Ghania Kara Ali
Postdoctoral researcher studying adipose tissue in obesity and metabolic disease, using single‑cell and spatial approaches to understand therapeutic responses and metabolic memory.
About me
I am a postdoctoral researcher specializing in metabolic dysfunctions, with a focus on adipose tissue and liver pathophysiology. I completed my PhD at IRSET (Rennes, France), where I investigated the role of the E3 ubiquitin ligase TRIM21 in hepatocellular carcinoma progression in a MASH context, highlighting its involvement in anti‑tumor immunity. This work was published in a high‑impact oncology journal.
I then pursued postdoctoral research at the RNMCD unit (Lille, France), focusing on adipose and liver tissue heterogeneity at the single‑cell level during weight loss after obesity, revealing persistent inflammatory programming of adipose tissue with consequences for liver pathology.
Since December 2025, I have been an SRP postdoctoral fellow at Karolinska Institutet, working under the supervision of Dr Niklas Mejhert and Dr Patrik Ståhl (SciLifeLab) on spatially resolved mapping of human adipose tissue responses to anti‑hyperglycaemic therapies.
Research
- My research interests lie at the interface of metabolism and tissue biology, focusing on adipose tissue and liver remodeling in obesity, weight loss, and metabolic complications. I use single‑cell and spatial transcriptomic approaches to investigate cellular heterogeneity, adipose-liver crosstalk, and mechanisms underlying persistent inflammation, metabolic memory, and response to anti‑diabetic therapies.
Articles
- Journal article: CELL DEATH & DISEASE. 2026;17(1):229Imerzoukene G; Kara-Ali GH; Heitz-Marchaland C; Larcher T; Simoes Eugenio M; Hamon A; Bidon A; Ghukasyan G; Dubreil L; Loiseau N; Dion S; Raguenes-Nicol C; Piquet-Pellorce C; Samson M; Dimanche-Boitrel M-T; Le Seyec J
- Journal article: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CANCER. 2024;154(11):1999-2013Kara-Ali GH; Cano L; Dion S; Imerzoukene G; Hamon A; Simoes Eugenio M; Piquet-Pellorce C; Ghukasyan G; Samson M; Le Seyec J; Dimanche-Boitrel M-T
- Journal article: JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR MEDICINE-JMM. 2022;100(7):1027-1038Farooq M; Eugenio MS; Piquet-Pellorce C; Dion S; Raguenes-Nicol C; Santamaria K; Kara-Ali GH; Larcher T; Dimanche-Boitrel M-T; Samson M; Le Seyec J
- Journal article: FRONTIERS IN MOLECULAR BIOSCIENCES. 2021;8:645134Simoes Eugenio M; Faurez F; Kara-Ali GH; Lagarrigue M; Uhart P; Bonnet MC; Gallais I; Com E; Pineau C; Samson M; Le Seyec J; Dimanche-Boitrel M-T
- Journal article: SCIENTIFIC REPORTS. 2019;9(1):491Saidi A; Kasabova M; Vanderlynden L; Wartenberg M; Kara-Ali GH; Marc D; Lecaille F; Lalmanach G
All other publications
- Conference publication: HEPATOLOGY. 2021;74:714AKara-Ali G; Imerzoukene G; Eugenio MS; Cano L; Hamon A; Hameed H; Piquet-Pellorce C; Dion S; Raguenes-Nicol C; Zucman-Rossi J; Samson M; Le Seyec J; Dimanche-Boitrel M-T
Grants
- Study of the impact of adipose tissue-derived mediators on residual hepatic pathology following weight lossFrench Association for the Study of Obesity20 June 2025 - 31 December 2026
- Effect of weight loss on adipose tissue remodeling at the single‑cell level: searching for a cellular memory of obesityFoundation University of Lille1 April 2024 - 1 April 2025
- Effect of weight loss and type 2 diabetes on adipose tissue remodeling at the single‑cell level: search for a cellular memory of obesityFrench Society of Diabetology1 April 2024 - 31 December 2025
- Role of TRIM21 in hepatocellular carcinoma progression in a NASH contextFondation ARC for Cancer Research1 April 2022 - 30 September 2022
- Role of TRIM21 in TRAIL-induced necroptosis and in HCC progressionFrench Ministry of Higher Education and Research (MESR)1 October 2018 - 31 March 2022
Employments
- Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Medicine, Huddinge, Karolinska Institutet, 2025-2027
- Posdoctoral Researcher, Liver-adipose tissue axis in weight loss, Bart Stael's Lab, Nuclear Receptors, Metabolic & Cardiovascular Diseases, 2022-2025
- PhD Fellow, Hepatocellular carcinoma progression in a MASH context, Michel Samson's Lab, Research Institute for Environmental and Occupational Health (IRSET), 2018-2022