QU Biomedical Science students present graduation projects

Biomedical Science students in Qatar University’s (QU) College of Health Sciences presented their research projects following four years of undergraduate studies.The research studies covered cancer, obesity and communicable diseases, the three health sectors identified by Qatar National Vision 2030.Students Rawdhah Mohamed and Reham Kamal conducted an Omics approach to identify the differential expressed genes for patients with colorectal cancer under the supervision of Dr Hatem Zayed, associate professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics at QU. The approach identified and validated five hub genes - CDH3, MMP3, TGFBI, CXCL1, and MMP1, which could improve scientists’ understanding of the pathophysiology mechanism and development of colorectal adenocarcinoma. The findings of this research are ready to be published in a peer review journal.In addition, four students studied the molecular aspects of obesity under the supervision of Dr Nasser Rizk, associate professor of Physiology. The students, Hiballa Elbasheir, and Sara Sami investigated the impact of Sulphorphane (SFN) on the extracellular matrix (ECM) and adhesion molecules in response to obesity treatment and suggested it as a potential therapeutic option for preventing and managing obesity-related insulin resistance. The other two students, Isha Javid and Mona Eltayeb extended this research and investigated the impact of SFN treatment on miR-146a-5p and found that hsa-miR-146a, in combination with sulforaphane (SFN) treatment, can be quite useful in the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant therapeutic regimen for obesity.Students Nouran Ahmed and Shaden Abunasser conducted a study under the supervision of Dr Gheyath Nasrallah, associate professor in Microbiology and Immunology. The study focused on synthesising and assessing a novel hydrogel that has antimicrobial and biocompatible properties useful for skin infection treatment and wound healing.Students, Alyaa Alajii and Mathayel al-Saad studied the association of herpes virus with autoimmune marker, under the supervision of Dr Hadi Yassine, associate professor of Virology.Finally, Aisha al-Rumaihi and Shaikha al-Hajri made a comparative genomics study to shed light on genetic mechanisms that drive Dugong adaptation to extreme climatic challenges. The study was supervised by Dr Rozaimi Razali, assistant professor of Bioinformatics.