Mohammad Ali joins faculty

Mohammad Ali joined the Binghamton University School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences as an assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences in January 2020. He earned his bachelor’s degree in pharmacy and his master’s degree in pharmacology from Alexandria University in Egypt, and his PhD in pharmacology from the University of Alberta in Canada, where he was most recently a research associate in the Department of Pharmacology.

Through his research, which focuses on cancer cell biology, epigenetics and cardiovascular pharmacology, Ali has gained broad training in various pharmacological, biochemical and molecular biology techniques, with emphasis on their applications to study the oxidative stress damage to the heart.

His current research exploits state-of-the-art imaging and structural methods including live-cell imaging, super-resolution microscopy and NMR spectroscopy to unravel epigenetics (changes in organisms caused by modification of gene expression without affecting its sequences) and non-epigenetics roles of RYBP in DNA repair and cancer biology. Knowing that DNA repair is one mechanism that allows cancer cells to resist therapy, his theme of research has potential implications in cancer therapeutics. The novel role of the protease MMP-2 in ribosomal RNA biogenesis is also under investigation, which could open new avenues for the deployment of selective MMP-2 inhibitors as anticancer drugs.

Ali is also a licensed clinical pharmacist (Alberta College of Pharmacy) whose practice focused on providing pharmaceutical care to specialized populations: older adults, HIV and opioid use disorder patients.

When asked why he applied for a position at Binghamton, Ali praised the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and the University’s new Health Sciences Campus.

“The high-caliber faculty members and their active roles in pharmacy practice and biochemical and pharmaceutical research make the school a rich soil for prospering in my academic career,” Ali said. “The wide expertise of the faculty members in cancer research, neuroscience, muscle biology, drug delivery/targeting and nanotechnology resonates with my interest and increases my enthusiasm for active and effective collaboration.

“In fact, our school is one of the few pharmacy schools that gives PharmD students a true research experience in the curriculum (Capstone Project) and it is my pleasure to coordinate this project,” Ali added. “I also enjoy a relatively milder winter when I compare the Southern Tier of New York to Alberta, Canada’s winter! I believe I fit perfectly in the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Binghamton.”