On Friday, August 23rd 2024, Nusaiba Babiker, a student in the Master in Drug Discovery and Development (MDD) program at the College of Pharmacy, successfully defended her Master’s thesis titled “Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of a Novel Series of Anthranilate Derivatives as Potential Anticancer Agents.” The thesis was supervised by Dr. Eman El-Labbad, Assistant Dean of Assessment and Evaluation and Assistant Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, and Dr. Ahmed Thabet, Head of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Assistant Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the College of Pharmacy, Gulf Medical University.
Nusaiba’s research focused on the development of novel anthranilate derivatives aimed at targeting Transforming Growth Factor-β Receptor type 1 (TGF-βR1), a critical player in cancer pathogenesis. Recognizing the role of TGF-βR1 in promoting cell proliferation, metastasis, and angiogenesis, Nusaiba designed a library of Tranilast analogs using computational drug design approaches. Her study demonstrated that certain derivatives exhibited enhanced activity against different cancer cells compared to Tranilast, suggesting a potential for greater therapeutic efficacy. The compounds were synthesized and characterized, with biological assays done at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the US indicating promising anticancer activities against various cancer cell lines, including leukemia, non-small cell lung cancer, and melanoma. This work highlights the potential of these novel compounds as lead candidates for further development in cancer therapy.
The examination committee included Dr. Abdelbasset Farahat, Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Department of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, California Northstate University, USA, and Dr. Richie Rashmin Bhandare, Associate Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Ajman University, Ajman, UAE.
During the oral defense examination, Nusaiba was able to effectively present her research findings and defend her conclusions, demonstrating a deep understanding of the topic and her area of study. The examination committee commended her on the thoroughness and significance of her work, concluding that she had successfully completed her thesis.
This achievement is a significant milestone for Nusaiba Babiker. We congratulate her on her hard work and dedication to her studies and wish her continued success in her future endeavors in the field of drug discovery and development.