Center for Translational Neurosciences
• Generate extramural funding to support research from NIH and industry.
• Publish a large number of abstracts, peer-reviewed articles, journal reviews, book chapters and sections in the “Encyclopedia of Pain”.

Selected from a pool of outstanding and competitive institutional leaders to lead the strategic planning process for a new Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences at UAMS with a budget that exceeds 30 Million USD between institutional commitment and extramural funding.  Important milestones:

• Successfully submitted a planning grant application to NIH: funding approved with high accolades (2006)
• Designed the strategic planning process and lead the planning teams through its steps: SWOT analysis, visioning conferences, strategic goals (short and long term), and evaluation (2006).
• Currently developing a 5 year strategic plan.

University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) – Galveston, Texas                                                               1998 - 2004

Assistant Professor, Departments of Internal Medicine, Anatomy and Neurosciences
Founder and Director, ACELAB™: Laboratory of Elie Al-Chaer for the Study of Pain

• Built a state of the art laboratory for the study of pain, housed in the Division of Gastroenterology with collaborations across the biomedical research spectrum on campus
• Developed a new animal model for functional abdominal pain
• Acquired extramural funding in the form of NIH R01, PPG and pharmaceutical grants
• Led the initiative to institute a postgraduate pain program with basic, pre-clinical and clinical phases
• Evaluated and selected applicants to the medical school while serving on the admission committee
• Taught medical students (year I and II) in the Medical Neurosciences and Gastroenterology and Nutrition Courses

Allergan, Inc. – Irvine, CA:                                                                                                                2000 - Present

• Professional consultant
• Member of the pain advisory board

• Provide scientific counsel on projects design, pain research, biobehavioral and physiological studies

Sigma Health Care Inc. – Galveston, Texas:                                                                                           2002 - 2004

• Member, advisory board
• Member, governing board of directors
• Provide legal counsel on matters of employment, contracts, business organization and strategy

In addition to a number of professional awards and recognitions, service as a reviewer for a number of scientific journals, granting organizations, and NIH study sections, including: Neurological Science and Disorders, Clinical Neuroplasticity and Neurosciences, Somatosensory/Pain, SCOR Special Emphasis Review Panel, and:                  

• Chair, NIH Special Council on Mind-Body Interactions and Health                                                                2004
• Chair, NIH Special Emphasis Panel on Behavioral and Social Sciences Research                                         2003
• Chair, American Gastroenterological Association committee on Colonic Motility and Disorders                  2002-03

Invited Speaker:

Regularly invited to give seminars and plenary lectures about the state-of-the science in pain research at academic institutions in the USA and Europe and at professional conferences (a comprehensive list of more than 100 invited lectures is available in my CV). Most recent topics include:

• “Visceral Pain: Reflections on Phylogeny, Physiology and Pathways”
• “Neuroplasticity in Visceral Pain”
• “Animals Models of Visceral Pain”
• “Functional Pain: the Rhapsody of a Nervous System”
• “Neurotransmitters: Release and Action”

Strategic Consultant:

Strategic consultant (ad-hoc) to a number of organizations and companies in the USA and Europe, advising on scientific trends, study designs, research strategies, legal options and conflict resolution; in addition to standing membership on the following advisory boards:

• International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders (non-profit)                                2005 - Present
• ROME Foundation for Gastrointestinal Disorders                                                                        2005 - Present
• Allergan, Inc., biomedical research advisory board                                                                      2000 - Present

South Texas College of Law – Houston, Texas
Doctor of Jurisprudence (JD), 2002

University of Texas Medical Branch – Galveston, Texas
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD: Neuroscience), 1996

American University of Beirut – Beirut, Lebanon
Master of Science (MS: Physiology), 1991       
Bachelor of Science (BS: Mathematics), 1988

Attorney and Counselor at Law

State Bar of Texas, 2002 - Present
District of Columbia, Court of Appeals, 2006 - Present

Professional Societies and Associations:

American Gastroenterological Association (1998 - Present)                       DC Bar Association (2006 - Present)
American Pain Society (1996 - Present)                                                   American Bar Association (2002 - Present) International Association for the Study of Pain (1995 - Present)                 State Bar of Texas (2002 - Present)
Society for Neuroscience (1993 - Present)