The professor’s pioneering research in the development of gold nanoparticles for targeted cancer therapy has paved new avenues in combating the disease.

A Qatar University professor has been named among the top 2% of globally recognised scientists, as per a Stanford University’s ranking.

Dr Alaaldin M Alkilany, who specialises in Pharmaceutical and Nanoscience at the College of Pharmacy was acknowledged for his remarkable contributions to pharmaceutical sciences.

Alkilany successfully registered more than 20 pharmaceutical products both in the United States and Europe. Since 2020, Alkilany has also contributed to enhancing QU’s research initiatives while also pushing the frontiers of pharmaceutical innovation and nanotechnology on an international level.

Specifically, his pioneering research in the development of gold nanoparticles for targeted cancer therapy has paved new avenues in combating the disease.

Alkilany focused on creating protocols for producing gold nanoparticles that could precisely target cancer cells. These nanoparticles possess distinctive optical properties, enabling them to absorb external laser beams and convert them into localised heat.

In turn, it would eradicate cancer cells through thermal ablation.

He also devised uncomplicated chemical methodologies to gather intricate nanoparticles from a blend of medicinal polymers (PLGA), gold, and silver nanoparticles, intended for biomedical applications.

The significance of Alkilany’s research has been brought to life through his collaboration with QLife Pharma, a Qatari pharmaceutical manufacturer.

Alkilany’s road to introducing his inventive cancer treatment prototype to the Gulf market merges with Qatar’s fertile soil of fostering innovation and entrepreneurial initiatives.

“Qatar has a serious strategy to promote scientific research and basic and applied sciences in the field of innovation and entrepreneurship. QU is one of the top educational institutions in Qatar and has the best academics from around the world,” the professor said.

Alkilany has played a role in authoring 62 scientific papers featured in esteemed global journals with a substantial impact factor of 32, accumulating over 12,000 references, according to Scopus Elsevier’s database.

Alkilany completed his Bachelor of Pharmacy degree at Jordan University of Science and Technology in the year 2000, after which he joined Al Hikma Pharmaceutical Company, an FDA-approved pharmaceutical manufacturer, working as a scientist in research and development.

He then pursued a PhD in Pharmaceutical Nanoscience from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in the US, which he obtained in 2010. He then engaged in a postdoctoral fellowship within the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at Augusta University also in the US.