Trainee Spotlight: Mona M. Khamis (Hamada)

Bio

Mona Hamada is a PhD Candidate in Pharmacy, co-supervised by Dr. Anas El-Aneed (Pharmacy) and Dr. Darryl J. Adamko (Pediatrics). She obtained her BSc in Pharmaceutical Sciences and her MSc in Pharmaceutical Analytical Chemistry from Alexandria University, Egypt.

Research

For her PhD thesis, Mona established a robust analytical platform to investigate potential urine biomarkers of asthma and COPD using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and novel analytical approaches in method development and validation. Her preliminary patients’ data demonstrates an 82% accuracy for asthma/COPD diagnosis. Biochemical pathways were identified for the most discriminating metabolites. Her results are an important step towards improving clinical testing of asthma and COPD.

Mona presented her research findings at numerous local, national, and international conferences and in eight peer-reviewed articles. She was awarded five fellowships and scholarships to support her studies including the Graduate Research Fellowship and the PhD New Faculty Graduate Student Scholarship. Her scientific contributions were recognized with 13 different awards including the Gordon McKay graduate student travel award in Analytical Chemistry (2018) as well as the 56^th Eastern Analytical Symposium (2017) and the Canadian Society of Mass Spectrometry (2016) travel awards.

Mona co-founded the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists University of Saskatchewan Student Chapter, serving terms as Chair-Elect and Chair. She also co-founded the College’s Graduate Student Council, serving as VP-Students Affairs. Mona co-organized more than 10 different scientific and social meetings for her fellow graduate students and she volunteered as a student representative in different forums and focus-groups across campus.

During her time in the PhD program, Mona has helped supervise two summer students and has taught undergraduate and graduate students as a teaching assistant, course lecturer, and guest lecturer.

Recent Publications

Khamis MM, Adamko AJ, Purves RW and El-Aneed A. Quantitative determination of potential urine biomarkers of respiratory illnesses using new targeted metabolomic approach. Analytica Chimica Acta (2019), 1047: 81-92.

Khamis MM, Holt T, Awad H, El-Aneed A and Adamko DJ. Comparative analysis of creatinine and osmolality as urine normalization strategies in targeted metabolomics for the differential diagnosis of asthma and COPD. Metabolomics (2018), 14 (9):115.

Khamis MM, Klemm N, Adamko DJ and El-Aneed A. Comparison of accuracy and precision between multipoint calibration, single point calibration and relative quantification for targeted metabolomic analysis. Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry (2018), 410 (23): 5899-5913.

Adamko DJ, Khamis MM, Steacy LM, Regush S, Bryce R and Ellis AK. Severity of allergic rhinitis assessed by urine metabolomic profiling: Proof of concept. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (2018).

Khamis MM, Adamko DJ and Anas El-Aneed. Development of a novel validated LC- MS/MS method for the quantification of 19 endogenous asthma/COPD potential urinary biomarkers. Analytica Chimica Acta (2017), 989: 45-58.

Khamis MM, Adamko DJ and El-Aneed A. Mass spectrometric based approaches in urine metabolomics and biomarker Discovery. Mass Spectrometry Reviews (2017), 36(2): 115-134.

Willems J, Khamis MM, Mohamed-Saeid W, Purves R, Katselis G, Low N and El-Aneed. Analysis of a series of chlorogenic acid Isomers using differential ion mobility and tandem mass spectrometry. Analytica Chimica Acta (2016), 933: 164-174.

Awad H, Khamis MM and El-Aneed A. Mass Spectrometry, review of the basics: ionization. Applied Spectroscopy Reviews (2015), 50(2):158-175.