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Estevanico Foundation

OUR FOUNDER & PRESIDENT

Abdeslem
El Idrissi

Neuroscientist, educator and author. A career connecting scientific research, cultural history and public scholarship.

Abdeslem El Idrissi
Portrait supplied with permission.

Abdeslem El Idrissi is a Moroccan neuroscientist and professor at the College of Staten Island (CSI), part of the City University of New York (CUNY). He is also a faculty member in biology and neuroscience at the CUNY Graduate Center. His research concerns taurine, inhibitory neurotransmission, synaptic plasticity, neurodevelopmental conditions and neurodegeneration. [1][2][3][4]

Alongside his scientific and teaching work, El Idrissi directs a medical internship program connecting American university students with hospitals in Morocco. He is the founder and president of the Estevanico Foundation and has organized symposia and edited or co-authored books about Estevanico, the Moroccan participant in the sixteenth-century Narváez expedition. [5][6][7][8]

Education and academic career

El Idrissi is from Taounate, Morocco. In a 2024 interview with Aljarida24, he discussed his early education in Morocco and subsequent academic work in the United States. CSI’s faculty directory records a Bachelor of Science from an institution it calls the University of Science in Morocco, a Master of Arts from Brooklyn College, and a doctorate from the CUNY Graduate Center. The same directory also lists an MP degree from the Graduate Center, without expanding that abbreviation. [9][1]

Before joining CUNY in 2003, he worked in the Human Genetics department of the New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities. At CSI, he has served as chair of biology and director of the Medical Technology Program. He also formerly chaired the neuroscience subprogram at the CUNY Graduate Center. The American Moroccan Competencies Network’s biography records that he co-directed CSI’s Physician Assistant Program. [10][4]

The Graduate Center lists synaptic plasticity and the mechanisms underlying epileptogenesis among his research interests. His publisher biography describes work on the developmental maturation of GABAergic signaling and its relationship to developmental disabilities. Institutional biographies also associate his career with CUNY’s Center for Developmental Neuroscience. [2][4][11]

Research

Taurine, neuronal signaling and experimental models

El Idrissi’s publications on taurine include studies of neuronal survival, calcium regulation, inhibitory signaling and learning in experimental systems. In a 1999 paper with E. Trenkner, he investigated how taurine and growth factors affected glutamate-induced excitotoxicity in cultured cerebellar granule cells. The study examined intracellular calcium responses and mitochondrial energy metabolism rather than clinical outcomes in people. [12]

Their 2004 review considered taurine as a modulator of excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission. In a separate 2008 study, El Idrissi examined chronic taurine supplementation in aged mice and reported improved acquisition and retention in a memory task. These publications concern the biological actions of taurine in laboratory systems; they do not establish a treatment for human cognitive impairment. [13][14]

With Lorenz S. Neuwirth and William J. L’Amoreaux, he subsequently studied taurine regulation of short-term synaptic plasticity in a mouse model of fragile X syndrome. Their 2010 article in the Journal of Biomedical Science examined changes in synaptic responses in this experimental model. [15]

Neurodevelopment and neurodegeneration

El Idrissi has also investigated environmental influences on neurodevelopment. A 2025 CUNY research feature described mouse experiments involving gestational exposure to dibutyl phthalate and subsequent behavioral and neurobiological changes. The institutional account placed this work within his broader investigation of interactions between environmental exposure, neuronal signaling and developmental disorders. [16]

In 2022, El Idrissi and Alejandra del Carmen Alonso published a study of mice expressing a pathological form of human tau protein. Their paper examined alterations in neuronal excitability and the brain’s insulin-signaling cascade. It addressed mechanisms associated with neurodegeneration, rather than the effectiveness of a treatment in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. [17]

Autism services and screening in Morocco

El Idrissi was a co-author of a study on urban and rural differences in the needs, service use and satisfaction of caregivers of autistic children in Morocco. Published in the January 2024 issue of Autism, following online publication in 2023, the study drew on a survey of 131 caregivers. It examined access to intervention and education alongside barriers encountered by families in different communities. [18]

CUNY also reported his participation in research evaluating smartphone-based autism screening in Moroccan health centers. The project used the BlinkLab platform to investigate behavioral responses recorded through a smartphone. This screening research was separate from the caregiver survey and from his laboratory studies of environmental exposure. [16]

Academic exchange and professional service

El Idrissi directs CSI’s medical internship program in Morocco. A January 2025 college report dated the program’s inception to 2016 and recorded 69 participants up to that point. The report described placements in public university hospitals in Tangier, Fez and Marrakesh, with students rotating among specialties that included internal medicine, neurosurgery, cardiology, radiology, pediatric emergency care and obstetrics. [5]

The program combines supervised hospital experience with academic study and cultural activities. CSI reported that it was open to students from both CUNY and other universities and that students received academic credit. Placements were supervised by local mentors and CSI faculty, with the intention of connecting classroom learning to the organization and daily work of hospitals. [5]

An official syllabus for Biology 594, Medical Internship, identifies El Idrissi as the course professor and lists a neurosurgery placement at the Mohammed VI University Hospital Center in Marrakesh, with Said Ait Benali as the on-site supervisor. The syllabus describes the placement as an academic course in which credit is awarded for learning, including the development of analytical, interpersonal and scientific-writing skills. [19]

The American Moroccan Competencies Network lists him as a co-chair of its Health and Biomedical Sciences group. Its professional biography also identifies him as a vice-president of the International Taurine Society. He is listed on the scientific committee of Morocco’s Fondation Mohammed VI des Personnes Handicapées. [10][20]

Scholarly editing

El Idrissi has co-edited several scientific collections published by Springer. With William J. L’Amoreaux, he edited the two-volume Taurine 8 in 2013. The collection drew on the 18th International Taurine Meeting, held in Marrakech in April 2012. El Idrissi and L’Amoreaux co-chaired the meeting’s organizing committee. The volumes covered taurine’s roles across nervous-system function, metabolism, nutrition and other areas of experimental biology. [21][22]

He was also one of the five editors of Taurine 11, published in 2019, alongside Jianmin Hu, Fengyuan Piao, Stephen W. Schaffer and Jang-Yen Wu. He subsequently co-edited Taurine 12: A Conditionally Essential Amino Acid with Schaffer and Shigeru Murakami in 2022. Both volumes formed part of the Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology series. [11][23]

With Dan McCloskey, he edited Neurobiology of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Springer released the electronic and hardcover editions in February 2024, although the volume carries a 2023 copyright date. The collection addresses biological and neurological approaches to autism spectrum disorders. [4]

Estevanico scholarship and cultural activities

El Idrissi’s cultural work focuses on Estevanico, also known as Mustafa Zemmouri or Mustapha Ezzemouri, and his place in accounts of early encounters between Africans, Europeans and Indigenous peoples in North America. The Estevanico Foundation identifies El Idrissi as its founder and president and describes its mission in terms of historical research, cultural preservation and exchange between Morocco and the United States. [6][7]

In February 2024, CSI reported on a symposium organized with the General Consulate of Morocco. El Idrissi welcomed participants and introduced discussion of the Narváez expedition and Estevanico’s historical significance. Speakers included Abdelkader Jamoussi and author Paul Schneider, and the event incorporated panel discussions and cultural exhibitions. CSI departments and programs in the sciences, history, languages, African diaspora studies and global engagement participated in its organization. [24]

A February 2025 CSI announcement identified El Idrissi as organizer of the Third International Estevanico Symposium. Its announced program brought together historians, writers and cultural participants to discuss Estevanico, the Narváez expedition, slavery and exploration, and the interpretation of African experiences in the Americas. [25]

El Idrissi and Abdelkader Jamoussi edited Estevanico: Tracing the Footsteps of a Remarkable African Explorer, published by Premium Book Publishers in 2024. The volume collected conference proceedings. In a 2025 review in Soroud, Mourad El Khatibi described contributions examining Estevanico through historical, literary and cultural perspectives, including his representation in Cabeza de Vaca’s account and his place in Moroccan cultural memory and Black history. [7]

In 2026, El Idrissi and Amein Almoughrabi co-authored Estevanico: The Man Cabeza de Vaca Could Not See. The foundation’s publication page and the retailer’s bibliographic record list its release as September 1, 2026, with 396 pages and ISBN 9798170647583. The foundation describes it as a narrative reconstruction of Estevanico’s journey, distinct from the earlier co-edited conference volume. [26][8]

Recognition

Aljarida24 reported El Idrissi’s inclusion in a highly cited-scientist listing in 2024. In November 2025, Morocco World News reported his inclusion for a second consecutive year in the citation-based database associated with Elsevier and Stanford researchers. The reporting concerned citation metrics for scientific publications, rather than the award of a Stanford University prize. [9][3]

Selected publications

Books

  1. Abdeslem El Idrissi; William J. L’Amoreaux (editors). Taurine 8: Volume 1: The Nervous System, Immune System, Diabetes and the Cardiovascular System. Springer New York, 2013. DOI. ISBN 9781461461296. [21]
  2. Abdeslem El Idrissi; William J. L’Amoreaux (editors). Taurine 8: Volume 2: Nutrition and Metabolism, Protective Role, and Role in Reproduction, Development, and Differentiation. Springer New York, 2013. DOI. ISBN 9781461460923. [22]
  3. Jianmin Hu; Fengyuan Piao; Stephen W. Schaffer; Abdeslem El Idrissi; Jang-Yen Wu (editors). Taurine 11. Springer Singapore, 2019. DOI. ISBN 9789811380228. [11]
  4. Stephen W. Schaffer; Abdeslem El Idrissi; Shigeru Murakami (editors). Taurine 12: A Conditionally Essential Amino Acid. Springer Cham, 2022. DOI. [23]
  5. Abdeslem El Idrissi; Dan McCloskey (editors). Neurobiology of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Springer Cham, 2024. DOI. ISBN 9783031423826. [4]
  6. Abdeslem El Idrissi and Abdelkader Jamoussi, editors. Estevanico: Tracing the Footsteps of a Remarkable African Explorer. Premium Book Publishers, 2024. [7]
  7. Abdeslem El Idrissi; Amein Almoughrabi. ESTEVANICO: The Man Cabeza de Vaca Could Not See. Independently published, 2026. ISBN 9798170647583. [8]

Research articles and reviews

  1. A. El Idrissi; E. Trenkner. Growth factors and taurine protect against excitotoxicity by stabilizing calcium homeostasis and energy metabolism. The Journal of Neuroscience 1999; 19(21): 9459–9468. DOI. [12]
  2. A. El Idrissi; E. Trenkner. Taurine as a Modulator of Excitatory and Inhibitory Neurotransmission. Neurochemical Research 2004; 29(1): 189–197. DOI. [13]
  3. A. El Idrissi. Taurine improves learning and retention in aged mice. Neuroscience Letters 2008; 436(1): 19–22. DOI. [14]
  4. Abdeslem El Idrissi; Lorenz S. Neuwirth; William J. L’Amoreaux. Taurine regulation of short term synaptic plasticity in fragile X mice. Journal of Biomedical Science 2010; 17(Suppl 1): S15. DOI. [15]
  5. Abdeslem El Idrissi; Alejandra del Carmen Alonso. Pathological Human Tau Induces Alterations in the Brain Insulin Signaling Cascade. Frontiers in Neuroscience 2022; 16: 805046. DOI. [17]
  6. Maretha de Jonge; Mohamed Boutjdir; Tahar El-Korchi; Hafida Torres; Arun Karpur; Andy Shih; Abdeslem Elidrissi. Urban and rural differences in needs, service use and satisfaction among caregivers of autistic children in Morocco. Autism 2024; 28(1): 107–122. DOI. [18]

Sources

  1. Abdeslem El Idrissi. College of Staten Island.
  2. El Idrissi, Abdeslem. CUNY Graduate Center.
  3. Morocco’s Abdeslem El Idrissi Among World’s Top 2% Scientists for 2025. Morocco World News (2025-11-09).
  4. Neurobiology of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Springer Cham (2024).
  5. CSI Expands Medical Internship Program in Morocco for Summer 2025. CSI Today (2025-01-23).
  6. About us. Estevanico Foundation.
  7. Abdeslem El Idrissi and Abdelkader Jamoussi, Estevanico: Tracing the Footsteps of a Remarkable African Explorer. Soroud (2025).
  8. ESTEVANICO: The Man Cabeza de Vaca Could Not See. Amazon (2026-09-01).
  9. البروفيسور عبد السلام الإدريسي يرفع من أمريكا علم الوطن ضمن أكثر العلماء تأثيراً في العالم. Aljarida24 (2024-10-13).
  10. Thematic groups. American Moroccan Competencies Network.
  11. Taurine 11. Springer Singapore (2019).
  12. Growth factors and taurine protect against excitotoxicity by stabilizing calcium homeostasis and energy metabolism. The Journal of Neuroscience / PubMed (1999-11-01).
  13. Taurine as a Modulator of Excitatory and Inhibitory Neurotransmission. Neurochemical Research / Springer (2004).
  14. Taurine improves learning and retention in aged mice. Neuroscience Letters / PubMed (2008).
  15. Taurine regulation of short term synaptic plasticity in fragile X mice. Journal of Biomedical Science (2010-08-24).
  16. College of Staten Island Professor Advances Autism Research and Global Screening Access. City University of New York (2025-04-07).
  17. Pathological Human Tau Induces Alterations in the Brain Insulin Signaling Cascade. Frontiers in Neuroscience (2022-02-21).
  18. Urban and rural differences in needs, service use and satisfaction among caregivers of autistic children in Morocco. Autism / PubMed (2024-01).
  19. Medical Internship: Biology 594 — Marrakesh syllabus. College of Staten Island.
  20. Comité scientifique. Fondation Mohammed VI des Personnes Handicapées.
  21. Taurine 8: Volume 1: The Nervous System, Immune System, Diabetes and the Cardiovascular System. Springer New York (2013).
  22. Taurine 8: Volume 2: Nutrition and Metabolism, Protective Role, and Role in Reproduction, Development, and Differentiation. Springer New York (2013).
  23. Taurine 12: A Conditionally Essential Amino Acid. Springer Cham (2022).
  24. Estevanico Event Gathers Historians to Trace the Footsteps of Legendary Explorer. CSI Today (2024-02-21).
  25. Celebrating Estevanico: The College of Staten Island Celebrates Black History Month with Another Installment of Conference to Honor African Explorer. CSI Today (2025-02-04).
  26. Estevanico: The Man Cabeza de Vaca Could Not See. Estevanico Foundation (2026-09-01).

Sources reviewed September 28–29, 2026. University activities described in this biography are separate from the Foundation’s programs.