Work in the academic field and research plays a vital role in advancing knowledge, shaping the future, and driving innovation. Dr. Reham Khaled, a graduate from the PharmD program at Gulf Medical University in 2016, completed her Master of Science in Drug Discovery and Development and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. at the University of Ottawa.
Following her graduation, she began working as a pharmacist at Thumbay Hospital Pharmacy and pursued an MBA in Healthcare Management. Besides, she decided to Join as a Teaching Assistant in the College of Pharmacy, under the department of pharmaceutical sciences, which marked a significant step towards her academic pursuits, and she embarked in another new journey by joining the Master of Science in Drug Discovery and Development (MDD). She presented her research findings at national and international conferences such as the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting, 2022.
In 2021, Dr. Reham Khaled published an article in PeerJ Life & Environment Journal titled: “Bioactive marine metabolites derived from the Persian Gulf compared to the Red Sea: similar environments and wide gap in drug discovery” with her colleague Mr. Samiullah Shabbir and their supervisors Dr. Ahmed Al Abd, Ms. Nada Jiaan, Ms. Shahad Alshamil, Dr. Eman El-labbad and Prof. Sherief Khalifa.
In 2022, she successfully defended her thesis titled “Potential chemo-modulatory effect of the marine-derived secondary metabolite ‘terrein’ on the anticancer properties of gemcitabine: pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics study.” Under the supervision of Dr. Ahmed Al-Abd, Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology.
Having completed the MDD program at Gulf Medical University, she developed and polished her skills in self-directed learning and innovation enabling her to set her sights on the next academic goal: a Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Ottawa, Canada. The University of Ottawa is the largest bilingual (English-French) university in the world, among Canada’s top 10 research universities, and it is ranked 137th globally according to Times Higher Education (THE).
Getting the approval to join this Ph.D. program at the University of Ottawa is a testament of her dedication and passion to research and reflects the experience that she gained during her academic journey at GMU.
Dr. Reham Khaled, reflecting on her journey “I am profoundly grateful for the unwavering support I received during my time as both a student and a Teaching Assistant at Gulf Medical University. These dual roles converged to shape my present accomplishments, and I look forward to contributing to the advancement of science and knowledge in the years to come.”
Dr. Sherief Khalifa, the Dean of the College of Pharmacy at Gulf Medical University, commented “At Gulf Medical University, we attract outstanding students who deserve the best education. Part of our mission at the College of Pharmacy is to provide opportunities for these outstanding students to learn, develop, excel, accomplish their goals and reach the stars. Reham is an example of these students whom we are very proud of. We will continue to watch her achieve higher goals and follow her contributions to science with pride that she is one of our own!”