Biography

I started my professional career as a pharmacist then shifted to academia because of my strong passion for teaching and drug discovery research. I earned my Bachelor's and Master's degrees in pharmaceutical sciences from Mansoura University (Egypt) then a PhD in microbial biochemistry and genetics from the University of Guelph (Canada). I joined McMaster University (Canada) for 3 years as a postdoctoral fellow to explore more fields of drug discovery using machine learning and artificial intelligence. Thereafter I started teaching at the rank of assistant professor in 2019 at Stockton University (New Jersey, USA) and then Whitman College in 2020 (Washington State, USA) before joining AAU in 2021. During my 18 years of postgraduate research and teaching, I gained tremendous expertise in drug discovery across multidisciplinary fields that include, but are not limited to, biochemistry, genetics, and machine learning. I have an outstanding publication record in top-notch journals including Nature Microbiology, PNAS, Natural Products Chemistry, and others. My publications are recognized not only in the scientific community but more publicly as well and have been featured as podcasts in Canadian TV and the Middle East. I managed to secure external funding to support my research programs such as a recent grant from Sandooq Al Watan with a value of 390,000 AED.

Education

Postdoctoral fellowship, Machine learning in drug discovery, McMaster University, Canada

PhD Microbial Biochemistry, University of Guelph, Canada

Master of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Mansoura University, Egypt

Bachleor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Mansoura University, Egypt

Research Interests

1. Host microbe interaction and applications 

2. Strcture and function of microbiome systems including human and plant microbiota

3. Machine learning in drug discovery 

4. Natural products chemistry and action

Selected Publications

 

H index 12, citations 1267

18 articles as a first author, 7 articles as a corresponding author

 

• Mousa W. K.  (corresponding author) et al, 2024: High-throughput sequencing reveals the structure and metabolic resilience of desert microbiome confronting climate change ", Front in Plant Sciences, DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1294173. 
• Mousa W. K. (corresponding author) et al, 2023: Probiotics modulate host immune response and interact with gut microbiota shaping their composition and mediating antibiotic resistance, IJMS, 2023, 10.3390/ijms241813783.
• Ghemrawi R., Al Qassem, A., Ramadan, A., Aldulaymi, R., Sammani, N., and Mousa W. K., W. K. et al: DNA and protein methyltransferases inhibition by adenosine dialdehyde reduces the proliferation and migration of breast and lung cancer cells by downregulating autophagy, PLOS 1, 2023, 10.1371/journal.pone.0288791.
• Mousa W. K. (corresponding author) et al, 2023: Discovery of Lactomodulin, a Unique Microbiome-Derived Peptide That Exhibits Dual Anti-Inflammatory and Antimicrobial Activity against Multidrug-Resistant Pathogens, IJMS, 2023, https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24086901.
• Al Saoud, R., Hamrouni, A. Idris, A., Mousa W. K., W. K. Abu-Izneid, T. 2023: Recent advances in the development of sialyltransferase inhibitors to control cancer metastasis: A comprehensive review, Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy, 10.1016/j.biopha.2023.115091
• Mousa W. K. (corresponding author) et al, 2023: The Interplay between Gut Microbiota and Oral Medications and Its Impact on Advancing Precision Medicine, Metabolites. https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo13050674
• Mousa W. K. (corresponding author) et al 2022: Microbial dysbiosis in the gut drives systemic autoimmune diseases, Frontiers in Immunology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2022.906258
• Mousa W. K.  (corresponding author) 2022: The microbiome-product colibactin hits unique cellular targets mediating host–microbe interaction, Frontiers in Pharmacology, https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2022.958012
• Mousa W. K. (corresponding author) et al 2022: Recent Advances in Understanding the Structure and Function of the Human Microbiome, Frontiers in Microbiology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.825338
• Merwin and Mousa W. K. (equal contributing first author) 2020: DeepRipp integrates multi-omics data to automate discovery of novel ribosomally synthesized natural products, PNAS.
• Mousa W. K. et al 2017: Antibiotics and specialized metabolites from the human microbiota, Natural Products Reports.
• Mousa W. K. et al 2016: Root-hair endophyte stacking in finger millet creates a physicochemical barrier to trap the fungal pathogen Fusarium graminearum, Nature Microbiology, 10.1038/nmicrobiol.2016.167

Conferences

Selected oral talks

• Deep learning algorithm to predict unique chemistry form the human microbiome, World congress on natural products and medicinal plants, July 2-5th, 2023, Dublin, Ireland.
• Comparative metabolomic analysis to identify unique microbial natural products from the microbiome, San Francesco, August 13-18th, 2023, San Francisco, CA, USA.
• Mining the human microbiome using machine learning tools, AAU first international conference on pharmaceuticals and biomedical sciences, Jan 17, 2023, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
• Challenges to Antibiotic Discovery in the genomic era, Canadian Chemical Society 100^th conference, May 31, 2017, Toronto, ON, Canada
• Unusual natural products mediated root hairs-endophyte stacking (RHESt) that traps and kills pathogens, 9th joint Natural Products Conference, July 24th, 2016, Copenhagen, Denmark
• A story of ancient co-evolution between an ancient host, a beneficial microbe and a pathogenic fungus, CSSA Society of America, November 14th, 2015, Minneapolis, MN, USA
• Role of beneficial host associated endophytes in defense mechanisms, University of Nanjing, October 27th, 2015, Nanjing, China
• Beneficial microbes combat serious fungal pathogens, University of Guelph, April 12th, 2015, Ridgetown, Canada
• An ancient African crop hosts a novel bacterial endophyte that suppresses modern crop diseases, American Society of Microbiology 5^th Conference on Beneficial Microbes, September 27th, 2014, Washington DC, USA
• Contributions of microbes to eukaryotic fitness, University of Minnesota, MPGI Fall Symposium, August 29th, 2013, Minnesota, USA
• Plant associated microbes as promising source of biological control agents, GFO Funding Report, July 22nd, 2015, Guelph, ON, Canada

Teaching Courses

2 Years in Canada, 2 years in USA, and 3 years in UAE

• Research design and methodology, Graduate level
• Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Graduate level
• Microbiology and Immunology, 2^nd year undergraduate 
• Microbiology for Health Sciences, 4^th year undergraduate
• Infection outbreaks, elective undergraduate
• Biochemistry, 2^nd year undergraduate 
• Over the counter medications, 3^rd year undergraduate
• Cells and Molecules, 1^st year undergraduate
• Biotechnology and Drug Discovery, 4^th year undergraduate
• Biomedical Engineering, 4th year capstone project 

 

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all.

This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

 

 

Memberships

Amercian Society of Microbiology (ASM)

 

American Society of Pharmacognosy (ASP)