Education
Dr. Al Batran received his bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from the Arab International University, Syria, in 2009. In 2014, he completed his PhD in cardiovascular pharmacology with Dr. Fouad Al Bayaty at the University Technology Mara, Malaysia, then he moved to Edmonton to train with Dr. John Ussher as a Post-doctoral Fellow at the Faculty of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Alberta. In 2020, Dr. Al Batran joined the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Montreal as an Assistant Professor to start his own lab. Dr. Al Batran’s research program primarily focusing on how obesity-induced alterations in energy metabolism, and how targeting energy metabolism may be a novel approach to counteract obesity-related diseases such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Teaching
PHA1140 - Fonctionnement normal du corps humain 4 (Endocrinology)
SBP1007 - Fonctionnement normal et pathologie du corps humain II (Endocrinology)
Lab Members

Abdualrahman Abdualkader
Post-Doctoral Fellow
Abdualrahman has MSc and PhD in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from International Islamic University Malaysia. He has over 5 years of multidisciplinary research experience in protein isolation and purification, drug discovery of small and macro molecules.
Research axes: Role of BCAA and BCKA in Insulin Resistance

Hamza Mechchat
PhD Student
Hamza has a Master in Physiology, Pharmacology and Biomedical Sciences from the University of Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah (USMBA), Fez, Morocco. He joined Al Batran's lab in 2022 seeking to learn more about metabolism and metabolic diseases and help contribute further more to this area of research.
Research axes: Ketone Bodies and Diabetic Kidney Disease

Stephanie Mourad
Master Student
Stephanie graduated in June 2020 with a PharmD degree from the Lebanese American University (LAU) after completing rotations in several hospitals across Beirut,Lebanon and Houston Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas. After graduation, she worked in the Medication Donation Program of a non-governmental organization called Anera. She is currently a candidate for a master’s degree in pharmaceutical sciences at Universite de Montreal in Montreal, Quebec.
Research axes: Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCTs) and NAFLD/NASH

James Kevin Bradshaw Bernacchi
Master Student
James graduated in July 2022 with a Pharmacy degree from the University of Alcalá de Henares (UAH), Spain. During his degree, he worked 6 months at Dr. Goya Pharmacy and 5 months with us at the University of Montréal (UdeM), Quebec. In january 2023, he will start his master in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the UdeM.
Research axes: BCAA, BCKA and Cachexia