Students from Qatar University share projects on important health topics

Following four years of undergraduate study, biomedical science students at Qatar University’s (QU) College of Health Sciences presented their research projects. The three areas of health—cancer, obesity, and communicable diseases—that Qatar National Vision 2023 specified were the subject of the research investigations.

Students Under the direction of Dr. Hatem Zayed, Associate Professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics at QU, Rawdhah Mohammed and Reham Kamal used an Omics technique to find the differentially expressed genes for patients with colorectal cancer.

Five hub genes were discovered and validated using this method: CDH3, MMP3, TGFBI, CXCL1, and MMP1. These genes may help researchers better understand the pathophysiology and progression of colorectal cancer. The results of this study are prepared for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

In addition, Dr. Nasser Rizk, an associate professor of physiology, oversaw the work of four students as they investigated the molecular causes of obesity. Hiballa Elbasheir and Sara Sami, two students, looked into the effects of sulphorphane (SFN) on the extracellular matrix (ECM) and adhesion molecules in response to obesity treatment and proposed it as a feasible therapeutic choice for avoiding and controlling insulin resistance caused by obesity.

Isha Javid and Mona Eltayeb, the other two students, carried out an extension of this study and looked into how SFN treatment affected miR-146a-5p. They discovered that hsa-miR-146a in combination with SFN treatment can be quite helpful in the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant therapeutic regimen for obesity.

Students Under the direction of Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology Dr. Gheyath Nasrallah, Nouran Ahmed and Shaden Abunasser carried out a study. The goal of the study was to synthesize and evaluate a new hydrogel with antibacterial and biocompatible properties for the treatment of skin infections and wound healing.

Under the direction of Dr. Hadi Yassine, Associate Professor of Virology, students Alyaa Alajii and Mathayel Al Saad investigated the relationship between the herpesvirus and an autoimmune marker.