Dr. Ziaurrehman Tanoli – Drug repurposing – Best Researcher Award

University of Helsinki, Finland

Author Profiles

🎓Educational Background

Dr. Tanoli completed his MS leading to PhD in Machine Learning at PIEAS and holds a Bachelor’s in Computer and Information Sciences from the same institution. In 2022, he was awarded the title of Docent in Pharmaceutical Chemistry by the University of Helsinki.

🏢Work Experience

Dr. Tanoli has an extensive academic background, with experience in several prestigious institutions. Currently, he holds a position as a Senior Researcher at FIMM, and has previously served as an Associate Professor at the University of Helsinki. His prior roles include postdoctoral positions at FIMM, University of Helsinki, and the University of Sannio, Italy. He has also served as an Assistant Professor at COMSATS University Islamabad in Pakistan.

🏆Achievements

Dr. Ziaurrehman Tanoli has established himself as an exceptional scientist, completing his PhD at the age of 27. His research has been widely recognized, with one of his most significant accomplishments being the publication of an article as the first author in Nature Reviews Drug Discovery (Impact Factor: 122). He co-organized the IDG-DREAM challenge, which was featured in Nature Communications in 2021. Dr. Tanoli also made notable strides in research challenges, such as winning the CTD2Pancancer Drug Activity Dream Challenge (CRM, 2022) and the CTD2Pancancer Chemosensitivity Dream Challenge (publication pending). His grant funding achievements include securing the AoF Project Funding (2022–2026) for €0.58M to support his project on drug repurposing and receiving a Young Researchers Grant (2023) from the Aaltonen Foundation for €37K. Furthermore, he has been awarded the MSCA SE EU Mobility Grant for €29K for the years 2025-2028.

🔬Research Expertise

Dr. Tanoli specializes in AI-driven drug discovery, focusing on a variety of areas such as attention-based models, large language models, and generative AI for software development. His expertise extends to target-based drug discovery and repurposing, where he developed methods for predicting drug-target interactions across 7 protein superfamilies. He has also made significant contributions to phenotypic drug discovery, including multi-omics-based drug response prediction and synergistic drug combination identification. Dr. Tanoli has published 27 articles in the last five years, with 13 of them as corresponding or first author. His work has also expanded into the development of drug repurposing pipelines and drug safety analysis models.

💡Research Grants & Projects

Throughout his career, Dr. Tanoli has secured numerous research grants and project funding for innovative drug discovery solutions. His projects span topics such as drug repurposing, AI models for drug discovery, and multi-omics analysis. The AoF Project (2022-2026) received €0.58M, and his other prestigious projects include the REMEDI4ALL EU Project (2022-2027) and EOSC-Life EU Project (2019-2023).

👩‍🏫Teaching & Supervision

With over 300 contact hours of teaching, Dr. Tanoli has actively contributed to educational development. He has taught various topics related to pharmaceutical chemistry, machine learning, and bioinformatics. His dedication to mentorship is also evident through his supervision of 3 PhD students, 4 research assistants, 2 software developers, and 1 postdoc.

Notable Publications📝

📝Computational drug repurposing: approaches, evaluation of in silico resources and case studies

- Authors: Ziaurrehman Tanoli, Adrià Fernández-Torras, Umut Onur Özcan, Aleksandr Kushnir, Kristen Michelle Nader, Yojana Gadiya, Laura Fiorenza, Aleksandr Ianevski, Markus Vähä-Koskela, Mitro Miihkinen et al.
- Journal: Nature Reviews Drug Discovery
- Year: 2025

📝Validation guidelines for drug-target prediction methods

- Authors: Ziaurrehman Tanoli, Aron Schulman, Tero Aittokallio
- Journal: Expert Opinion on Drug Discovery
- Year: 2025

📝Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence in Drug Repurposing—Challenges and Perspectives

- Authors: Ezequiel Anokian, Judith Bernett, Adrian Freeman, Markus List, Lucía Prieto Santamaría, Ziaurrehman Tanoli, Sarah Bonnin
- Journal: Drug Repurposing
- Year: 2024

📝PGxDB: An interactive web-platform for pharmacogenomics research

- Authors: Trinh Trung Duong Nguyen, Ziaurrehman Tanoli, Saad Hassan, Umut Özcan, Jimmy Caroli, Albert Kooistra, David Gloriam, Alexander Hauser
- Journal: Nucleic Acids Research
- Year: 2024

📝Attention-based approach to predict drug–target interactions across seven target superfamilies

- Authors: Aron Schulman, Juho Rousu, Tero Aittokallio, Ziaurrehman Tanoli, Xin Gao
- Journal: Bioinformatics
- Year: 2024

Dr. sherif Hosny, Medicinal Chemistry, Best Researcher Award

Doctorate at EHA, Egypt

Professional Profiles

Google Scholar

Scopus

🎓 Educational Background

He attended German School Dokki, Cairo from 1984 to 1994, achieving his Abitur with a grade of 1.9. From 1994 to 1998, he studied at the Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Pharmaceutical Science, graduating with Excellent with honors.In March 2000, he began his postgraduate studies at the Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, registering for a Master’s degree in pharmaceutical science, specializing in the pharmacognosy department. His research focused on the topic: “A Contribution to the Study of Certain Hepatoprotective Plants Belonging to Family Apiaceae and Asteraceae.” Between 2005 and 2007, he completed a Diploma in Health Care Administration at the American University in Cairo.

In April 2008, he participated in a Fellowship at St. Jude Children’s Hospital. In September 2010, he registered for an MSc in Clinical Pharmacy at the Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University. He furthered his education by attending the Basis and Intermediate Master Class in Oncology Pharmacy in Vienna, Austria in October 2012, followed by the Advanced Master Class in Oncology Pharmacy in Dresden, Germany in October 2013.He obtained a Master’s Degree in Pharmaceutical Science, specializing in Clinical Pharmacy from the Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University in September 2015. His thesis was titled: “The Use of Valproic Acid in Pediatric Oncology Setting.” In 2016, he became a Certified Professional Trainer through the American University in Cairo. Finally, in September 2018, he became a PhD Candidate in Pharmaceutical Science, specializing in Clinical Pharmacy. His research topic is: “Evaluation of Antimicrobial Stewardship Program in Pediatric Oncology.”

🏆 Awards

He has received several prestigious awards, including the German President Award for Students, an Award from the Egyptian Hospital Pharmacist Association, and the First Lady Award for Excellence in 2010. He was recognized at the 1st Student Development Conference at Sinai University in 2010 and received the Egyptian Pharmacy Syndicate Award in the same year. Most recently, he earned the Best Pharmacist Award in 2018 from the Egyptian Pharmacy Syndicate CME Committee.

💼 Work Experience

From May 1998 to September 2002, he worked as a Clinical Pharmacist at the National Cancer Institute, Cairo University. His key responsibilities included the I.V. admixture of antibiotics and cytotoxic agents, leading the Clinical Pharmacy Development Program, and serving as the Senior Clinical Pharmacist and Night Shift Manager. His achievements include establishing Policies, Procedures, and Guidelines for the Oncology Clinical Pharmacy and overseeing operations as Senior Pharmacist.From 1999 to 2006, he served as a Senior Clinical Pharmacy Consultant at the Domiatta Cancer Institute, Egyptian Ministry of Health, where he managed the Clinical Pharmacy Development Program and established a protocol book for oncology clinical practices. He directed Annual Strategic Planning for clinical pharmacy services.

He also worked at the Tanta Cancer Institute and Menia Cancer Institute as a Senior Clinical Pharmacy Consultant from 1999 to 2000, leading the Clinical Pharmacy Development Program and training nursing staff in oncology pharmacy practices. His achievements included developing Oncology Clinical Pharmacy Guidelines and designing an Oncology Nurse Training Program.From 2001 to 2007, he continued as a Senior Clinical Pharmacy Consultant at the Sohag Cancer Institute, where he led the Clinical Pharmacy Development Program and developed a protocol book, directing Annual Strategic Planning and establishing policies for oncology pharmacy.

From 2008 to 2009, he worked at Frensh Qasr El Eini, Cairo University, where he managed the Clinical Pharmacy Development Program and created a protocol book, implementing clinical pharmacy policies and planning procedures.Finally, from April 1999 to 2006, he was a Teaching Assistant in the Pharmacognosy Department at the Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University (Beni Suef). His responsibilities included preparing lab equipment, delivering lectures, and supervising students. His achievements enhanced Pharmacognosy teaching methods and improved student engagement.

publications Top Noted📄

SIOPE and ESOP recommendations for extemporaneous compounding of oral liquid medicine formulations in pediatric oncology

Authors: Otsokolhich, M., Annereau, M., Bauters, T., Vassal, G., Buraja, S.

Journal: EJC Paediatric Oncology

Year: 2024

Correlation of Genetic Polymorphism of CYP3A5 to Cyclophosphamide Efficacy and Toxicity in Rhabdomyosarcoma Pediatric Egyptian Cancer Patients

Authors: ElShereef, C.E., Zaki, H.F., Badary, O.A., El Naga, S.A., Saber, M.M.

Journal: Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention

Year: 2024

Optimizing vancomycin therapeutic drug monitoring compliance in pediatric oncology: towards personalized medication management

Authors: Mohamed, R.G., Saber, R., Hussein, M.A., Shalaby, L., Nagy, M.

Journal: Personalized Medicine

Year: 2024

Efficacy and Toxicity of Vincristine and CYP3A5 Genetic Polymorphism in Rhabdomyosarcoma Pediatric Egyptian Patients

Authors: Shalaby, N., Zaki, H.F., Badary, O.A., Abouelnaga, S., Saber, M.M.

Journal: Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention

Year: 2024

Current status of African pediatric oncology education efforts aligned with the Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer

Authors: van Heerden, J., Lisa Christine, I., Downing, J., Balagadde-Kambugu, J., Geel, J.

Journal: Pediatric Hematology and Oncology

Year: 2023