Université de Montréal medical professor Nabil G. Seidah, director of the Biochemical Neuroendocrinology Research Unit of the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal (IRCM), has been awarded the 2025 Great Arab Minds Award, in the Medicine category.
Granted by the United Arab Emirates, the award honours major contributions to science on an international scale and, in Seidah's case, the exceptional impact of his work on cardiovascular health and lipid metabolism.
A pioneer in the discovery of the PCSK9 protein, the Egyptian-born scientist paved the way for a new generation of drugs— the PCSK9 inhibitors—now widely used to lower LDL cholesterol and prevent cardiovascular disease.
His research, which includes more than 800 publications, has also advanced understanding of conditions such as fatty liver disease, dyslipidemia, obesity, inflammation, certain cancers and their metastases, and viral entry mechanisms into cells, contributing to major therapeutic breakthroughs.
Seidah will receive his award next Thursday in Dubai from the ruler of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
