Department of Pharmacy Practice and Pharmacotherapeutics Our People Detail

Education

• PhD in Experimental & Clinical Pharmacology, Paris-Sud (XI) University (University of Paris-Saclay), Paris, France, 2013 • Master II in Pharmacology, Louis Pasteur University (University of Strasbourg), Strasbourg, France, 2009 • Master I in Biochemistry, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon, 2008

Employment History

• September 2015 – present: Assistant Professor University of Sharjah, College of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacy Practice & Pharmacotherapeutics, Sharjah, UAE • September 2014 – August 2015: Post-Doctoral Fellow Sorbonne Universities, Pierre & Marie Curie Faculty of Medicine, Paris, France • February 2013 – August 2014: Post-Doctoral Fellow The French National Institute for Industrial Environment and Risks (INERIS), Verneuil-en-Halatte, France • September 2009 – December 2012: Ph.D. Fellow in Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), Saclay, France Graduate school ED425 «Therapeutic innovation», Paris, France

Professional Activities

2018 – 2020: Coordinator of the Pharmacology Unit, Department of Pharmacy Practice and Pharmacotherapeutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Sharjah.

Professional Memberships

• Member of the International Brain Barriers Society (IBBS) • Member of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) • Member of the European Association for Cancer Research (AACR)

Selected Research Projects

• R Harati (Principal investigator): Restoring MicroRNA-101 and MicroRNA-26b Expression to Suppress Breast Cancer Brain Metastasis. The Terry Fox Foundation (300000 AED). • R Harati (Principal investigator): Targeting the microRNA-30 and microRNA-200 families to prevent brain metastasis of breast cancer cells. University of Sharjah Competitive Research Grant (80000 AED). • R Harati (Principal investigator): Evaluating the therapeutic potential of microRNAs in restoring normal function and immunoquiescence of the Blood-Brain Barrier in multiple sclerosis. University of Sharjah Competitive Research Grant (80000 AED). • M Ghaleb (Principal investigator), R Harati (co-investigator): Dendritic cells and immunoregulation in central nervous system in mice model of multiple sclerosis. University of Sharjah Targeted Research Grant (193000 AED).

Selected Publications

1. R Harati*, A Mabondzo, A Tlili, G Khoder, M Mahfood & R Hamoudi. Combinatorial targeting of microRNA-26b and microRNA-101 exerts a synergistic inhibition on cyclooxygenase-2 in brain metastatic triple negative breast cancer cells. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment. 2021 Jun;187(3):695-713. doi: 10.1007/s10549-021-06255-y. Epub 2021 May 26. PMID: 34041621. 2. R Harati, M Vandamme, B Blanchet, C Bardin, F Praz, R Hamoudi and C Desbois-Mouthon. Drug-drug interaction between metformin and sorafenib alters antitumor effect in hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Molecular Pharmacology. 2021 Jul;100(1):32-45. doi: 10.1124/molpharm.120.000223. Epub 2021 May 14. PMID: 33990407. 3. M Ahmed, G Hope Daoud, A Mohamed, R Harati*. New Insights into the Therapeutic Applications of CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Editing in Breast Cancer. Genes (Basel). 2021 May 12;12(5):723. doi: 10.3390/genes12050723. PMID: 34066014. 4. M Mahfood, J Chouchen, W Kamal Eddine, AM Al Mutery, R Harati, A Tlili. Whole exome sequencing, in silico and functional studies confirm the association of the GJB2 mutation p.Cys169Tyr with deafness and suggest a role for the TMEM59 gene in the hearing process. Saudi J Biol Sci. 2021 Aug;28(8):4421-4429. doi: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2021.04.036. Epub 2021 Apr 20. PMID: 34354426. 5. G Khoder, S Mina, I Mahmoud, JS Muhammad, R Harati, C Burucoa. Helicobacter pylori Infection in Tripoli, North Lebanon: Assessment and Risk Factors. Biology (Basel). 2021 Jun 28;10(7):599. doi: 10.3390/biology10070599.PMID: 34203570. 6. R Harati*, S Hafezi, A Mabondzo, A Tlili. Silencing miR-202-3p increases MMP-1 and promotes a brain invasive phenotype in metastatic breast cancer cells. PLoS One. 2020 Oct 1;15(10):e0239292. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0239292. eCollection 2020.PMID: 33002044. 7. R Harati*, MG Mohammad, A Tlili, RA El-Awady, R Hamoudi. Loss of miR-101-3p Promotes Transmigration of Metastatic Breast Cancer Cells through the Brain Endothelium by Inducing COX-2/MMP1 Signaling. Pharmaceuticals (Basel). 2020 Jul 7;13(7):144. doi: 10.3390/ph13070144.PMID: 32645833. 8. Khan FM,Saleh E,Alawadhi H,Harati R, Zimmermann WH, El-Awady R. Inhibition of exosome release by ketotifen enhances sensitivity of cancer cells to doxorubicin. Cancer Biol Ther. 2018 Jan 2;19(1):25-33. doi: 10.1080/15384047.2017.1394544. Epub 2017 Dec 15.PMID: 29244610. 9. R Harati, H Benech, AS Villegier and A Mabondzo.P-glycoprotein, Breast cancer resistance protein, Organic anion transporter 3 and transporting peptide 1a4 during Blood-Brain Barrier Maturation: Involvement of Wnt/β-Catenin and Endothelin-1 Signaling. Molecular Pharmaceutics. 2013 May 6;10(5):1566-80. doi: 10.1021/mp300334r. Epub 2012 Oct 12.PMID: 22998451. 10. R Harati, AS Villegier, WA Banks and A. Mabondzo Susceptibility of juvenile and adult blood-brain barrier to endothelin-1: regulation of P-glycoprotein and breast cancer resistance protein expression and transport activity. J Neuroinflammation. 2012 Dec 19;9:273. doi: 10.1186/1742-2094-9-273.PMID: 23253775.

Theses and Projects Supervision

• Supervision of Master Thesis in Pharmacology: “Enhancing anti-epileptic drug delivery to the brain: miR-27a as a potential therapeutic target to modulate P-glycoprotein expression at the blood-brain barrier”. M.Sc. candidate Saba Hammad. September 2020. Masters in Pharmaceutical Sciences (Pharmacology), College of Pharmacy, University of Sharjah. • Supervision of Master Thesis in Pharmacology: “Evaluating the therapeutic potential of miR-623 to suppress extravasation of brain metastatic breast cancer cells”. M.Sc. candidate Duaa Hammash. September 2020. Masters in Pharmaceutical Sciences (Pharmacology), College of Pharmacy, University of Sharjah. • Supervision of Master Thesis in Pharmacology: “Role of miR-let-7c in brain metastasis of triple negative breast cancer”. M.Sc. candidate Rama Al-Sabbagh. November 2020. Masters in Pharmaceutical Sciences (Pharmacology), College of Pharmacy, University of Sharjah. • Supervision of Master Thesis in Pharmacology: “Role of exosomes in extravasation of brain metastatic triple negative breast cancer cells”. M.Sc. candidate Manal AbdelSalam. February 2020. Masters in Pharmaceutical Sciences (Pharmacology), College of Pharmacy, University of Sharjah. • Co-Supervision of Master thesis: «Optimizing the Sorafenib treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma». M.Sc. candidate Amélie Maury. September 2014. Sorbonne Universities, Pierre & Marie Curie Faculty of Medicine, Paris, France

Awards Recognitions

• Winner of the University of Sharjah Annual Incentive Award for Distinguished Faculty Member in Teaching, 2021 • Winner of the 5th best Pharmacy Student Poster Presentation Award as a supervisor (Students Munazza Ahmed and Grace Daoud). Title: CRISPR-Cas9 as a potential therapeutic platform for breast cancer. Dubai International Pharmaceuticals and Technologies Conference and Exhibition (DUPHAT), 2021

Services

• Reviewer: Frontiers in Immunology • Reviewer: Frontiers in Pharmacology • Reviewer: UAE Graduate Students Research Conference

Teaching Philosophy

My ultimate teaching philosophy as an educator is to help my students succeed. My teaching concepts consist on1) Creating an environment that enables students to be critical thinkers, and 2) Employing various learning methods that ensure an effective communication of the knowledge and an active participation of the students, as well as students’ interaction. In my teaching practice, I apply a student-driven learning approach where students are active participants in the process, enhanced with an evidence-based approach such as cutting-edge research and clinically relevant cases to make the message as applicable as possible. I believe that using a variety of instructional methods greatly benefit the students as not all students learn in the same manner or in the same environment. However, most importantly, I always make sure I stop and listen to my students’ needs, determine their strengths, and make appropriate decisions based on what will benefit them the most.

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