Graduate Student Directory

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Bio

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Education:

• M.S., Clinical Pharmacy - Jordan University of Science and Technology, 2020

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Research Areas:

• Experimental therapeutics and drug repurposing
• Drug development and delivery
• Identification of novel therapeutic targets for Alzheimer’s disease

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Amer Al Khalifa is a Ph.D. candidate in pharmaceutical sciences and conducts research in the Department of Drug Discovery and Development at Auburn University’s Harrison College of Pharmacy. He earned his M.S. in Clinical Pharmacy from Jordan University of Science and Technology in 2020 and holds a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy. In 2021, he was awarded a competitive research scholarship to receive advanced scientific training at the Faculty of Medicine, Saarland University, Germany.

Al Khalifa conducts his research under the mentorship of Dr. Amal Kaddoumi in a multidisciplinary neuropharmacology lab focused on drug discovery for neurodegenerative diseases. His work explores the role of blood-brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction in Alzheimer’s disease and aims to develop novel therapeutic strategies to preserve BBB integrity and improve disease outcomes.

Publications

• Amer E. Al Khalifa, Nour F. Al-Ghraiybah, Amal Kaddoumi. Extra-Virgin Olive Oil in Alzheimer’s Disease: A Comprehensive Review of Cellular, Animal, and Clinical Studies. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 25(3), 1914.
• Amer E. Al Khalifa, Nour F. Al-Ghraiybah, Julia Odum, John G. Shunnarah, Nataleigh Austin, Amal Kaddoumi. Blood–Brain Barrier Breakdown in Alzheimer’s Disease: Mechanisms and Targeted Strategies. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2023.
• Nehad M. Ayoub, Ghaith M. Al-Taani, Amer E. Al Khalifa, Dalia R. Ibrahim, Aymen Shatnawi. The Impact of the Coexpression of MET and ESR Genes on Prognosticators and Clinical Outcomes of Breast Cancer: An Analysis for the METABRIC Dataset. The Breast Journal, 2024.
• G. A. Shatnawi, Nehad M. Ayoub, Amer E. Al Khalifa, Dalia R. Ibrahim. Estrogen-Related Receptors Gene Expression and Copy Number Alteration Association With the Clinicopathologic Characteristics of Breast Cancer. Basic and Clinical Research, 16, 11782234221086713.
• Sweilem B. Al Rihani, Khaled H. Elfakhri, Hassan Y. Ebrahim, Nour F. Al-Ghraiybah, Amer E. Al Khalifa, Khalid A. El Sayed, Amal Kaddoumi. The Usnic Acid Analogue 4-FPBUA Enhances Blood–Brain Barrier Function and Induces Autophagy in TgSwDI and 5xFAD Mouse Models. ACS Chemical Neuroscience. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acschemneuro.4c00326
• Nour F. Al-Ghraiybah, Junwei Wang, Amer E. Al Khalifa, Andrew B. Roberts, Ruchika Raj, Euitaek Yang, Amal Kaddoumi. Glial Cell-Mediated Neuroinflammation in Alzheimer’s Disease. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2022.
• Ihab M. Abdallah, Kamal M. Al-Shami, Amer E. Al Khalifa, Nour F. Al-Ghraiybah, Claudia Guillaume, Amal Kaddoumi. Comparison of Oleocanthal-Low EVOO and Oleocanthal Against Amyloid-β and Related Pathology in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer’s Disease. Molecules, 2023.
• Nehad M. Ayoub, S. K. Jaradat, Kamal M. Al-Shami, Amer E. Al Khalifa. Targeting Angiogenesis in Breast Cancer: Current Evidence and Future Perspectives of Novel Anti-Angiogenic Approaches. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 13.
• Nehad M. Ayoub, Dalia R. Ibrahim, Amer E. Al Khalifa. Overcoming Resistance to Targeted Therapy Using MET Inhibitors in Solid Cancers: Evidence From Preclinical and Clinical Studies. Medical Oncology, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12032-021
• A. Shatnawi, Nehad M. Ayoub, Amer E. Al Khalifa. ING4 Expression Landscape and Association With Clinicopathologic Characteristics in Breast Cancer. Clinical Breast Cancer, 2020.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clbc.2020.11.011