On Monday, February 3, 2025, the College of Pharmacy at Gulf Medical University hosted a research seminar delivered by Dr. Mohammad Alwahsh, Assistant Professor of Toxicologic Pathology and Vice Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy at Al-Zaytoonah University of Jordan. The seminar was attended by faculty from the Pharmaceutical Sciences Department and candidates from the Master’s in Drug Discovery and Development program.
Titled “Innovative Approaches in Cancer Research: Integrating Metabolomics, 3D Cell Culture Methods, and Online Toxicity Testing for Enhanced Understanding and Treatment Strategies”.
Dr. Alwahsh holds a Ph.D. in Toxicologic Pathology from Heidelberg University, Germany (2022), and an M.Sc. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Al-Zaytoonah University of Jordan (2018). He is also a Research Associate at the Leibniz Institute for Analytical Sciences – ISAS, with research interests in cancer metabolomics, 3D cancer models for drug screening, multi-omics, and biomarker identification.
During the seminar, Dr. Alwahsh presented his research on Glutathione and Xanthine Metabolic Changes in Tamoxifen-Resistant Breast Cancer Cell Lines. He explained that resistance to tamoxifen, a common treatment for estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer, is mediated by the downregulation of GSS (glutathione synthetase) and XDH (xanthine dehydrogenase), which correlates with poor prognosis. Using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy with a cryogenic probe, he identified key metabolic alterations and linked them to changes in gene expression of the enzymes involved.
His findings shed light on dysregulated metabolic pathways in tamoxifen-resistant breast cancer cell lines, offering insights into potential therapeutic targets.
The session concluded with an engaging discussion, emphasizing the significance of integrating metabolomics and advanced 3D cell culture methods in cancer research to improve drug screening and treatment strategies.