Aram Ghalali

Dr. Aram Ghalali holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering as well as a Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology. He has also earned multiple Master of Science degrees, including one in Quality Assessment in Pharmaceutical Sciences/Biotechnology and another in Cancer Prevention and Pharmacy Design. In addition, Dr. Ghalali holds a degree in Civil Engineering from Mälardalen University.

He completed his Ph.D. in the field of medicine at the Karolinska Institutet, where his research focused on cellular signaling pathways. He subsequently obtained his first postdoctoral research fellowship at Karolinska Institutet in the field of toxicology, investigating the role of environmental pollutants in occupational health. Dr. Ghalali then completed a second postdoctoral fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, where he is part of the Vascular Biology Program within the Department of Surgery.

His research at Harvard focuses on oncometabolites and drug development targeting late-stage and aggressive (metastatic) cancers. Currently, Dr. Ghalali holds multiple affiliations: he serves as faculty at Harvard Medical School, as an Instructor in Surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital, and as an Assistant Professor affiliated with the Karolinska Institutet.

Dr. Aram Ghalali’s research is centered on the development of non-invasive biomarkers and novel therapeutic strategies for pediatric brain tumors and cerebrovascular diseases. His work aims to improve clinical outcomes for patients with complex neurovascular conditions such as moyamoya disease, intracranial aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations, and cavernous malformations.

Dr. Ghalali has a long-standing and broad interest in cancer research, to which he has dedicated his career. His research experience spans late-stage and aggressive malignancies, including prostate, lung, and liver cancers, as well as pediatric brain tumors such as medulloblastoma, diffuse midline glioma, and glioblastoma. His current work focuses on elucidating the mechanistic and metabolic alterations that drive disease initiation, progression, and therapeutic resistance. In parallel, he is actively engaged in the identification, validation, and pharmacological targeting of novel disease-specific vulnerabilities. Several of the therapeutic compounds developed through his research are currently under preclinical evaluation.

In addition to his work in oncology and neurovascular disease, Dr. Ghalali has a strong interest in environmental medicine. At the Karolinska Institutet, he is spearheading a multidisciplinary and multi-institutional research initiative investigating residual traces of chemical warfare agents in the environment of Halabja, Kurdistan, Iraq, with the goal of understanding their long-term health and biological consequences.

Dr. Aram Ghalali has extensive experience in teaching and academic mentorship across multiple educational levels. He has taught a wide range of courses spanning undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programs, covering both foundational and advanced topics in biomedical and translational sciences.

Dr. Ghalali has supervised and mentored numerous students at the undergraduate, master’s, and Ph.D. levels, as well as trainees in premedical and medical school programs. His mentorship emphasizes rigorous scientific training, critical thinking, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

In the laboratory setting, Dr. Ghalali provides daily supervision and scientific guidance to postdoctoral researchers and technical staff, fostering a productive and collaborative research environment while supporting the professional development of early-career scientists.