Prof. Abdolkarim Sheikhi | Vaccine | Best Innovation Award

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Prof. Abdolkarim Sheikhi | Vaccine | Best Innovation Award

Queens University, Canada.

Abdolkarim Sheikhi is an Iranian immunologist and professor at Dezful University of Medical Sciences. With a distinguished career spanning over three decades, he has made significant contributions to the field of immunology, particularly in NK cell activity, immune responses, and molecular immunology. He has held key academic positions, supervised numerous research projects, and has been actively involved in establishing laboratories and clinical centers. His expertise extends to advanced immunological techniques, teaching, and scientific society memberships.

Profile

Scopus
Orcid

🎓 Education

Abdolkarim Sheikhi earned his B.Sc. in Biological Sciences from Shahid Chamran University, Iran (1985–1989), followed by an M.Sc. in Medical Immunology from Tarbiat Modarres University, Iran (1989–1992), where he researched Natural Killer (NK) activity assays in cancerous patients and normal individuals. He then completed his Ph.D. in Medical Immunology at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Iran (1996–2002), focusing on the influence of soluble HLA molecules on NK cells, particularly their quantity and role in malignant peritoneal and pleural effusions, shedding light on immune interactions in cancer progression.

💼 Experience

Professor Abdolkarim Sheikhi has had a distinguished academic career in Immunology, currently serving as a Professor at the Department of Immunology, Dezful University of Medical Sciences (2016–Present). Before this, he was an Associate Professor at the same institution (2010–2016) and at Zanjan University of Medical Sciences (2009–2010). His journey in academia began as an Assistant Professor (2002–2009) and an Academic Staff Member (1992–2002) at Zanjan University of Medical Sciences. In addition to his teaching and research, he has held Visiting Scientist positions at Queen’s University (Canada), Universitätsklinikum Kiel (Germany), and VUmc University (Netherlands), contributing to global immunology research.

🔬 Research Interests

Immunology: Natural Killer (NK) cells, immune regulation, immune responses in infections and cancers

Molecular Immunology: sHLA molecules, T cell activation, antigen presentation

Autoimmune Diseases & Allergies

Cancer Immunotherapy & Monoclonal Antibodies

🏆 Awards

Tehran University of Medical Sciences – Research grant for autologous LAK cell therapy in cancer

Shahed University of Medical Sciences – Study on the effect of garlic extract on RAGE expression in diabetic patients

📚 Selected Publications

Sheikhi, A., Baghaie, L., Rahbarizadeh, F., Safarzadeh Kozani, P., Moradian, C., Davidi, M., Baharifar, N., Kaboli, G., Sheikhi, M., Li, Y., et al. (2025).
Novel sACE2-Anti-CD16VHH Fusion Protein Surreptitiously Inhibits SARS-CoV-2 Variant Spike Proteins and Macrophage Cytokines, and Activates Natural Killer Cell Cytotoxicity.
Vaccines.

Yazdanpanah‐Samani, M., Ramezani, A., Sheikhi, A., Mostafavi‐Pour, Z., Erfani, N. (2024).
Anti‐PD‐L1 Chimeric Antigen Receptor Natural Killer Cell: Characterization and Functional Analysis.
APMIS.

Akbarian, S., Sheikhi, M., Khedri, P., Baharifar, N., Khalaf Shamsabadi, F., Davidi, M. R., Khazaei, H. A., Assarian, H., Sheikhi, A. (2023).
The Correlation Between Humoral Immune Responses and Severity of Clinical Symptoms in COVID-19 Patients.
Epidemiology and Infection.

Momtazan, S., Ramezani, S., Momeni, A., Sheikhi, A. (2023).
The Potential Benefits of Ginger in Cancer Therapy.
Trends in Medical Sciences.

 

 

 

Dr. Ana Filipa Pires | Drug Delivery Systems | Best Researcher Award

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Dr. Ana Filipa Pires | Drug Delivery Systems | Best Researcher Award

Institute of Telecommunications, Portugal.

Ana Filipa Soares Pires is a Junior Researcher specializing in biomaterials and bioelectronic devices at Instituto de Telecomunicações, Instituto Superior Técnico. Her research focuses on creating systems that respond to stimuli like light, electricity, and magnetism to guide cell behavior for tissue regeneration. She is particularly interested in drug delivery systems, such as liposomes, nanoparticles, and hydrogels, and has made groundbreaking contributions to bioelectronics and personalized medicine. Ana's work on biodegradable LEDs for real-time monitoring of anticancer drugs has propelled innovations in precision medicine and tissue engineering.

Profile

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Education 🎓

Ana Filipa Soares Pires holds a Ph.D. in Radiation Biology and Biophysics, where she specialized in biomaterials and bioelectronics. Her educational background also includes Master's Fellowships in Pharmacokinetic Analysis (PEstOE/EEI/LA0008/2014), focusing on the pharmacokinetics of nanostructured films, and in Textile Electrode Design (2014), where she innovated designs using cotton and silk electrodes to collect electrical signals from living tissue. Her education laid the foundation for her pioneering work in bioelectronics, tissue engineering, and drug delivery systems.

Experience  💼

Ana's research experience spans multiple interdisciplinary projects, including the development of drug delivery systems, tissue scaffolds, and biosensors. She has collaborated with leading researchers from institutions such as IFSCAR (Brazil) and Synchrotron Facilities (Denmark), and her work is published in prestigious journals like European Polymer Journal and Fungal Biology. As a guest editor, Ana has also contributed to the scientific community by editing special issues and reviewing for top-tier journals.

Research Interests 🔬

Biomaterials & Bioelectronics: Developing biodegradable LEDs for real-time monitoring of anticancer drugs.

Drug Delivery Systems: Improving the precision and safety of therapeutic treatments using liposomes, nanoparticles, and hydrogels.

Tissue Engineering: Engineering conducting scaffolds for neural tissue regeneration.

Molecular Interactions: Exploring the interaction between catechins and cellular membranes for their antioxidant effects.

Awards and Honors 🏆

Ana has been recognized for her exceptional contributions to bioelectronics and biomaterials. Some notable projects she has worked on include:

European Innovation Council, EIC PathFinder (2022-2025)

Co-PI for "Magnetic field-assisted MSCs-based therapies" (La Caixa Foundation, 2022)

Master Fellow in Pharmacokinetic Analysis of Nanostructured Films

Selected Publications 📚

Heparinized Acellular Hydrogels for Magnetically Induced Wound Healing Applications

Authors: Pires, F., Silva, J.C., Ferreira, F.C., Portugal, C.A.M.
Journal: ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
Year: 2024, Volume: 16(8), Pages: 9908–9924
Citations: 4

Indium-gallium-zinc-oxide Based Semitransparent Electrodes on Flexible Substrates for Biodegradable Electronics

Authors: Pompilio, M., Gharehbagh, J.S., Krik, S., Ciocca, M., Cacialli, F.
Conference: 6th IEEE International Flexible Electronics Technology Conference, IFETC 2024 - Proceedings
Year: 2024

Magnetic-Responsive Liposomal Hydrogel Membranes for Controlled Release of Small Bioactive Molecules—An Insight into the Release Kinetics

Authors: Pereira, L., Ferreira, F.C., Pires, F., Portugal, C.A.M.
Journal: Membranes
Year: 2023, Volume: 13(7), Article: 674
Citations: 5

The Impact of Blue Light in Monolayers Representing Tumorigenic and Nontumorigenic Cell Membranes Containing Epigallocatechin-3-gallate

Authors: Pires, F., Magalhães-Mota, G., Geraldo, V.P.N., Oliveira, O.N., Raposo, M.
Journal: Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces
Year: 2020, Volume: 193, Article: 111129
Citations: 19

Effect of Epigallocatechin-3-gallate on DMPC Oxidation Revealed by Infrared Spectroscopy

Authors: Pires, F., Rodrigues, B., Magalhães-Mota, G., Ribeiro, P.A., Raposo, M.
Conference: Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture)
Year: 2020