November 2022
Faisal Nuhu is originally from Ghana. He undertook his undergraduate studies in Biological Sciences at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. Faisal is currently a PhD candidate in the Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Department at University of Manitoba.
Research Interests:
HIV infection is still a global burden, and a lot of individuals are getting infected annually and one of the main risk factors that promote HIV acquisition is genital inflammation. Studies have shown how genital inflammation increases HIV risk by increasing the frequencies of HIV target cells, reducing the efficacy of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis, and impairing the genital mucosal barrier. And so, my research focuses on designing strategies to regulate genital inflammation and by extension reduce HIV risk.
Again, our group recently found a canonical antiviral molecule called Type I interferon to be associated with increased HIV risk. This sounds counterintuitive as type I interferon is known to interfere with viral and so I am interested in finding how it is associated with increase HIV risk.
Publications
- Ssemaganda, A., Nguyen, H.M., Nuhu, F., Jahan, N., Card, C.M., Kiazyk, S., Severini, G., Keynan, Y., Su, R.C., Ji, H. and Abrenica, B. Expansion of tissue-resident CD8+ T cells and CD4+ Th17 cells in the nasal mucosa following mRNA COVID-19 vaccination. Nature Communications (2022).
- Ssemaganda, A., Cholette, F., Perner, M., Kambaran, C., Adhiambo, W., Wambugu, P.M., Gebrebrhan, H., Lee, A., Nuhu, F., Mwatelah, R.S. and Jahan, N., 2021. Endocervical regulatory T cells are associated with decreased genital inflammation and lower HIV target cell abundance. Frontiers in Immunology, 12(2021)
Why I love Immunology:
Immunology is an interesting field of studies and my interest in it started during my undergraduate studies when I was first exposed to how cell communicates with each and how these immune cells and other components of the immune system like antibodies fight against infections. Thinking about the field of vaccinology always peaks my interest to know more about immunology. Knowledge gain from immunology has helped in controlling or eradication of so many infectious diseases.
If I was not an immunologist I would be:
I would be a physician or clinical microbiologist working in a hospital. I have always had passion for working in a hospital at the very young age
Tips for young people who want to enter the field of immunology:
My advice to students who have passion for immunology is that they should try and build a firm foundation, they should know the basics very well as this will help them understand and appreciate how the immune system works.
What being an Immunopaedia Ambassador means to me:
For me being an Immunopaedia Ambassador is a great privilege. It has provided me the platform to get to know more scientist in the field of immunology who are making significant impact. It is also being a means of selling out my passion to whole world in a best way and attracting others toward it.
How I have contributed to Immunopaedia so far and plans for future contributions:
I have sent an article to be published in the breaking news and in future I plan write a summary of the articles myself. I have also interviewed a great scientist in the field of immunology, and I have plans to interview more. I have submitted a short video which was published during the 2022 immunology day, and I will continue to participate in the following years.
You can get in touch with me by
LinkedIn – Faisal Nuhu