Graduate Student Services
For program inquiries contact the Graduate Studies Coordinator.
Diseray Schamehorn
Graduate Studies Coordinator
2-35G Medical Sciences Building
Email: phgrad@ualberta.ca
Diseray Schamehorn has worked for the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Alberta since 2016. She has been the Graduate Studies Coordinator since 2018.
Arno Siraki, PhD
Director of Graduate Studies
Professor
2-020H Katz Group Centre
Email: siraki@ualberta.ca
Dr. Arno Siraki’s research area is in biochemical or pharmaceutical toxicology. His doctoral studies at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Pharmacy, involved xenobiotic-induced cell death in isolated hepatocytes and applying quantitative structure-activity relationships. Post-doctoral studies were carried out at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences/NIH, where drug-induced free radical formation on macromolecules, primarily with protein, was developed, and the application of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy was studied. Dr. Siraki’s research program is focused on biochemical mechanisms of drug toxicity, primarily with an emphasis on drugs that induce idiosyncratic drug toxicity.
Studies in the laboratory focus on applying EPR spectroscopy in detecting and characterizing free radicals in these processes. Various biochemical assays are implemented to assess the relative toxic potential of a compound. The lab has a specific interest on myeloperoxidase, a heme protein normally found in neutrophils and bone marrow promyelocytes. This enzyme has a microbicidal function but can catalyze drug metabolism and potentially drug toxicity. Interestingly, myeloperoxidase is expressed in leukemia cells and appears to be a positive prognostic factor in treating leukemia. In some instances, free radical metabolism has shed light on desirable drug activity, and studies on the importance of myeloperoxidase in neutrophils and promyelocytic leukemia for harmful or beneficial drug effects continue.
Recent research activities focus on broadening EPR spectroscopy applications in pharmaceutical development, engineering applications, and membrane fluidity studies. Dr. Siraki has served as Director of Graduate Studies for several years, is an editorial board member for Chemico-Biological Interactions, and is generously supported by the NSERC, CIHR, Mitacs, and the CFI.
Ayman El-Kadi, PhD
Associate Dean of Research
Professor
2-142J Katz Group Centre
Email: aelkadi@ualberta.ca
Dr. El-Kadi has been a professor in the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Alberta (FoPPS) (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) since 2001. He was the Chair of Pharmaceutical Sciences Division (2005-2008), Director of Graduate Studies (2008-2009), and is the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies (2009-2013 and 2018-current) at the FoPPS. From 2013 to 2016, he served as Dean for the College of Pharmacy at Qatar University (Doha, Qatar). Dr. El-Kadi received his PhD in Pharmacology from University of Montreal (Montreal, Quebec, Canada). Thereafter, he did postdoctoral training in Molecular Toxicology at the University of Western Ontario (London, Ontario, Canada). Dr. El-Kadi's research interests are in the areas of Drug Metabolism, Pharmacology and Molecular and Environmental Toxicology. His research resulted in over 165 peer-reviewed papers in prestigious journals and a similar number of abstracts and presentations. His research is supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR), Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) and several Biotech companies. He has served as editor, associate editor and member of the editorial board for a number of journals in the pharmaceutical sciences.