Dr Salima Sadruddin Lalani is a PhD alumna of biological sciences at Sunway University’s School of Medical and Life Sciences. She conducted her doctoral studies under the Centre for Virus and Vaccine Research at the school and was accepted into the prestigious Albany Medical College in New York, USA at the end of 2021. Dr Salima is researching the role of enteroviruses in the aetiology of Type 1 diabetes, as well as how specific integrins work in cancers while developing a bioinformatics core.

Hailing from Karachi, Pakistan, Dr Salima learnt from her friends studying at Sunway University’s School of Medical and Life Sciences, that there were research facilities available for studies into virology. Being someone who had a longstanding interest in virology, she was accepted into the PhD programme in Biology under the supervision of a Distinguished Professor and Head of the Centre for Virus and Vaccine Research, Professor Poh Chit Laa. Dr Salima was on a fully-funded PhD studentship from June 2018 and completed her studies in good time despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

For her PhD, Dr Salima majored in virology and antiviral therapeutics with a focus on functional insights in the host and virus-targeted antiviral agents. Her PhD dissertation was entitled “Functional Insights into the Activity of Flavonoid Silymarin and the Antiviral Peptide L-SP40 against Enterovirus A71” - a thesis devoted to discovering and elucidating the molecular mechanism of natural flavonoids and peptides against EV-A71, an enterovirus that has the potential to cause severe hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) among young children, especially in Asia. Her primary work was on identifying and characterizing novel antivirals against the neurovirulent Enterovirus A71 as well as delineating their functional and molecular mechanisms. The lab she was attached to was also working on vaccine development against EV-A71, dengue, influenza and SARS-CoV-2 and hence gave her the chance to work on the other viruses.

Dr Salima’s doctoral project found that Enterovirus 71 (EV-A71) is a significant etiological agent of hand foot and mouth disease (HFMD). Some strains of EV-A71 have the potential to cause severe neurological infections, especially in children, which could lead to death. Since there is no US-FDA approved vaccine in the global market, she studied two direct-acting flavonoids and a host-directed peptide as potential antiviral candidates against Enterovirus A71. Out of studied antivirals, the L-SP40 peptide was found to be more potent and broad-spectrum against several enteroviruses in laboratory studies as well as in animal models.

Furthermore, a crucial mutation in the genome of EV-A71 was also identified in this study that could cause the resistance of the virus against a flavonoid (silymarin) and halt its antiviral effects. This study explored the mechanism of antivirals and paved the way for the further development of antiviral peptides as a potential clinical candidate.

Professor Poh, Salima’s supervisor finds her to be very professional and ambitious with a very good spirit and enthusiasm for research. “Salima is a very dedicated, hardworking, talented and progressive researcher. She has published five first-authored SCOPUS articles (4 Q1 and 1 Q2) and one co-authored book chapter from her PhD work. She had the capability to diagnose scientific problems and handled them until she could find successful solutions”

Dr Salima hopes for her work to be further advanced to translational stages and to be turned into therapeutic solutions to protect children from EV-A71, a neurovirulent agent of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD). “My dream is to gain a deeper understanding of how various viruses operate and how we can target them to develop therapeutic options that can be taken from bench to bed”, she added.

Lastly, Dr Salima advises individuals thinking of doing their PhDs to: “Do a PhD only if it is your passion. PhD is a huge challenge. It has its ups and downs. Always remember: When things go wrong, don’t go with them. Learn, unlearn and re-learn. Have determination and dedication towards your dream. Endure the pressure because that’s what makes coal a diamond!”. She also advises PhD candidates to work closely with their mentors and to publish their study results early to improve their research profile and also to reduce the pressure of publication towards the end of the study. 

This article was adapted from the SMiLeS Newsletter, Issue 3/2021