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ajinar@ksau-hs.edu.sa 99,603

 Dr. Reham Ajina

Assistant Professor
Dr. Reham Ajina is an assistant professor in the department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), in Riyadh. Dr. Reham Ajina received a BS in Medical Laboratory Technology from King Abdulaziz University, and a MS in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology followed by a PhD in Tumor Biology, both from Georgetown University. She has several publications in peer-reviewed journals and received many research awards. Dr. Reham Ajina aspires to become a highly productive scientist with the capacity to make important contributions to the cancer immunology field. Mainly, she is interested in personalized cancer immunotherapy which involves studying the underlying mechanisms of immune resistance for each individual cancer patient.
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Nationalty
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EDUCATION & PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

​DEGREES​

Ph.D. in Tumor Biology, Georgetown University (USA)

M.Sc. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Georgetown University (USA)

B.Sc. in Medical Laboratory Technology, King Abdulaziz University (Saudi Arabia)

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

Feb. 2021 – Present: Assistant Professor, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

July 2020 – Feb. 2021: Assistant Professor, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Aug. 2012 – June 2020: Teaching Assistant, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia​

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HONORARY DEGREE & AWARDS

Feb. 2020 – Fall 2019 GradGov Research Project Award.

Nov. 2019 – Georgetown University Medical Center Graduate Student Organization Travel Award.

Aug. 2019 – SITC 2019 Young Investigator Award.

July 2019 – Georgetown University Medical Center Graduate Student Organization Student Research Grant.

June 2019 – The AACR Translational Cancer Research for Basic Scientists Workshop Award.

May 2019 – Georgetown Breast Cancer Advocates (GBCA) Clarity in Science Award.

Apr. 2019 – The Dean for Medical Education's Academy for Research, Clinical, and Health Equity Scholarship (ARCHES) Research Fellowship Program.

Apr. 2019 – Georgetown University Medical Center Graduate Student Organization Travel Award.

Feb. 2019 – Georgetown University Medical Center Graduate Student Organization Course Award.

Jan. 2019 – NIH-FAES Graduate School Student Scholarship Award.

Apr. 2018 – Illumina NextSeq550-Genomics & Epigenomics Shared Resource (GESR), Georgetown University’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center Award.

Mar. 2018 – Invited to reception with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman in recognition of outstanding academic performance.

Aug. 2014 – Full tuition scholarship to pursue PhD degree, sponsored by King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Saudi Arabia.

May 2014 – Graduated with honors and ranked 1st among Biochemistry and Molecular Biology majors at Georgetown University.

Aug. 2013 – Full tuition scholarship to pursue MS degree, sponsored by King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Saudi Arabia.

Aug. 2012 – Graduated with honors and ranked 1st among Medical Laboratory Technology majors at King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Aug. 2007 – Graduated from high school with one of the ten highest GPAs in Saudi Arabia.

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Research Interests / Collaborations

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Publications

Google Scholars ​

R Ajina, ZX Malchiodi, AA Fitzgerald, A Zuo, S Wang, M Moussa, M Catalfamo, SJ Cooper, Y Shen, QR Johnson, JM Parks, JC Smith, EJ Fertig, SA Jablonski, LM Weiner. “Anti-Tumor T Cell Immunity Contributes to Pancreatic Cancer Immune Resistance" Cancer Immunology Research.

R Ajina, A Zuo, S Wang, M Moussa, M Catalfamo, SJ Cooper, Y Shen, QR Johnson, JM Parks, JC Smith, EJ Fertig, SA Jablonski, LM Weiner. “Immune Selection Pressure Contributes to Pancreatic Cancer Immune Evasion" bioRxiv.

R Ajina, LM Weiner. “T-Cell Immunity in Pancreatic Cancer" Pancreas. In Press. 

R Ajina, D J Zahavi, Y Zhang, and LM Weine. “Overcoming Malignant Cell Based Mechanisms of Resistance to Antibody-Targeted Cancer Immunotherapy" Seminars in Cancer Biology.

R Ajina, D Zamalin, A Zuo, M Moussa, M Catalfamo, SA Jablonski, LM Weiner. “SpCas9-expression by tumor cells can cause T cell-dependent tumor rejection in immunocompetent mice" OncoImmunology.

R Ajina, D Zamalin, LM Weiner. “Functional Genomics: Paving the Way for More Successful Cancer Immunotherapy." OUP Academic.

CW Shuptrine,R Ajina, EJ Fertig, SA Jablonski, HK Lyerly, ZC Hartman, LM Weiner.“An unbiased in vivo functional genomics screening approach in mice identifies novel tumor cell-based regulators of immune rejection",Cancer Immunology,Immunotherapy, 

R Ajina, D AlDeghaither, SA Jablonski, LM Weiner. "Cancer Immunotherapy." Comprehensive Medicinal Chemistry 3e.​


SCIENTIFIC MEMBERSHIPS AND ACTIVITIES

MEMBERSHIP OF SOCIETIES

The Saudi Society for Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (SSMBB society)

American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)

Women in Cancer Research (WICR)

Georgetown Women in Science and Education (GU WISE)

Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC)​

COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTIONS 

I participated in the Molecular Genetics and Precision Medicine Course and Workshop, and I gave a talk titled “Immunogenomics Applications Towards Precision Cancer Medicine". This course and workshop were organized by King Khalid Medical City Research Center (RC KKMC) that featured presentations by national and international experts with more than one hundred attendees (virtually, Sep. 12-13, 2021)

I am a working member in the Saudi Society for Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (SSMBB society) that involves Molecular Biology and Biotechnology experts from several Saudi clinical, academic and research institutes (Feb. 2022-Present)​

SCIENTIFIC PARTICIPATION

Peer-review committee member for the University of Tabuk​​

CONFERENCES/ WORKSHOP PARTICIPATIONS

2021 – R Ajina. Current Status of Regulatory Approved Immunotherapies in Saudi Arabia, 2021 AACR Virtual Special Conference: Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy.

2021 – R Ajina. Immunogenomics Applications Towards Precision Cancer Medicine, Molecular Genetics and Genomic Course, King Fahad Specialist Hospital-Dammam.

2020 – S Wang, A Fitzgerald, R Ajina, SA Jablonsk, LM Weiner, J MacDougall, V Agarwal, VJ O'Neill. Therapy with BXCL701 (B), a DPP8, DPP9, DPPIV and FAP inhibitor, in combination with anti-PD1 antibody (PD1) in a syngeneic murine pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) model improves treatment outcomes and induces intratumoral NK cell infiltrates and a marked reduction in tumor stromal fibrosis [abstract]. Poster presentation delivered at AACR Annual Meeting 2020, April 27-28, 2020 and June 22-24, 2020; Philadelphia, PA.

2019 – R Ajina, A Zuo, SA Jablonski, LM Weiner. Selective induction of S100a8/a9 heterodimer protein in pancreatic cancer in response to immune selection pressure [abstract]. Oral presentation delivered at the 34th SITC Annual Meeting, Nov 6-10; National Harbor (MD), 2019.

2019 – R Ajina, A Zuo, M Moussa, SJ Cooper, Y Shen, QR Johnson, JM Parks, JC Smith, E Fertig, M Catalfamo, SA Jablonski, LM Weiner. Malignant pancreatic cancer cells respond to immune selection pressure to foster immunosuppression [abstract]. Poster presentation delivered at AACR Annual Meeting 2019.

2016 – R Ajina, S Wang, J Smith, SA Jablonski, E Petricoin III, LM Weiner. Impact of immune selection pressure on epithelial cell signaling pathway activation in a syngeneic pancreatic cancer model [abstract]. Poster presentation delivered at the 31st SITC Annual Meeting, Nov 9-13; National Harbor (MD), 2016. Abstract nr. 385.

2016 – JP Smith, S Wang, R Ajina, SA Jablonski, and LM Weiner. Combination therapy with immune checkpoint inhibitor and CCK-receptor blockade increases survival of pancreatic cancer [abstract]. Poster presentation delivered at the AACR 107th Annual Meeting, Apr. 16-20; New Orleans (LA), 2016. Abstract nr. 4023.





CONTACT INFORMATION

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Contact information

Office location/number: College of Applied Medical Sciences-F 

Phone: +966 11 4299999    Ext 99603

Email: ajinar​@ksau-hs.edu.sa  ​​​​