A. Biglari Curriculum Vitae June 10

Alireza. Biglari

MD, PhD

Profile

I am a registered medical practitionerwith post-graduate qualifications inHuman Molecular Genetics. During my PhD studies I have investigated the potential for Gene Therapy of Brain Glioma using Decorin Gene Transfer. In addition, over the course of my postdoctoral fellowship I have developed an entirely new system to redirect specific tumour killing by immune cells through genetically engineered macrophages. I am currently working as an assistant Professor at the Zanjan University of Medical Sciences in Iran.

Education

  • 1998 - 2002. PhD “Gene Therapy of Glioma using Decorin Gene Transfer”, under the supervision of *Professors P.R. Lowenstein and M.G. Castro, at the Molecular Medicine and Gene Therapy Unit, School of Medicine, University of Manchester, UK.

*Who are now director and co-director of the Gene Therapeutics Research Institute,

Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA

  • September-October 1998. Training programme approved by the Universities Accreditation Scheme, for Animals (scientific procedures) act 1986, University of Manchester. Personal licence to carry out regulated procedures on living animals granted by the Home Office.
  • January-September 1998. MSc Course"Medical Genetics" School of Medicine, University of Manchester, UK.
  • 1986-1993. MD (Medical Doctor), School of Medicine, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Iran (Where I finished in the top 10% of the class).

Seven years medical education including 18 month internship counting: 4.5 month internal medicine and cardiology, 3 month surgery, 3 month paediatric, 2.5 month obstetric and gynaecology, 1 month E.N.T, 1 month urology, 1 month orthopaedic surgery, 1 month dermatology, 1 month tropical medicine, 1 month neurology, 1 month psychiatric, 1 month ophthalmology.

Title of MD thesis: Studies of the efficacy of steroid inhalers used by Asthmatic patients referred to Hamadan’s outpatient Respiratory Clinic;under the supervision of Dr. Bahram Forouzesh.

  • 1981-1983. Diploma, Biology, TeachersTrainingCollege, Tabriz, Iran.
  • 1977-1981. Diploma, Natural Sciences, Shariati high School, Zanjan, Iran.

Work Experience

  • 2008 – Present.Member of National Board of Human Genetics.
  • 2006-Present.Vice-chancellor of research, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Iran.
  • 2005-Present. Assistant Professor of Human Genetics, Department of Molecular Medicine & Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran.
  • 2002-2004. Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Gene Therapy Group, Paterson Institute for Cancer Research, Christie Hospital, Manchester, UK & Gene Therapeutics Research Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
  • 1995-1997. Head physician and provincial Tuberculosis programme coordinator, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran.
  • 1993-1995. General physician, Zanjan, Iran
  • 1983-1986. High school biology teacher, Zanjan, Iran

Scientific technical skills

  • Microbiology: Bacterial culture, preparation of competent bacteria, bacterial transformation, and plasmid DNA cloning.
  • Molecular biology: AllDNA basic techniques including Genomic DNA extraction, restriction endonucleases digestions, agarose gel electrophoresis, isolation and purification, Southern blot, DNA sequencing, PCR, Real Time PCR and etc.
  • Cell culture: Standard cell culture techniques with experience of growing a wide variety of cell lines, primary human T-cells and macrophages, haematopoietic stem cells, DNA transfections and transgene expression detection in cell cultures.
  • Protein analysis: Immunocytochemestry, indirect immunofluorescence of cell cultures and tissue sections, Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), Fluorescent Activated Cell Sorting (FACS), Western blot, gene reporter assays, -galactosidase and X-gal assays.
  • Gene therapy: Generation of recombinant Adenovirus, isolation, scale up, purification using CsCl gradients, detection of RCA contamination and titration of adenoviral vectors. Generation and using of recombinant Retroviruses as a gene transfer tool.
  • In Vivo Studies: Standard rodent injections, experimental bone marrow transplantation, stereotactic intracraneal injections under general anaesthesia, recovery, cardiac perfusion and tissue fixation and vibratome sectioning of tissues.
  • Miscellaneous: Broad software knowledge including all standard Microsoft office software, image processing, statistical analysis and graphs generation, Immunofluorescence microscopy and photography skills for picture recording of results.

Selected Publications

Papers

1)F. Dinmohammadi, P. Farnia, A. Biglari, M. Kazempoor, R. Ramazanzadeh, MR. Masjedi, AA. Velayati; Identification of the mutations related to resistance of mycobacterium tuberculosis to isoniazid by use of PCR-RFLP in TB patients. Scientific Journal of Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences.Winter 2010;14(4): 1-9.

2) P. Rahimi, MB. Ghavami, A. Haniloo, AA Nourian, A. Biglari; Identification of Fasciola Species by PCR-RFLP Assay. Journal of Zamjan University of Medical Sciences.Winter 2009;16(65):41-48.

3) A. Biglari, D. Gilham, T. Southgate, L. J. Fairbairn; Human macrophages expressing a chimeric CD64 specifically kill CEA-expressing tumour cells in vitro and in vivo. Gene Therapy.Apr 2006; 13(7): p602-10 (PubMed: 16397508)(Cited by 9; according to Google Scholar)

4)A. Biglari, D. Bataille, U. Naumann, M. Weller, J. Zirger, M. G. Castro and P. R. Lowenstein; Effects of ectopic decorin in modulating intracranial glioma progression in vivo, in a rat syngeneic model. Cancer Gene Therapy. Nov 2004, 11(11): p721-732 (PubMed: 15475879)(Cited by 38; according to Google Scholar)

5) M.G. Castro, R. Cowen, I.K. Williamson, A. David, M.J, X. Yuan, A. Bigliari, J.C. Williams, J. Hu, P.R. Lowenstein; Current and future strategies for the treatment of malignant brain tumors. Pharmacology and Therapeutics, April 2003, Volume 98, Number 1, p71-108 (PubMed: 12667889)(Cited by 105; according to Google Scholar)

Published meeting papers, abstracts, posters and talks

6) A. Biglari, D. Gilham, T. Southgate, L. J. Fairbairn; Human macrophages expressing a chimeric CD64 specifically kill CEA-expressing tumour cells in vitro and in vivo. 11th International Congress of Human Genetics.August 6 - 10 2006, Brisbane, Australia

7)M. Lie-A-Ling, A. Biglari, L. B. Woolford, L. J. Fairbairn, T. D Southgate, D. E Gilham;Lentiviral vectors for the generation of tumour targeted macrophages in immune competent mice. Annual Meeting Dutch Society of Gene Therapy (NVGT),March 9-11, 2006, Rotterdam, Netherlands

8) A. Biglari, D. Gilham, L. Woolford, L. J. Fairbairn; Redirected specific tumour killing by immune cells through chimeric FC--receptors. 1stMeeting of the British Society of Cancer Gene Therapy (BSGT), March 28-30, 2004, Oxford, UK

9)A. Biglari, D. Gilham, L. Woolford, L. J. Fairbairn; Engineering autologous macrophages to recognise and eradicate established tumours.Annual Meeting of the International Society of Cancer Gene Therapy (ISCGT), February 20-22, 2004, Singapore

10) A. Biglari, D. Gilham, L. Woolford, L. J. Fairbairn; Engineering autologous macrophages to recognise and eradicate established tumours. 18th Annual Meeting of the International Society for Biological Therapy of Cancer (iSBTc), October 30-November 2, 2003, Bethesda, MD, USA

11) A. Biglari, D. Gilham, L. Wolford, L. J. Fairbairn; Engineering autologous macrophages to recognise and eradicate established tumours. The 6th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Gene Therapy (ASGT), June 4-8, 2003, Washington, DC, USA. Published in: Molecular Therapy, Volume 7, Number 5, May 2003, Part 2,p 272.

12) A. Biglari, D. Gilham, L. Woolford, L. J. Fairbairn; Redirected specific tumour killing by immune cells through chimeric FC--receptors. 11th Annual Meeting of the European Society of Gene Therapy (ESGT), November 14-17, 2003, Edinburgh, UK

13) A. Biglari, U. Naumann, M. Weller, M.G. Castro and P.R. Lowenstein; Gene Therapy of Glioma: A Comparison between TK and Decorin Gene Transfer. The 5th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Gene Therapy (ASGT), June 5-9, 2002, Boston, MA, USA. Published in: Molecular Therapy, Volume 5, Number 5, May 2002, Part 2,p 107.

14)A. Biglari, M.G. Castro and P.R. Lowenstein; Gene therapy of glioma using decorin gene transfer. The 4th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Gene Therapy (ASGT), May 30- June 3, 2001, Seattle, WA, USA. Published in: Molecular Therapy, Volume 3, Number 5, May 2001, Part 2, p 337.

15) A. Biglari,M. Castro and P. Lowenstein; Decorin gene transfer: a tool for inhibition of TGF- in Glioma.19thjoint meeting of the British Endocrine societies with the European Federation of Endocrine Societies. March 13-15, 2000, Birmingham, UK. Published in:Journal of Endocrinology, Volume 164S, March 2000, p163.

16) A. Biglari, M Weller, M Castro and P Lowenstein; Gene therapy of glioma using decorin gene transfer. 20th British Neuro-oncology group meeting, September 7-8, 2000, Birmingham, UK

17) PR Lowenstein, G Morrissey, D Stone, T Southgate, C Cowsill, R Dewey, A Biglari, F Bolognani & MG Castro. Efficiency and long-term outcome of brain tumour growth inhibition by conditional cytotoxic gene therapy mediated by adenoviruses. Cytoreductive Gene Therapy Harold. W. Siebens Conference. September 25-7, 1999, Rochester, Minnesota, USA. Published in:Gene therapy, Volume 6, S1, no 35, p9.

18) G Morrissey, A Biglari, M Castro and P Lowenstein; Gene therapy of a syngeneic brain tumour model. 19th British Neuro-oncology group meeting, June 1999, Edinburgh, UK

19) PR Lowenstein, G Morrissey, D Stone, T Southgate, C Cowsill, R Dewey, A Biglari, A Mee, F Bolognani, U Naumann, M Weller & MG Castro 1999. Long term consequences of brain tumour growth inhibition by conditional cytotoxic gene therapy: Inflammation, lesions, and transgene expression. Society for Neuroscience 29th Annual Meeting, Oct 23-28, 1999, Miami Beach, Florida, USA. Published in: Society for Neuroscience, part 1, 476.3, p1177.

Awards

  • Christie endowment award:Postdoctoral research fellow, Gene Therapy group, Paterson Institute for Cancer Research, ChristieHospital, Manchester, UK.
  • Bursary award to attend International Society of Cancer Gene Therapy (ISCGT-2004) meeting in Singapore.
  • Bursary award to attend Microinjection (Transgenics and Monolayer) workshop, 6-9 April 2001, Sponsoredby Carl Zeiss Ltd, University of Warwick, UK.
  • Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education award: Four years PhD studentship in the School of Medicine, University of Manchester, UK.

Personal Details

Date of birth: 18/09/1963

Place of birth: Zanjan/ Iran

Gender: Male

Marital status: Married

Nationality: Iranian

Reference number with Iranian General Medical Council: 38851

Reference number with the UK General Medical Council: 6109729

Contact Address:

Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Molecular Medicine & Genetics, Zanjan,Postcode 45139-53115 ,Iran

Tel: +98(0241) 4240300-3

Fax: +98(0241) 4249553

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