Anti-Infective Agents

Dr. V. Alagarsamy, is currently heading the MNR College of Pharmacy at Hyderabad, India. He is also serving as the Director of MNR Research Foundation. Dr. Samy, obtained his master degree in Pharmacy from LM College of Pharmacy, Ahmedabad, India and doctorate (PhD) in Medicinal Chemistry from The MS University of Baroda, India. He has published more than 100 research papers and his books on the title of “Text Book of Medicinal Chemistry,” (published by Elsevier), “Pharmaceutical Chemistry of Natural Products” (published by Elsevier) and “Pharmaceutical Inorganic chemistry” (published by Pharmabook syndicate) are well appreciated in the academic community.

Dr. Dinesh Kumar Patel obtained PhD in Pharmaceutical Science from Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi, India. He is presently serving as an Assistant Professor at Faculty of Health Sciences, Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences, India. His research interests are focused on importance of Natural products especially Plant secondary metabolite in Human health, Diabetes and its secondary complication, Flavonoids, Antioxidant and Phytopharmaceuticals. He is co-author of 80 papers published in international journals and many book chapters to his credit and has good citation index. He is reviewer for various international scientific journals and Travel grantee of various International Conferences.

Dr. Farhat Afrin received Ph.D. from Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata, India. She served Department of Biotechnology, Hamdard University, New Delhi, India for 16 years. She also worked at National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA and Centre for Immunology and Infection, University of York, UK. She is a recipient of several honors including American Association of Immunologists Young Faculty Travel Grant, Commonwealth Academic Staff fellowship. Her research interest is microbial immunology with emphasis on immunotherapeutics. She has published over 55 papers in Journals of International repute and is an Associate Editor, Editorial Board member of several Journals.

Dr. Khalid Aftab, Ph.D. male, Pharmacologist, graduated from department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy University of Karachi, Pakistan in 1995. He worked for Pharmaceuticals industry as Quality Control & Quality Assurance professional and was actively involved in Research & Development of Pharmaceutical preparations. He is the Only Pakistani Pharmacologist who has got membership of American College of Clinical Pharmacology. He has published more than 50 papers in scientific journals of international repute and presented many lectures & poster presentations throughout the world. In recent year, he focused on the Biodiversity & Pharmacological activities of Marine organisms and got some important success.

Dr. Ballal is currently working as the Professor of Microbiology, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Manipal University. She heads the Enteric Diseases Division under the Central research Laboratory of Manipal University. The Enteric division plays an important role in investigating and managing outbreaks of cholera and food poisoning in this geographical area. She completed her Masters in Medical Microbiology from Kasturba Medical College in 1984 and in 1990 continued to do her Doctorate in “Bacteriological, immunological and serological studies of Salmonella typhimurium in humans and experimental studies in animals. She was awarded Ph.D. in 1995. She worked as a Junior Research Fellow (1984-1986) and as a Senior Research Fellow (1989-1990) under ICMR – New Delhi.

Professor Behr studied chemistry at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie in Mulhouse (France), and he completed a Ph.D thesis at the Université de Haute Alsace (1994), working on asymmetric Diels-Alder reactions to target biologically active sugar analogues. He is currently member of the Institute of Molecular Chemistry (ICMR) in Reims, where he conducts research on the development of enzyme inhibitors, from their design to their synthesis and biological evaluation. His team carried out intense collaborations with national/international research groups. He is currently member of the French Chemical Society and of the French Group of Glycosciences.

Dr. Christophe Biot is a Professor in the Unit of Structural and Functional Glycobiology at the Université de Lille 1 in France. His scientific background is characterized by a very strong thematic mobility reflecting his desire to explore the fields of chemistry, biochemistry and biophysics. As of July 2016, he has published (h-index = 37, total citations = 3528) almost 90 original research papers in international peer-reviewed journals, around 10 review articles (in refereed journals), and 9 book chapters (textbooks and specialist books).

Prof. Dr. Abdolhossein Dalimi is a full professor in the Department of Parasitology at Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran. He was born in Khorramshahr, Iran, on March 1957. He earned his DVM at Shiraz University in 1984 and PhD in Medical Parasitology at Tehran Medical Sciences University in 1990. He worked as Vice Dean for Research & Education at Medical Faculty of Tarbiat Modares University (3 years), Chief Deputy for Research and Education of Razi Vaccine Research Institute (4 years), President of Razi Vaccine Research Institute (6 years). At the present time, in addition to teaching and research activities at the university, he is a member of the board of directors of the Iranian Parasitology Society, member of the Parasitology Board of Ministry of Health and member of the editorial board of three Iranian scientific journals.

Dr. R.C. Dash current research focuses on understanding the molecular recognition of complex biological system at atomic level using computational methods. As a research associate at University of Leicester, he collaborated with other lab member of the University of Leicester in developing computational methodology with the application to relevant anticancer and anti-infective target. He has experience with computational study including rational drug design, hit-to-lead optimization, and small molecule synthesis and evaluation. In addition, the contributions and publications described below highlight our extensive expertise in drug development and compound screening as well as his dedication to the development of novel anti-cancer and infective agents.

Dr. Pere Domingo is currently Head of the Infectious Diseases Department at Hospitals Universitaris Arnau de Vilanova & Santa María at Lleida, Spain. He is also Professor of Medicine at the University of Lleida. He graduated with honours in the University of Barcelona in 1980 and achieved his PhD degree in the Autonomous University of Barcelona in 1993 (Magna cum laude). He has been devoted to infectious diseases and HIV infection since 1989. His previous position was Associate Professor of Medicine at the Medicine School (Autonomous University of Barcelona) from 1994 to 2016. He has authored or co-authored more than 500 scientific papers and more than 100 book chapters.

Dr Fernandez-Lafuente obtained a doctorate in Biology sciences from UAM, Madrid, Spain in 1992. Currently, he is a Research Professor at ICP-CSIC, Madrid, Spain. He has published over 350 scientific papers in ISI Journals and is co-inventor of 20 patents, co-supervisor of 18 doctoral thesis and has a current H index of 61 (Scopus). He is member of the editorial team of more than 2 dozens journals (e.g., AAI, PRBI; EMT, JB, JMCB:B; Molecules).

Dr. Firinu obtained full degree in Medicine in 2007. . He has been working at the Department of Internal medicine, Allergy and Clinical Immunology at the Cagliari University, Italy. His research interests include autoimmunity, primary immunodeficiency and rare diseases associated with dysregulation of immunity. In 2013, he has been elected as the Junior Representative in Biological Interest Group, at European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Currently, he is an Associate Professor at the University of Cagliari. He has 98 publications to his credit and 1183 citations.

Dr. Peter Hamar, MD, PhD, is a professor at Semmelweis University. His major scientific interest is to understand the pathophysiologic role of small RNAs in vivo with rodent models. Besides being a PI at Semmelweis, P. Hamar collaborates with the Immune Disease Institute at Harvard. He was the first to harness RNA-interference for the kidney diseases investigated include chronic rejection of kidney allografts, renal ischemia-reperfusion injury, renal fibrosis and tumor-immunology of breast cancer. He has contributed his publication in different scientific journals. Dr. Peter Hamar, MD, PhD, is a professor at Semmelweis University. His major scientific interest is to understand the pathophysiologic role of small RNAs in vivo with rodent models. Besides being a PI at Semmelweis, P. Hamar collaborates with the Immune Disease Institute at Harvard. He was the first to harness RNA-interference for the kidney diseases investigated include chronic rejection of kidney allografts, renal ischemia-reperfusion injury, renal fibrosis and tumor-immunology of breast cancer. He has contributed his publication in different scientific journals.

Prof. Hwu obtained a doctorate (Ph.D.) in Chemistry from Stanford University, California, USA. He has been a Distinguished Chair Professor of National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan and served as the President of Asian Federation for Medicinal Chemistry in 2012 and 2013. He has published more than 200 scientific publications and is a named inventor of 49 issued patents internationally. Professor Hwu has been Fellow of TWAS, IUPAC, and The Royal Society of Chemistry, UK.

Dr. Khan is a host-pathogen systems biology expert, who has extensively published in infectious diseases domain. Dr. Khan has performed cutting-edge research, generated big datasets, and employed different analytical tools to uncover human – pathogen interaction biology and characterize immunotherapeutics, bacterial biofilms, and endotoxins. His fields of expertise include Endotoxin Biology, Host-pathogen systems biology, systems immunoproteomics, Biofilms, and high-resolution accurate mass spectrometry.

Dr. Hossein Mahmoudvand is an assistant professor of Medical Parasitology in the Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran. He received his Ph.D and MSc in Medical Parasitology and BSc in Medical Laboratory Sciences from the Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran. He has published more than 70 papers; whereas his main research interest is application of Parasitology, herbal and synthetic drugs in the treatment of microbial diseases, epidemiology of diseases, medical parasitology and parasites & host behavior.

Tim Maisch studied Biology at the Univ. of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany. In 1997 he received his diploma and achieved his Ph.D. with a thesis titled "Upregulation of protein expression on endothelial cells infected with human cytomegalovirus” in 2001. Since 2002, he has been working as postdoctoral fellow at the Dept. of Dermatology, University of Regensburg on photodynamic inactivation of multi-resistant bacteria. He gained his Postdoctoral Habilitation in 2009 (venia legendi). Currently he is the project leader of the Antimicrobial Photodynamic and Cold Plasma Research Unit at the Dept. of Dermatology.

Dr. Nakazato, did his graduation in Veterinary Medicine (1997) by Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV - Brazil) and MSc. and PhD. in Genetic and Molecular Biology by Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP – Brazil) with performance in Microbiology. Currently, he is a professor and researcher at the Department of Microbiology from Universidade Estadual de Londrina (UEL – Brazil). He has expertise in Bacteriology, Veterinary, Molecular Biology and Nanotechnology. He received the productivity scholarship from CNPq (government research agency) in Technological Development with several patents. He has great experience as a reviewer`s journals and associate editor. He also have a partnership with international researchers (USA, Canada and Mexico).

With 37 years of teaching and research experience, Professor Nisheeth Desai was working as Professor & Head, Department of Chemistry at Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University, Bhavnagar, India and published more than 131 research papers in national and international journals. At Present he is working as BRS faculty fellow, University Grants Commission, New Delhi in the same Department. His research group has developed expertise in the synthesis of smart hybrid heterocyclic molecules with eco-friendly novel methodologies for the development of antimicrobial agents. The cumulative impact factor of his publications is more than 190, with 2252 citations, H index 27 and i10 index is 72. He has successfully guided 44 Ph.D students. His experience spans to being a reviewer for internationally reputed journals with high impact factors. A feather in the cap being 2 Indian patents and having undertaken research projects for all the funding agencies in India. He is a recipient of prestigious "Carrier Award for Young Scientist" from the University Grants Commission, New Delhi.

Dr. TOMASZ PLECH obtained PhD "Synthesis and pharmacological activity of 3-chlorobenzoic acid hydrazide derivatives" from Medical University of Lublin, Poland. He is an Associate Professor and the Head of Department of Pharmacology in Medical University of Lublin, Poland. His research interests are in design and synthesis of novel antibacterial, bacterial topoisomerases, synthesis of nitrogen- and sulfur-containing heterocycling drugs, use of chromatographic techniques and (Q) SAR studies. He has contributed 40 publications, having citations around 467.

Tabaran Alexandru-Flaviu, DVM, has a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine and is board certified specialist in Veterinary Pathology (ACVP). Currently he is lecturer in pathology at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, USAMV Cluj-Napoca, Romania, and key researcher in several research projects. He accomplished a postdoctoral training in comparative pathology at the University of Minnesota, and holds several national and international awards for research. His expertise is focused on experimental and comparative pathology, toxicologic pathology and nanomaterial science, including their usage in anti-infectious therapy.

Prof. Agyare obtained his doctorate from University of Muenster, Germany and an alumnus of German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). He obtained his Bachelor o Pharmacy (BPharm) and Master of Pharmacy (MPharm) degrees from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. He has been a post-doctoral fellow at University of California San Francisco, California and the Novartis Institute for Biomedical Research, Boston, USA. He was appointed a Lecturer at KNUST in 2003 and promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2011 and to Associate Professor in 2016. He research areas are search for antimicrobial, wound healing and anti-inflammatory agents from medicinal plants and natural products. He also researches on antibiotic resistance in animals and humans.

Muhammad Ali has obtained his PhD from University Roma Tre, Rome, Italy in 2015. Soon after, he got opportunity to work as Assistant Professor at the Department of Biotechnology, Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad. He is interested in interdisciplinary research with special focus on antimicrobial resistance, infectious diseases and biotechnology. He has published >46 articles in peer-reviewed journals of international repute with GoogleScholar citations of >850.

Dr. Payam BEHZADI was born in 1973, Tehran, Iran. He began his collaboration with Department of Microbiology, College of Basic Sciences, Shahr-e-Qods Branch, Islamic Azad University as a faculty member (with MSc degree in Microbiology) in 2004. He got his PhD degree in 2016 (BSC and MSC in Microbiology; PhD in Molecular Biology) and now continues his scientific activities in the position of Assistant Professor at the same university. He has several students from different academic levels including BSc, MSc and PhD. Dr. Payam BEHZADI has authored and edited >15 chapter and Academic Books and >55 Original and Review articles.

Dr. Satish A. Dake, Assistant professor, had achieved his Ph.D degree from S.R.T.M. University, Nanded (MS), India in 2011 in the field of Chemistry. He has teaching and research experiences in the field of Chemistry. He has published 27 research papers in the national and international journals and 4 Book Chapters. He had developed interest in the field of Green Chemistry, Synthesis of bioactive hetercyclic compounds such as antibacterial and in vitro antiproliferative, Anti-inflammatory, Anti-bacterial, Anticancer and Antimicrobial Activity. He has worked as Associate Editor Member of Basic and Applied Science Journal. He has Life Membership of the Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA).

Dr. Meraj Khan received his Master’s degree in Biotechnology from Hamdard University, New Delhi, India and his PhD in Cellular and Molecular Implantation Biology from the Department of Physiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India. Following the completion of his doctorate, he moved to Toronto, Canada and joined Dr. Palaniyar Lab at SickKids, University of Toronto. He has largely been focusing on the understanding of the molecular mechanism of the neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) and their role during pathological conditions. He has published many novel findings and mechanisms related to NETosis, Cystic Fibrosis and other lung complications.

Dr. Vijayanarayana Kunhikatta completed M.Pharm. in Pharmacology and Ph.D. in Clinical Pharmacy from Manipal University, India. He has more than 19 years of experience in teaching and research, has guided many postgraduate students for their thesis work, and has published more than 40 research articles in reputed international journals. At present, Dr. Kunhikatta is serving as Managing Editor for Manipal Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. His areas of interest are development of prognostic models, study of antibiotic utilisation and resistance pattern.

Dr. Vaishali M. Patil obtained her PhD degree (2014) in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, India. Since 2017, Dr. Vaishali is Associate Professor in the KIET Group of Institutions (Department: School of Pharmacy) at Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam Technical University, India. She has experience in application of computer aided drug design, QSAR and related medicinal chemistry approaches for biologically important classes of organic compounds. In addition she has experience in handling computational software and interpretation of analytical data (IR, NMR, MS). Dr. Vaishali is author of more than 45 papers published in indexed/peer reviewed Journals and 13 book chapters (Elsevier, Springer, Nova, etc.) with citation index of 200. She has received funding from various agencies to promote research activities of her lab.

Prof. Dr. Mostafa El-Sheekh is a Professor of Phycology. He has nearly 33 years of experience in the research and teaching in the field of algae and its applications. He served as the Dean Faculty of Science, Tanta University and Cultural counselor in Egyptian Embassy in Yemen and Uzbekistan. He holds a Ph.D. in Phycology from Tanta University and Göttingen University as Chanel system fellowship. Notably, Dr. El-Sheekh has authored more than 110 manuscripts, and 4 Book chapters 2 of them on Biodiesel production from microalgae. He is also a faculty member at Tanta University, Egypt where he teaches "Algal uses and applications". He also serves as an editorial member and reviewer for more than 50 peer reviewed Journals.