Dr Ayesha Sabah Rahman

School of Dentistry
Associate Professor in Microbiology

Contact details

Telephone: +44 (0) 1214665520
Email: a.s.rahman@bham.ac.uk

Address: The School of Dentistry
5 Mill Pool Way
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B5 7EG
United Kingdom

Ayesha Rahman is an Associate Professor in Microbiology based in Dentistry at the School of Health Sciences. Her research aims to take an interdisciplinary approach to study the mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and to develop appropriate drug delivery strategies, particularly against biofilms. Additionally, she is interested in evaluating the clinical effectiveness of antibiotics, used both therapeutically and prophylactically, by conducting systematic reviews and meta-analyses of existing clinical evidence. Ayesha has received BBSRC case awards to support her research.

Qualifications

Associate Professor in Microbiology:

PhD (Molecular Microbiology) University of Birmingham, 2005 (2001-2005).
MSc (Applied Biomolecular Technology) University of Nottingham, 2000-2001.
Bachelor of Pharmacy, 1999.

Professional Memberships

Member of the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
Member of the British Society of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy
Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)

Biography

After completing her undergraduate degree in Pharmacy, Ayesha studied for a Masters in Applied Biomolecular Technology at the University of Nottingham. Ayesha’s research career commenced with doctoral studies at the University of Birmingham (UoB), where she read to elucidate the biosynthetic pathway of the antibiotic, mupirocin, in Pseudomonas fluorescens NCIMB 10586. After completing her doctoral thesis, she worked at UoB as a post-doctoral research fellow on a BBSRC-funded project investigating the molecular pathways and mechanism of acid resistance in E.coli K12 and E.coli O157:H7 (Sakai) using transcriptomics (microarrays) and metabolomics. This was followed by an exciting opportunity at Aston University where she was tasked with setting up and applying genomic evaluation technologies to projects at the interface between drug delivery and genomics.

Ayesha began her academic career as a Senior Lecturer in Pharmaceutical Microbiology at the University of Wolverhampton's School of Pharmacy. Subsequently, she moved to the University of Leicester as an Associate Professor in Pharmaceutical Science, where she co-led the design and establishment of the new MPharm program. In 2024, she joined the University of Birmingham to develop oral biofilm research and lead on the infection theme.

Teaching

Postgraduate supervision

Current projects:

MIBTP-Case award: Mechanistic Evaluation of the effect of dry coated antibiotic amino-acid complexes in Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Preparation of Micro/Nanoparticles for the delivery of high-dose antimicrobial agents to the respiratory system in cystic fibrosis patients
Investigation of the effect of amino acids on P. aeruginosa biofilms and pigment formation.

Research

Ayesha’s vision is to develop a portfolio of preventative and therapeutic strategies to combat oral infections by deploying cutting-edge science and research inspired education to promote oral health and well-being.

Research interests

Study the formation of polymicrobial biofilms and dissect interspecies and host-pathogen interactions
Design and develop effective formulations using antimicrobial agents and multifunctional excipients to treat and prevent biofilm related infections.
Design, synthesis and characterisation of novel heterocyclic compounds with potential antimicrobial activity.
Evaluation of clinical effectiveness of antibiotics and vaccines.

Other activities

As part of her external academic activities, Ayesha periodically reviews grant applications for various funding bodies including BBSRC, European Society of Clinical Microbiology, and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID), Royal Society of Chemistry
Reviews research articles for journals such as BMJ Public Health, BMC Pharmacology and Colloids and Surface B and MDPI group of journals
She is currently the Academic Editor of PLOS ONE journal.
She is the external examiner for MSc in Antimicrobial resistance at Coventry University.
Ayesha has extensive experience in developing modules and courses for external accreditation bodies such as the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) for the MPharm programme and the Royal Society of Biology (RSB) for BSc programmes.

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Rajabi, A, Idrees, M, Rahman, A, Iyire, A, Wyatt, D, Koner, J & Mohammed, AR 2024, 'Evaluating the role of amino acids and isothermal dry particle coating in modulating buccal permeation of large molecule drug vancomycin', Scientific Reports, vol. 14, no. 1, 19678. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-69144-6

Sawant, S, Baldwin, TC, Metryka, O & Rahman, A 2023, 'Evaluation of the Effect of Plectranthus amboinicus L. Leaf Extracts on the Bacterial Antioxidant System and Cell Membrane Integrity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA01 and Staphylococcus aureus NCTC8325', Pathogens, vol. 12, no. 6, 853. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens12060853

Sawant, S, Baldwin, TC, Khan, H & Rahman, A 2023, 'Evaluation of the Effect of Leaf Development in Plectranthus amboinicus L. on Antimicrobial Activity and Virulence Factors of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 and Staphylococcus aureus NCTC8325', Current Microbiology, vol. 80, no. 1, 24. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-022-03126-7

Warraich, AA, Mohammed, AUR, Gibson, H, Hussain, M & Rahman, AS 2021, 'Acidic amino acids as counterions of ciprofloxacin: Effect on growth and pigment production in Staphylococcus aureus NCTC 8325 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1', PLOS One, vol. 16, no. 4, e0250705. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0250705

Russell, C, Hussain, M, Huen, D, Rahman, AS & Mohammed, AR 2021, 'Profiling gene expression dynamics underpinning conventional testing approaches to better inform pre-clinical evaluation of an age appropriate spironolactone formulation', Pharmaceutical Development and Technology, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 101-109. https://doi.org/10.1080/10837450.2020.1839496

Warraich, AA, Mohammed, AR, Perrie, Y, Hussain, M, Gibson, H & Rahman, A 2020, 'Evaluation of anti-biofilm activity of acidic amino acids and synergy with ciprofloxacin on Staphylococcus aureus biofilms', Scientific Reports, vol. 10, no. 1, 9021. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-66082-x

Trevino, V, Cassese, A, Nagy, Z, Zhuang, X, Herbert, J, Antzack, P, Clarke, K, Davies, N, Rahman, A, Campbell, MJ, Guindani, M, Bicknell, R, Vannucci, M & Falciani, F 2016, 'A Network Biology Approach Identifies Molecular Cross-Talk between Normal Prostate Epithelial and Prostate Carcinoma Cells', PLoS Computational Biology, vol. 12, no. 4, e1004884. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1004884, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1004884

Russell, C, Begum, S, Hussain, Y, Hussain, M, Huen, D, Rahman, A, Perrie, Y & Mohammed, AR 2015, 'Paediatric drug development of ramipril: reformulation, in vitro and in vivo evaluation', Journal of Drug Targeting, vol. 23, no. 9, pp. 854-63. https://doi.org/10.3109/1061186X.2015.1036275

Turan, N, Kalko, S, Stincone, A, Clarke, K, Sabah, A, Howlett, K, Curnow, SJ, Rodriguez, DA, Cascante, M, O'Neill, L, Egginton, S, Roca, J & Falciani, F 2011, 'A systems biology approach identifies molecular networks defining skeletal muscle abnormalities in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease', PLoS Computational Biology, vol. 7, no. 9, e1002129. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002129, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002129

Stincone, A, Daudi, N, Rahman, AS, Antczak, P, Henderson, I, Cole, J, Johnson, M, Lund, P & Falciani, F 2011, 'A systems biology approach sheds new light on Escherichia coli acid resistance', Nucleic Acids Research, vol. 39, no. 17, pp. 7512-7528. https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkr338

Khan, S, ElShaer, A, Rahman, AS, Hanson, P, Perrie, Y & Mohammed, AR 2011, 'Genomic evaluation during permeability of indomethacin and its solid dispersion', Journal of Drug Targeting, vol. 19, no. 8, pp. 615-23. https://doi.org/10.3109/1061186X.2010.531730

Review article

Idrees, M, Sawant, S, Karodia, N & Rahman, A 2021, 'Staphylococcus aureus Biofilm: Morphology, Genetics, Pathogenesis and Treatment Strategies', International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 18, no. 14, 7602. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18147602

Idrees, M, Mohammad, AR, Karodia, N & Rahman, A 2020, 'Multimodal Role of Amino Acids in Microbial Control and Drug Development', Antibiotics, vol. 9, no. 6, 330. https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics9060330

Singh Gill, A, Morrissey, H & Rahman, A 2018, 'A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Evaluating Antibiotic Prophylaxis in Dental Implants and Extraction Procedures', Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania), vol. 54, no. 6, 95. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina54060095

Russell, C, Rahman, A & Mohammed, AR 2013, 'Application of genomics, proteomics and metabolomics in drug discovery, development and clinic', Therapeutic Delivery, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 395-413. https://doi.org/10.4155/tde.13.4

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