I receive my BSc in pharmacy from the University of Baghdad College of Pharmacy in 2004. After finishing one year of residency at Al-Wasity Hospital for Plastic Surgery, Dr Kawther transitioned to pursue a career in academia. She was awarded HCED scholarship to pursue MSc studies at the University of Iowa where joined Prof Aliasger Salem’ lab. My work was focused on polymeric particles-based cancer vaccines. Following the completion of my MSc in 2013, she started PhD studies in the same lab where she further focused on cancer immunotherapy. Following the completion of my PhD in 2016, she moved to Prof Weizhou Zhang’s lab at Carver College of Medicine at the University of Iowa, USA to explore tumor microenvironment a part of my postdoctoral studies. I moved back to work at the University of Baghdad College of Pharmcy in 2018 as a faculty member at the pharmaceutics department. Besides my teaching duties, I was in charge of several committee and administrative duties at the college. Throughout my career in academia, I presented my research at several national and international conferences and provided training in different areas related to research and education. Additionally, I value community service where I organized, led and participated in several community service activities both inside and outside the college. I won several awards and recognitions for my research, service and activities.
B.Sc. Pharmacy (2004), College of Pharmacy, University of Baghdad
M.Sc. Pharmaceutics (2013), College of Pharmacy, University of Iowa
Ph.D. Pharmaceutics (2016), College of Pharmacy, University of Iowa
Graduate Certificate in College Teaching (2016), University of Iowa, College of Education
Postdoctorate (2016-2018), University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine
Adjunct Assistant Professor: College of Pharmacy, University of Iowa, January 2018 – Current. Quality Assurance Division Chair: University of Baghdad College of Pharmacy, June 2022 – current Continuing Education Unit Chair: University of Baghdad College of Pharmacy, February 2021 – Sept 2022 Accreditation: Member of the steering and head committees for the NCAPC accreditation, member of the head committee for the ACPE accreditation, University of Baghdad College of Pharmacy. Consultant: Avicenna Center for Pharmaceutical Research, Industrial Research and Development Body, Ministry of Industry and Minerals, Iraq, December 2020 – June 2022. Member, Iraqi Pharmacist Syndicate
- Iraqi Science Day award for distinguished publication 2021.
- Travel award, Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center (HCCC) Annual Research Retreat; Iowa City, Iowa, June 2017.
- 2nd place winner for the Carver College of Medicine Health Sciences Research Week Cover Art Contest, April 2017.
- Winning nomination for 2016 International parent of the year awarded by the Office of International Students and Scholar Services at the University of Iowa.
- Graduate College Summer Fellowship, 2016. Graduate College -University of Iowa
- First place winner in University of Iowa 2016 3 Minutes Thesis (3MT) competition.
- People’s choice award in University of Iowa 2016 3 Minutes Thesis (3MT) competition.
- Student International Advocate awarded by the Office of International Students and Scholar Services at the University of Iowa for the academic year 2014-2015.
- Travel award by the Graduate Student Senate at the University of Iowa for attending the Controlled Release Society meeting, 2014.
- Annual Pharmacy Practice Laboratory Teaching Assistant Excellence Award, College of Pharmacy, University of Iowa for teaching assistant activities during fall 2013.
Cancer vaccines and cancer immunotherapy, Micro/nanoparticles based drug delivery for cancer therapy and cancer vaccines Cell surface engineering for biomedical applications. Using molecular biology tools to target specific signaling pathways involved in cancer tumorigenesis. Innovative cost-effective formulations for local delivery of therapeutics Dissolution improvement of limited solubility small drug molecules.
Pharmaceutics I have research experience in drug delivery system formulation for oral, topical, and injectable dosage forms. Extensive experience in developing particle-based drug delivery systems for different applications including cancer vaccine, cancer immunotherapy and targeted drug delivery. This involves design and characterization of micro/nanoparticles carriers for different therapeutic moieties. Experience included leading projects, working with teams, providing expert opinion on shared projects, designing experiments and SOPs, data collection and analysis, writing and reviewing reports and manuscripts. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning I have a growing experience in research on perception and acceptance of instructional methods and technologies used in pharmacy education and factors affecting implementation of new educational instruments.
MSc students. Fall 2022 - current: MSc students join the research group where they work on a separate project for each while collaborating on the general research line.
Graduation projects. University of Baghdad College of Pharmacy
Graduate students, spring 2017: Mentoring new graduate student joining our research group. Mentoring duties involved training on general lab safety procedures, flow cytometry, animal handling, and single cell RNA isolation and sequencing.
Graduate students, fall 2014 and fall 2015: Mentoring new graduate students (one per semester) that join the research group. Mentoring duties involved training on general lab safety procedures and basic skills required for particles preparation and tissue culture.
PharmD students: I have also mentored PharmD students joining the research group as part of their research credits or Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) research rotations. I have mentored 4 PharmD students: spring 2015 (P3 and P2 student), summer 2015 (P2 student), fall 2015 (P4 student).
This study aims to formulate azithromycin oleogel to locally treat skin infections such as acne vulgaris and skin wound infection. Providing a form of azithromycin that can be administered topically is highly desired to prevent unwanted systemic complications including diarrhea, nausea, and abdominal pain. Additionally, it will avoid first pass metabolism, improves patient acceptance, provides an alternative in nauseated patients, decreases the dose by direct contact with the pathological site, and provides a noninvasive and convenient mode of administration. Furthermore, for treating wound infections, the gel will act as a scaffold biomaterial for wound closure besides its antibacterial effect. Herein, we propose the use of grapeseed oil-b
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The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on education models was mainly through the expansion of technology use in the different educational programs. Earlier impact of COVID-19 was manifested in the complete and sudden transition to distance education regardless of institution preparedness status. Gradually, many institutions are moving back to on-campus face-to-face education. However, others including all higher education institutions in Iraq are adopting the hybrid education model. This report presents part of the end of semester evaluation survey conducted at the University of Baghdad College of Pharmacy for the Spring 2021 semester. The survey aims to address points of strength and weakness associated with the hybrid education model and spe
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Education around the world has been negatively affected by the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Many institutions had to transition to distance learning in compliance with the enforced safety measures. Distance learning might work well for settings with stable internet connections, professional technical teams, and basic implementation of technology in education. In contrast, distance learning faces serious challenges in less fortunate settings with inferior infrastructure. This report aims to shed light on the immediate action steps taken at a leading pharmacy school in Iraq to accommodate for the enforced changes in pharmacy education. The University of Baghdad College of Pharmacy went from less than minimal technology impl
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Background: Bilastine (BLA) is a second-generation H1 antihistamine used to treat allergic rhinoconjunctivitis. Because of its limited solubility, it falls under class II of the Biopharmaceutics Classification System (BSC). The solid dispersion (SD) approach significantly improves the solubility and dissolution rate of insoluble medicines. Objective: To improve BLA solubility and dissolution rate by formulating a solid dispersion in the form of effervescent granules. Methods: To create BLA SDs, polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP K30) and poloxamer 188 (PLX188) were mixed in various ratios (1:5, 1:10, and 1:15) using the kneading technique. All formulations were evaluated based on percent yield, drug content, and saturation solubility. The fo
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Drug solubility and dissolution remain a significant challenge in pharmaceutical formulations. This study aimed to formulate and evaluate repanglinide (RPG) nanosuspension-based buccal fast-dissolving films (BDFs) for dissolution enhancement. RPG nanosuspension was prepared by the antisolvent-precipitation method using multiple hydrophilic polymers, including soluplus®, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl pyrrolidine, poloxamers, and hydroxyl propyl methyl cellulose. The nanosuspension was then directly loaded into BDFs using the solvent casting technique. Twelve formulas were prepared with a particle size range of 81.6-1389 nm and PDI 0.002-1 for the different polymers. Nanosuspensions prepared with soluplus showed a favored mean particle size o
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