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Biography
Biography
I graduated with First-Class Honour BSc Degree in Pharmacy from the School of Pharmacy, University of Mosul, Mosul, Iraq in 2006, following which I commenced a MSc Degree in the Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Mosul, Mosul, Iraq, assessing the effect of continuous valproate monotherapy on body mass index (BMI), serum leptin, malondialdehyde (MDA) and lipid profile in male epileptic children and adult patients in comparison to healthy male controls, and I graduated in 2010 with First-Class Honour MSc Degree in Pharmacology.
Thereafter, I conduced a PhD Degree at the School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, England, UK. I characterized the effects of reducing the levels of the NAD precursor nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) with the NMN-synthesizing enzyme nicotinamide phosphoribosyl transferase (NAMPT) inhibitor FK866 on axonal damage and behavioural symptoms in in vitro and in vivo models of neurodegeneration including Huntington's disease (HD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD), and I graduated in 2016.
Next, I worked as Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at The University of Nottingham, and I lead many Translational Pharmacology projects with broad range of national and international collaborators, both from the public and private sectors, including other UK universities, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology companies, NHS, and others. In addition, I actively participated in designing, teaching, learning, delivering, and assessing pharmacology and broad range of medical and biomedical science subjects to undergraduate and postgraduate students at The University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University.
Current Responsibilities
I am currently The Medicine BMedSci Year 1 Lead, and The Medicine BMedSci Pharmacology Lead, and responsible for the operational management of the curriculum, mainly across Year 1 of the Early Years and the BMedSci component of the University of Nottingham's Medicine programme. In addition, I convene number of teaching modules at The School of Pharmacy, and School of Medicine, University of Nottingham. Moreover, I deliver teaching (in variety of settings including large group lectures and small group tutorials as well as, workshops, and practical classes) across range of courses, including:
- Pharmacy MPharm Course (UCAS: B230) at The School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham (ranked top 10 course in the world for pharmacy and pharmacology in QS World University Rankings by Subject 2022 and 2021).
- Pharmacology BSc Course (UCAS: B211) at The School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham (ranked top 10 course in the world for pharmacy and pharmacology in QS World University Rankings by Subject 2022 and 2021).
- Medicine BMedSci and BMBS Courses (Bachelor of Medical Sciences, and Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery) (UCAS: A100) at The School of Medicine, University of Nottingham.
- Drug Discovery MSc Course through collaboration from both The School of Pharmacy and School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham.
Besides that, I have other responsibilities, including supervising undergraduate Pharmacy, and Pharmacology project students, and postgraduate MSc and PhD students, designing, assessing, and grading tests and exams, and administrative duties in areas such as admissions, timetabling, examinations, and student attendance.
Expertise Summary
Teaching Expertise Summary
I have over 15 years extensive experience in designing, teaching, learning, delivering, and assessing, pharmacology, physiology, biochemistry, and other medical and biomedical science subject modules and broad range of medical and biomedical laboratory practical classes (both face to face teaching and virtual using Microsoft Team and various Technology Enhanced Learning techniques and evidence-based teaching materials and methods) to undergraduate students and apprenticeships at The University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University. In addition, I have very good experience in supervising, teaching, learning, and assessing MSc and PhD research projects students, providing pastoral support to students to deal with their sensitive or difficult issues or referring them to specialist support services if necessary and designing, assessing, and grading broad range of undergraduate and postgraduate tests and exams.
Research Expertise Summary
I have professional 10 years extensive experience of working in UK research laboratories, both in academia and industry, and I actively participated in many Translational Pharmacology and Drug Discovery projects (clinical and non-clinical).
I acquired a wide range of skills, both:
- in vitro, including extensive tissue culture experience (cell lines, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and primary human and animal culture (neuronal and non-neuronal culture)), preparation of biological samples (human and animal) for sectioning, staining, and imaging, western blotting, ELISAs, HPLC, qRT-PCR, flow cytometry, and molecular cloning, and
- in vivo, I hold a Home Office Personal License (modules 1 - 4), for 10 years, and have extensive experience in the management and maintenance of wild-type and transgenic mice colonies, mice behavioural assays, mice dosing and tissue/blood sampling, mice perfusion and dissection of tissues.
In addition, I helped to build internal and external networks for my research group members to exchange ideas and establish relationships for future scholarly collaboration. I also helped to submit individual and collaborative proposals to contribute to national and international conferences, and actively participated in preparing research work for inclusion in publication and contributed to the written preparation of scientific reports for grant application.
Teaching Summary
Current Teaching
I am currently The Medicine BMedSci Year 1 Lead, and The Medicine BMedSci Pharmacology Lead, and responsible for the operational management of the curriculum, mainly across Year 1 of the Early Years and the BMedSci component of the University of Nottingham's Medicine programme. In addition, I convene number of teaching modules at The School of Pharmacy, and School of Medicine, University of Nottingham. Moreover, I deliver teaching (in variety of settings including large group lectures and small group tutorials as well as, workshops, and practical classes) across range of courses, including:
- Pharmacy MPharm Course (UCAS: B230) at The School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham (ranked top 10 course in the world for pharmacy and pharmacology in QS World University Rankings by Subject 2022 and 2021).
- Pharmacology BSc Course (UCAS: B211) at The School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham (ranked top 10 course in the world for pharmacy and pharmacology in QS World University Rankings by Subject 2022 and 2021).
- Medicine BMedSci and BMBS Courses (Bachelor of Medical Sciences, and Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery) (UCAS: A100) at The School of Medicine, University of Nottingham.
- Drug Discovery MSc Course through collaboration from both The School of Pharmacy and School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham.
Research Summary
Current Research
Neuroinflammation plays a pivotal role in the aetiology of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Chronic neuroinflammation is associated with a cascade of self-propagating cellular events including blockade of glutamate uptake by glia, and enhanced release of glutamate. Drugs that attenuate the pre-synaptic release of glutamate at neuronal G protein-coupled receptors, including A1 and A2A adenosine receptors, have been shown to reduce the neuroinflammatory response of microglia cells.
Our research focus on assessing the anti-inflammatory effects of adenosine receptors antagonists in in vitro and in vivo models of neurodegeneration. Techniques include in vitro assays, like tissue culture, sectioning, staining, and imaging of biological samples (human and animal), western blotting, ELISAs, HPLC, qRT-PCR, flow cytometry, and molecular cloning, and in vivo assays, like mice behavioural and cognitive assays, mice dosing (via different routes of administration) and tissue/blood sampling, mice perfusion and dissection of tissues.