Dr Laila Kudsiova BPharm (Hons), PhD, PGCAP

Dr Laila Kudsiova

Institute of Clinical Sciences
Associate Professor
Postgraduate Research lead in the College of Medicine and Health - Dubai

Contact details

Email
l.kudsiova@bham.ac.uk
Address
University of Birmingham Dubai
Dubai International Academic City
Dubai
PO Box 341799

Dr. Laila Kudsiova is an Associate Professor and Postgraduate Research Lead in the Department of Biomedical Sciences, based at the University of Birmingham’s Dubai campus. She currently teaches across various modules on Biomedical Sciences and is overseeing the PhD programmes in Dubai.

Having initially qualified as a pharmacist in the UK, Laila then went on to pursue her passion for research by obtaining a PhD from King’s College London in the field of gene therapy. She has since been highly involved in both teaching and research in top UK universities and has over 18 years of experience in teaching across both Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy programmes.

Laila’s research focuses on the discovery of novel gene therapy treatments and targeted drug therapies using nanoparticulate formulations for the treatment and diagnosis of various disease such as cancer and genetic disorders.

Qualifications

  • Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP), King’s College London, 2009
  • PhD in gene therapy. King’s College London, 2004
  • BSc (Hons) in Pharmacy, Liverpool John Moores University, 1999

Biography

Laila obtained her Pharmacy degree from Liverpool John Moores University in 1999 and subsequently qualified as a pharmacist in the UK in 2000. She was then awarded the Overseas Research Student Award (ORSA) from the University of London for academically outstanding students to pursue a PhD in the field of gene therapy at King’s College London.

After completing her PhD in 2004, she was awarded the highly prestigious CW Maplethorpe Postdoctoral Research and Teaching fellowship. This was followed by an EPSRC post-doctoral fellowship and a lectureship at King’s College London. Throughout these positions, Laila was highly engaged in both teaching and research, leading her to be granted the "lecturer of the year" award based on student votes. Additionally, she made significant contributions to the discovery of various novel gene therapy and silencing vectors and understanding their structures and properties using sophisticated techniques such as Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS).

In 2018, she joined the University of Brighton as a senior lecturer, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, she conducted a study on the stability of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. The findings of this study, published in BMJ Open Science, proved instrumental in guiding practice at vaccination centres and provided valuable insight into the stability and efficacy of the vaccine upon handling and administration.

In 2022, Laila embraced a new opportunity to further her academic pursuits by joining the University of Birmingham's Dubai campus as an Associate Professor and a postgraduate research lead in Biomedical Sciences.

Teaching

Currently teaching various modules on the Biomedical Sciences Course including:

  • Advanced Study Skills in Biological Sciences
  • Molecular and Cell Biology
  • Cellular Biology and Biochemistry
  • Fundamentals of Life Science
  • Foundations of Neuroscience
  • Digestion and Renal Sciences
  • Cardiovascular and Respiratory Sciences
  • Foundations of Pharmacology

Postgraduate supervision

Laila has three PhD students undertaking projects in the following areas:

  • Development of hyperbranched peptide nanocarriers for targeted siRNA delivery to HER2 overexpressing breast cancer
  • Stimuli-responsive nanometal-loaded liposomes for cancer therapy and diagnosis.
  • Progenitor cells activation in musculoskeletal diseases

Research

Research interests

Laila’s main research interests lie in the design, formulation, physicochemical characterisation and biological testing of various drug and gene therapy vectors for various therapeutic and diagnostic applications.

Selected current and past research projects:

  • Development of hyperbranched peptide nanocarriers for targeted siRNA delivery to HER2 overexpressing breast cancer.
  • Stimuli-responsive nanometal-loaded liposomes for cancer therapy and diagnosis
  • Effects of cytokines, trophic factors and mechanical stimuli on progenitor cells activation in musculoskeletal diseases
  • Stability testing of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines upon handling
  • Combinatory gene immunotherapy for the treatment of breast cancer
  • Bio-mimetic design of novel helper lipids for gene therapy and their cytotoxicity
  • Investigating the use of branched cationic peptides in targeted gene delivery and gene silencing
  • Design, formulation and testing of electrostatically-coated lipopolyplexes for targeted gene delivery
  • Targeted delivery of therapeutic agents to the brain via convection enhanced delivery for the treatment of dementias.
  • Investigation of Trichain lipids for gene therapy applications
  • Gene delivery and gene silencing using novel pH responsive peptides

Publications

Cui, L., Kudsiova, L., Campbell, F., Barlow, D.J., Hailes, H.C., Tabor, A.B., Lawrence, M.J. (2023) Understanding and optimising the transfection of lipopolyplexes formulated in saline: the effects of peptide and serum. Biomaterials Science. 11:3335-3353. DOI: 10.1039/d2bm01905a

Kudsiova, L., Lansley, A., Scutt, G., Allen, M., Bowler, L., Williams, S., Lippett, S., Stafford, S., Tarzi, M., Cross, M., Okorie, M. (2021) Stability testing of the Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine: A translational study in UK vaccination centres BMJ Open Science 5 (1): e100203. DOI: 10.1136/bmjos-2021-100203

Mohammadi, A., Kudsiova, L., Mustapa, M.F.M., Campbell, F., Vlaho, D., Welser, K., Story, H., Tagalakis, A.D., Hart, S.L., Barlow, D.J., Tabor, A.B., Lawrence, M.J., Hailes, H.C. (2019) The discovery and enhanced properties of trichain lipids in lipopolyplex gene delivery systems. Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry. 17(4):945-957. DOI: 10.1039/c8ob02374c

Kudsiova, L., Mohammadi, A., Mustapa, M.F.M., Campbell, F., Welser, K., Vlaho, D., Story, H., Barlow, D.J., Tabor, A.B., Hailes, H.C., Lawrence, M.J. (2019) Trichain cationic lipids: The potential of their lipoplexes for gene delivery. Biomaterials Science. 7(1): 149-158. DOI: 10.1039/c8bm00965a

Kudsiova, L., Welser, K., Campbell, F., Mohammadi, A., Dawson, N., Cui, L., Hailes, H.C., Lawrence, M.J., Tabor, A.B. (2016) Delivery of siRNA using ternary complexes containing branched cationic peptides: The role of peptide sequence, branching and targeting. Molecular Biosystems. 12(3), pp. 934-951. DOI: 10.1039/c5mb00754b

Abbate, V., Liang, W., Patel, J., Lan, Y., Capriotti, L., Iacobucci, V., Bui, T.T., Chaudhuri, P., Kudsiova, L., Vermeer, L.S., Chan, P.F.L., Kong, X., Drake, A.F., Lam, J.K.W., Bansal, S.S., Mason, A.J. (2013) Manipulating the pH response of 2,3-diaminopropionic acid rich peptides to mediate highly effective gene silencing with low-toxicity. Journal of Controlled Release. 172(3):929-938 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2013.09.033

Welser, K., Campbell, F., Kudsiova, L., Mohammadi, A., Dawson, N., Hart, S.L., Barlow, D.J., Hailes, H.C., Lawrence, M.J., Tabor, A.B. (2013) Gene delivery using ternary lipopolyplexes incorporating branched cationic peptides: The role of peptide sequence and branching. Molecular Pharmaceutics. 10(1):127-141. DOI: 10.1021/mp300187t

Knyght, I., Kudsiova, L., Zhai, C., Parsons, R., Lawrence, M., Panaretou, B. Barlow, D. (2012) Fusion protein expression and insertion of human mitochondrial uncoupling protein 1 in the inner membrane of Escherichia coli. Journal of Biological Research. 1(1):12-16.

Lam, J.K.W., Liang, W., Lan, Y., Chaudhuri, P., Chow, M.Y.T., Witt, K., Kudsiova, L., Mason, A.J. (2012) Effective endogenous gene silencing mediated by pH responsive peptides proceeds via multiple pathways. Journal of Controlled Release. 158(2):293-303. DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2011.11.024

Kudsiova, L., Fridrich, B., Ho, J., Mustapa, M.F.M., Campbell, F., Welser, K., Keppler, M., Ng, T., Barlow, D.J., Tabor, A.B., Hailes, H.C., Lawrence, M.J. (2011) Lipopolyplex ternary delivery systems incorporating C14 glycerol-based lipids. Molecular Pharmaceutics. 8(5):1831-1847. DOI: 10.1021/mp2001796

Kudsiova, L., Ho, J., Fridrich, B., Harvey, R., Keppler, M., Ng, T., Hart, S.L., Tabor, A.B., Hailes, H.C., Lawrence, M.J. (2011) Lipid chain geometry of C14 glycerol-based lipids: Effect on lipoplex structure and transfection. Molecular Biosystems. 7(2):422-436. DOI: 10.1039/c0mb00149j

Mustapa, M.F.M., Grosse, S.M., Kudsiova, L., Elbs, M., Raiber, E.-A., Wong, J.B., Brain, A.P.R., Armer, H.E.J., Warley, A., Keppler, M., Ng, T., Lawrence, M.J., Hart, S.L., Hailes, H.C., Tabor, A.B. (2009) Stabilized integrin-targeting ternary LPD (lipopolyplex) vectors for gene delivery designed to disassemble within the target cell. Bioconjugate Chemistry. 20(3):518-532. DOI: 10.1021/bc800450r

Kudsiova, L., Arafiena, C., Lawrence, M.J. (2008) Characterisation of chitosan-coated vesicles encapsulating DNA suitable for gene delivery. Journal of Pharmaceutical Science. 97 (9):3981-3997. DOI: 10.1002/jps.21355

Kudsiova, L., Lawrence, M.J. (2008) A comparison of the effect of chitosan and chitosan-coated vesicles on monolayer integrity and permeability across Caco-2 and 16HBE14o-cells. Journal of Pharmaceutical Science. 97(9):3998-4010. DOI: 10.1002/jps.21262

Barlow, D.J., Hollinshead, C.M., Harvey, R.D., Kudsiova, L., Lawrence, M.J. (2007) Memory effects of monolayers and vesicles formed by the non-ionic surfactant, 2C18E12. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science. 316(2):741-750. DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2007.08.014

Harvey, R.D., Barlow, D.J., Drake, A.F., Kudsiova, L., Lawrence, M.J., Brain, A.P.R., Heenan, R.K. (2007) The effect of electrolyte on the encapsulation efficiency of vesicles formed by the nonionic surfactant, 2C18E12. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science. 315(2):648-661 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2007.06.076