Skills (28)
Research experience
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Research: Characterisation of a recombinant adenovirus
Medical School of Hannover · Department of Virology · Medical School of HannoverAG HEIM -
Research: Trabecular Bone Structure Analysis
Harvard University · Department of Radiology · Harvard Medical SchoolVolume CT Group - Guptaflat panel Volume CT Structural bone parameters -
Jan 2007
Research: Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical SchoolUSA · Boston -
Jan 2006–
Dec 2007Research: Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital · Department of SurgeryUSA · Boston -
Jan 2005–
Dec 2007Research: Medizinische Hochschule Hannover
Medizinische Hochschule Hannover · Institute of VirologyGermany · Hannover
Education
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Jan 2006
Medical School of Hannover
SPSS Introduction Course -
Jan 2005
MGH, Harvard Medical School
Biostatistics Course for Clinical Investigators -
Mar 2002–
Oct 2008University of Hagen
Computer Science -
Oct 2000–
Nov 2007Medical School of Hannover
Medicine
Awards & achievements
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Jan 2005Award: RSNA Young Investigator Prize (Medical Student) - High-Resolution CT Imaging of Tissue-engineered Bone Growth: Correlation between Imaging,Bio-mechanical Strength, and Protein Transcription Analysis.
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Jan 2005Scholarship: BMEP Scholarship (Harvard Medical School)
Other
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LanguagesGerman, Arabic, English
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Scientific MembershipsLindau-Nobel
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Other InterestsSoccer
Beachvolleyball
Tennis
Squash
Chess
Questions and Answers (115) View all
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Answer added in Molecular Phylogeny19 Which program is best to use for phylogeny analysis?Hey, for your purpose: Mega is the best software for phylo analysis. Best Ijad
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Answer added in Bioinformatic Tools22 Anyone could suggest me what is the best free software I can use for phylogenetic studies based on DNA sequences?Hey Pilar, have you tried out MEGA? Very easy to use and covers many phylogenetic tools -Ijad
Publications (39) View all
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Dataset: Fiber knob Alignment of 51 human adenoviruses
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ABSTRACT: This file is an aligned fasta file including the fiber knob (nucleotide) gene from 51 human adenoviruses (1-51) (Species A-F) -
Dataset: Loop1 Nucleotide Alignment of 51 Human Adenoviruses
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ABSTRACT: This file is an aligned fasta file including the loop1 area of the hexon (nucleotide) gene from 51 human adenoviruses (1-51) (Species A-F). -
Article: Unique sequence features of the Human adenovirus 31 complete genomic sequence are conserved in clinical isolates.
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ABSTRACT: Human adenoviruses (HAdV) are causing a broad spectrum of diseases. One of the most severe forms of adenovirus infection is a disseminated disease resulting in significant morbidity and mortality. Several reports in recent years have identified HAdV-31 from species A (HAdV-A31) as a cause of disseminated disease in children following haematopoetic stem cell transplantation (hSCT) and liver transplantation. We sequenced and analyzed the complete genome of the HAdV-A31 prototype strain to uncover unique sequence motifs associated with its high virulence. Moreover, we sequenced coding regions known to be essential for tropism and virulence (early transcription units E1A, E3, E4, the fiber knob and the penton base) of HAdV-A31 clinical isolates from patients with disseminated disease. The genome size of HAdV-A31 is 33763 base pairs (bp) in length with a GC content of 46.36%. Nucleotide alignment to the closely related HAdV-A12 revealed an overall homology of 84.2%. The genome organization into early, intermediate and late regions is similar to HAdV-A12. Sequence analysis of the prototype strain showed unique sequence features such as an immunoglobulin-like domain in the species A specific gene product E3 CR1 beta and a potentially integrin binding RGD motif in the C-terminal region of the protein IX. These features were conserved in all analyzed clinical isolates. Overall, amino acid sequences of clinical isolates were highly conserved compared to the prototype (99.2 to 100%), but a synonymous/non synonymous ratio (S/N) of 2.36 in E3 CR1 beta suggested positive selection. Unique sequence features of HAdV-A31 may enhance its ability to escape the host's immune surveillance and may facilitate a promiscuous tropism for various tissues. Moderate evolution of clinical isolates did not indicate the emergence of new HAdV-A31 subtypes in the recent years.BMC Genomics 11/2009; 10:557. · 4.07 Impact Factor -
Article: Phylogeny and primary structure analysis of fiber shafts of all human adenovirus types for rational design of adenoviral gene-therapy vectors.
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ABSTRACT: The fiber shaft of human adenoviruses (HAdVs) is essential for bringing the penton base into proximity to the secondary cellular receptor. Fiber shaft sequences of all 53 HAdV types were studied. Phylogeny of the fiber shaft revealed clustering corresponding to the HAdV species concept. An intraspecies recombination hot spot was found at the shaft/knob boundary, a highly conserved sequence stretch. For example, HAdV-D20 clustered with HAdV-D23 in the fiber shaft, but with HAdV-D47 in the fiber knob. Although all shafts exhibited the typical pseudorepeats, amino acid sequence identity was found to be as high as 92 % (interspecies) and 54 % (intraspecies). In contrast to a previous study, a flexibility motif (KXGGLXFD/N) was found in eight HAdV-D types, whereas the putative heparan sulfate-binding site (KKTK) was only found in species HAdV-C. Our results suggest that pseudotyping of gene-therapy vectors at the shaft/knob boundary is feasible, but that flexibility data of shafts should be considered.Journal of General Virology 09/2009; 90(Pt 12):2849-54. · 3.36 Impact Factor -
Conference Proceeding: Phylogeny and primary structure analysis of all Human Adenovirus (HAdV) Fiber shafts for rational design of adenoviral gene therapy vectors
GfV 2009 Leipzig; 06/2009
