Academic Staff

Biography

Name Dr Zana Azeez Abdulkareem
Address Department of Animal Resources, College of Agricultural
Sciences, University of Raparin
General Street
Qaladiza, Sulaymaniyah
Kurdistan Region-Iraq
Tel: +9647725425011
E-mail: zana_med@raparinuni.org
Birthplace Qaladiza District, Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan-Iraq.
D.O.B. 30.08.1980
Marital status: Married

Degrees:

BSc, Vet. Medicine (1st out of twenty-five graduates), University of Sulaimani, (2004).
Main Subjects: Chemistry, Biology, Physiology, Biochemistry, Histology, Nutrition, Genetics, Microbiology, Parasitology, Pharmacology, Pathology, Clinical Pathology, Immunology, Infectious diseases, Food Hygiene, Forensic Medicine, Surgery, Medicine,
and Fish diseases.

MSc, Pharmacology, with the grade very good (87.24%), University of Sulaimani, (2008).
Subjects (Semesters): Advanced Biochemistry, Clinical Toxicology, Advanced Physiology, Advanced Pharmacology, Therapeutics, Drug safety and Evaluation, and Biostatistics.
Thesis title: Effect of different doses of captopril on reproduction and lactation in rabbits.

PhD, Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Pharmacology and Physiology discipline, Cardiff University, United Kingdom (UK), (18 December 2015).
Thesis title: SK potassium and TRPM7 ion channel role in CNS cell survival and breast
cancer cell death decisions, http://orca.cf.ac.uk/80343/.
Main Subjects: Cell Biology, Cell Physiology, Molecular Pharmacology, Biochemistry, Genetics, Cancer and Regenerative Medicine.

Philosophy of Teaching

My over-arching research interest is in understanding life and death decisions at the
cellular level. The molecular mechanisms and pathways that determine cell fate are
implicated in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. My early career
research has focussed on understanding the role of ion channels in these decisions and
how they may be targeted to promote neuronal cell survival in neurodegenerative
diseases and stimulate cell death in cancerous cells. In particular, I focussed on a subset
of potassium channels activated by intracellular Ca2 + called SK channels. I found that
blockade of these channels was potently cytotoxic in a panel of breast cancer cell lines.
This included endocrine resistant cell types which represent a clinical phenotype difficult
to treat. This work was published in the British Journal of Pharmacology.
Since then, animal illnesses and other health issues like fractures have long been
treated with the use of medicinal plants and practices. In this respect, medicinal plants
can play a key role in the development and advancement of modern studies by serving
as a starting point for the development of drugs. My colleagues and I are currently
focusing our research efforts in this area in order to combat common infectious and non-
infectious diseases in poultry and other domestic animals using natural plants.