Mireille Al Houayek - New expert at UCLouvain

Five new FNRS research associates will officially join the pool of scientific experts at UCLouvain at the beginning of the 2021–22 academic year, and one of them is working at LDRI: Mireille Al Houayek

Role of the endocannabinoid system in the resolution of inflammation and inflammatory pain

More about Mireille Al Houayek (quick interview conducted by the UCLouvain communication service)

What has been your career path so far?
I graduated in pharmaceutical sciences at the University of Saint Joseph in Beirut in 2006. I did my first research internship at UCLouvain in 2007 as part of a mobility grant. Following that excellent experience, I became a PhD candidate and teaching assistant in biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences at the Louvain Drug Research Institute. I worked on the role of endocannabinoids in chronic inflammatory bowel diseases. After earning my PhD in 2014, I became an FNRS postdoctoral researcher and did a two-year postdoctorate in Sweden. Back in Belgium in the Bioanalysis and Pharmacology of Bioactive Lipids Group at the Louvain Drug Research Institute, I launched research focused on the resolving properties of endocannabinoids.     

How did you feel when you found out you were becoming a research associate?
Joy for the news and enthusiasm for the next step in the adventure.

What is the ultimate goal of your research?
To identify new therapeutic targets, based on endogenous lipid mediators, in order to promote the resolution of chronic inflammation and pain.