Dr. Akbar is a cell biologist and program officer in the Division of Metabolism and Health Effects at NIAAA.  He received his Ph.D. from Gunma University, School of Medicine, Maebashi, Japan; where he investigated the signal transduction mechanisms of purinergic receptors under the supervision of Prof. Yoichi Kondo. He worked for the pharmaceutical company (Chugai Pharmaceuticals, Japan) in the drug discovery projects involving molecular medicines. After moving to NIH, he has been conducting research on the effects of fatty acids and alcohol and their cell signaling in neuronal and non-neuronal tissues, at the intramural division of National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). Before joining the extramural division as a Program Officer, he was engaged in studying non-alcoholic and alcohol induced liver diseases, dietary supplements, oxidative stress and metabolic syndromes.