Dr. Hamad Ali

Dr. Ali has done his Pharm-D and B.Sc. from the University of Peshawar. After completing his PharmD, Dr. AIi started his career as a Quality Assurance Inspector at M.KB Pharmaceuticals, Peshawar.  In 2014, Dr. Ali got Research Fellowship at Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, and completed his M. Phil. and Ph. D. in Molecular Pharmacology. After the accomplishment of his Ph.D. in 2021, Dr. Ali was appointed as an Assistant Professor of the Pharmacology at Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University, Islamabad, where he taught the PharmD Integrated Contextual Modular Curriculum (ICMC), and also designed and taught various Post-graduate courses. Currently, he is serving the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Pak-Austria Fachhochschule: Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology. Dr. Ali’s research interests include a unique combination of pharmacology, molecular and cell biology to perform translational research, drug discovery, and re-purposing, with a particular focus on fetal hemoglobin (HbF) induction, a molecular therapy for β-thalassemia and sickle cell anemia. His research is focused on the Pre-clinical investigation of pharmacologically-mediated HbF induction, using in vitro human cell lines, ex vivo erythropoiesis model derived from human hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), and in vivo humanized β-YAC transgenic mice model, and advanced techniques in molecular pharmacology including flow cytometry, RT-qPCR,  immunofluorescence microscopy, western blotting, mass spectrometry, etc. He has ample experience in cell culture technology and animal research.  Dr. Ali has discovered several new potential fetal hemoglobin inducers and studied their molecular mechanisms by evaluating the involvement of γ-globin gene trans-acting regulators e.g., BCL11A, FOP, KLF1, SOX6, GATA-1, etc, and their association with HbF induction in human CD34⁺ erythroid precursors. He has published several research articles in SCI peer-reviewed international journals with a cumulative impact factor of above 60 and served as a reviewer for reputed peer-reviewed journals. He has also participated in and presented his research work at different international conferences and got the best research poster awards, Dr. Ali also filed three research patents with the Intellectual Property Organization (IPO) of Pakistan.

1. Hamad Ali, Faisal Khan, and Syed Ghulam Musharraf. “Cilostazol-mediated reversion of γ-globin silencing is associated with a high level of HbF production: A potential therapeutic candidate for β-globin disorders” Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy 142(2021) Aug 13. pp. 112058. ISSN: 0753-3322.   https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0753332221008416
2. Hamad Ali, Faisal Khan, and Syed Ghulam Musharraf. “Acyclovir induces fetal hemoglobin via downregulation of γ-globin repressors, BCL11A and SOX6 trans-acting factors.” Biochemical Pharmacology190(2021) May 16;190: pp. 114612. DOI: ISSN: 0006-2952. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006295221002185
3. Nurmeen Adil¹, Hamad Ali¹, Amna Jabbar Siddiqui, Arslan Ali, Ayaz Ahmed, Hesham R. El-Seedi, and Syed Ghulam Musharraf. “Evaluation of cytotoxicity of areca nut and its commercial products on normal human gingival fibroblast and oral squamous cell carcinoma cell lines. Journal of Hazardous Materials. 403(2021) Feb 5;403: pp. 123872. ISSN: 0304-3894. ¹ First author https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304389420318616
4. Khan, Faisal, Hamad Ali, and Syed Ghulam Musharraf. “Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate-mediated γ-globin induction is correlated with the suppression of trans-acting factors in CD34+ progenitor cells: A role in the reactivation of fetal hemoglobin.” European Journal of Pharmacology 927(2022), 15 July 2022, 175036. ISSN: 0014-2999. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0014299922002977   
5. Hamad Ali, Fizza Iftikhar, Sarah Shafi, Hina Siddiqui, Ishtiaq Ahmad Khan, M. Iqbal Choudhary, and Syed Ghulam Musharraf. “Thiourea derivatives induce fetal hemoglobin production in-vitro: A new class of potential therapeutic agents for β-thalassemia.” European Journal of Pharmacology855(2019) Jul 15: pp.285-293. ISSN: 0014-2999.  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0014299919303371

• Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology
• Pre-clinical Research
• Drug Discovery and Re-purposing
• Blood disorders
• β-hemoglobinopathies
• β-thalassemia

• Research Fellowship for Ph. D. (July 2018 – Dec 2021)

Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, International Center of Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan.

• Research Fellowship for M. Phil. (Aug 2014 – Sep 2018)

Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, International Center of Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan.

• Best Research Poster Prize Award (November 6-9, 2017)

6^th International Symposium-Cum-Training in Molecular Medicine and Drug Research. (MMDR-6)

Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, International Center of Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan.