The Pharmacist / Spring 2022 / Volume 44 / Issue 2

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UIC COLLEGE OF PHARMACY VIRTUAL RESEARCH DAY 2021 NOVEMBER 12, 2021 IMAGES OF RESEARCH CONTEST 1ST PLACE GLIA GLUE By Jessica Benitez-Burke, PharmD Student and Graduate Research Assistant, Dr. Eric Wenzler’s lab, Department of Pharmacy Practice Fluorescent Flames! Psuedomonas aueruginosa, glowing under certain light conditions, is used to test antimicrobial resistance against this specific strain via E-test methods as displayed in the background. The bacteria colonies are shown in the UIC Flames logo. For details on the various images or research taking place, visit GRAD.PHARMACY.UIC.EDU/IMAGES-OF-RESEARCH-2/. OUR THANKS TO THIS YEAR’S SPONSORS
Dr. Mashal Alshazi Develops Vaccines to Save Lives BY JESSICA CANLAS MASHAL ALSHAZI, PhD ’15, is working on an innovative platform for vaccines development. Born in Saudi Arabia, Alshazi now works in Riyadh as assistant professor of pharmaceutical biotechnology in the Infectious Diseases Vaccination Research Chair and the College of Pharmacy at King Saud University (KSU). “I feel that I have the mandate to start this kind of work because there is a gap in vaccine development in Saudi Arabia and in the region itself,” he says. He and his team focus their work on responding to specific local health concerns. An example is Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS, which first appeared in 2012, with 80% of cases in Saudi Arabia. “There was no interest in developing a vaccine [elsewhere], so now we believe it is our job as scientists in Saudi Arabia.” Although the disease is still considered rare, Alshazi believes in being prepared. “We are generously funded by the Saudi Ministry of Education to develop a vaccine against MERS in collaboration with the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development. “If we can develop a vaccine now, it will be ready when we need it.” Meanwhile, with the entire globe still in the midst of a pandemic, Alshazi and his team, in collaboration with King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, a research facility in Riyadh, are taking a different approach to developing their own COVID-19 mRNA vaccine. “We collected COVID-19 samples [found in] Saudi,” Alshazi explains. “We are trying to identify the local sequence and design a vaccine based on that sequence. This will make our vaccine more relevant to the region. “Changing the sequence will directly affect vaccine efficacy.” Alshazi admits that a passion for science fueled his entry into biotechnology. After completing his bachelor’s in pharmaceutical sciences at KSU, he worked as a hospital pharmacist for a year before returning to the university as a teaching assistant. A year and a half later, he was awarded a full scholarship by KSU to continue his education, which he used to enroll in the UIC College of Pharmacy, where he investigated antimicrobial drugs and resistance mechanisms of antimicrobial-producing bacteria in Dr. Alexander Mankin’s lab. After earning his doctorate, Alshazi joined the faculty at KSU College of Pharmacy and was subsequently selected for a special research program at Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development in Houston. “After I finished the program, I went back to Saudi Arabia with the ambition to start a center for vaccine development,” he recalls. “So I established my team here, working on mRNA and protein-based vaccines.” As a result, Alshazi is now the vice director for Infectious Diseases Vaccination Research Chair at KSU. In addition, Alshazi also volunteers with Ready2Respond, a global partnership that works directly with the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control to strengthen the pandemic preparedness of low- and middle-income countries. He also works as a vaccines and biologics consultant with the Saudi Food and Drug Authority. “I am happy with what I am trying to do now with my team here in Saudi Arabia, but we still have a lot of goals to be achieved.” MASHAL ALSHAZI · PHD ’15 ALUMNI PROFILES SPRING 2022 THE PHARMACIST 33
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The Pharmacist / Spring 2022 / Volume 44 / Issue 2

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