Kulsoom Ghias

• Aga Khan University Nairobi

Introduction DU145 and LNCaP are classic prostate cancer cell lines. Characterizing their baseline transcriptomics profiles (without any intervention) can offer insights into baseline genetic features and oncogenic pathways that should be considered while interpreting findings after various experimental interventions such as exogenous gene transfec...

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As the pioneering study from Pakistan, our research distinctly focuses on validating the roles of autophagy-associated genes and MicroRNAs (miRs) in the unique context of our population for glioma prognosis. The study delves into the nuanced interplay of autophagy within a miR-modulated environment, prompting an exploration of its potential impact...

Background The undergraduate bioethics curriculum introduced in a private medical college in Pakistan in 1988 and revised in 2009 has evolved over time to incorporate globally relevant innovations, including integration of bioethics spirally within an existing problem-based learning curricular framework. The present evaluation study shares the resu...

Background Protection against SARS-CoV-2 is mediated by humoral and T cell responses. Pakistan faced relatively low morbidity and mortality from COVID-19 through the pandemic. To examine the role of prior immunity in the population, we studied IgG antibody response levels, virus neutralizing activity and T cell reactivity to Spike protein in a heal...

Autophagy has a dual role in gliomagenesis in a microRNA modulated environment. We investigated the potential relevance of autophagy in glioma development and survival by exploring the association of autophagy-associated genes and microRNAs in low- and high-grade gliomas. Real-time PCR (qPCR) was used to determine the expression of genes and microR...

Unlabelled: The 'flipped classroom (FCR)' is a teaching pedagogy where students are actively involved in the learning process. It reduces passivity, enables students to become active learners through reasoning and concept application and facilitates student interaction with their peers and instructors. This instructional approach enhances retentio...

The immune system plays a pivotal role in identification and clearance of tumor cells, but can also be counterproductive and enhance tumor progression. Presence of neutrophils in solid tumors, including the sixth most common cancer globally - head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC), is associated with poor prognosis. Pro-inflammatory cytokin...

Colorectal Cancer (CRC) ranks among the top three cancers worldwide in terms of incidence and mortality. Treatment of CRC with 5-fluorouracil and oxaliplatin has shown limited efficacy, with resistance often developing to this treatment. Therefore, there is an urgency to identify druggable molecular pathways/proteins that can be efficiently targete...

Long-term solutions against SARS-CoV-2 infections require understanding of immune protection induced by different vaccine COVID-19 formulations. We investigated humoral and cellular immunity induced by Sinopharm (BBIBP-CorV) in a region of high SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence. Levels of IgG antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and its receptor-binding...

Introduction The study aimed to test the effectiveness and the feasibility of a mobile just-in-time-learning (m-JiTL) approach for teaching bioethics at a university in Pakistan. Over four months, a mobile app (EthAKUL) was used to enhance ethical reasoning among practising nurses, trainee physicians, and medical and nursing students utilising the...

Introduction An estimated 1.5 million cases were reported in Pakistan until 23 March, 2022. However, SARS-CoV-2 PCR testing capacity has been limited and the incidence of COVID-19 infections is unknown. Volunteer healthy blood donors can be a control population for assessment of SARS-CoV-2 exposure in the population. We determined COVID-19 seroprev...

Abstract The pathophysiology of prostate cancer involves both genetic and acquired factors, including pathogens, such as viruses. A limited number of studies have shown the presence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in prostate cancer tissues. However, there is a dearth of data exploring EBV latency profile in prostate cancer, and the relationship of EBV...

Introduction: Several studies have shown an association between prostate carcinoma (PCa) and certain viral infections, such as HPV, EBV, CMV, etc. Despite the evidence about the presence of the EBV in PCa tissues, it is unknown if the presence of EBV is associated with any distinct histopathological characteristics and/or survival advantages/disadv...

Background: The aim of the study was to test the effectiveness of a mobile application and feasibility of curriculum-wide adoption of a mobile just-in-time-learning (m-JiTL) approach for teaching bioethics at a university in Pakistan. Over the course of four months, the mobile app (EthAKUL) was used to enhance ethical reasoning among practising nur...

Background: The ‘flipped classroom’ is a teaching pedagogy where students are actively involved in the learning process. It reduces passivity, enables students to become active learners through reasoning and concept application, and facilitates student interaction with their peers and instructors. This instructional approach enhances retention and...

Objective: To focus mainly on the role of proto-oncogene Ki-ras2 Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (K-Ras) and tumour-suppressor gene p53 which are among the most commonly mutated genes in biliary tract carcinomas. Methods: The systematic review comprised research articles published between 2002 and 2019 on PubMed and Google Scholar dat...

Background Hackathons aim to develop solutions to preidentified problem domains and catalyse startup cultures. Recently, the teaching and learning potential of hackathons has also been documented. In this study, we make the case for utilisation of hackathons as an alternative teaching and learning tool geared towards entrepreneurship and as an oppo...

Objective: To evaluate the impact of humanities and social sciences curriculum in an undergraduate medical education programme. Methods: The qualitative study was conducted from May 2016 to May 2017 at a private medical college in Karachi where humanities and social sciences subject is an art of the undergraduate curriculum as a 6-week module at...

Introduction The routine practice of neck dissection in the surgical management of oral carcinoma has evolved into a more functionally conservative approach. Over time, the rationale for removal of the submandibular gland has been questioned. Routine extirpation of the submandibular gland can aggravate the xerostomia experienced by many patients, s...

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. Experiences in medical education have changed significantly in the last two decades. This evolution is apparent in the teaching/ learning environment, types of education resources and learners. In this article two students provide a reflective account of their individual journeys in...

Background We designed EthAKUL, a mobile JiTL environment for bioethics for medical/nursing students, trainees and practitioners at Aga Khan University Pakistan, as a three-phased R&D study using participatory design methods. EthAKUL includes modules on selected clinical ethics concepts and a discussion forum (“Let’s Talk”) for participant-identifi...

Objective: To identify perceptions of key stakeholders in a private medical college for the adoption of technology enhanced learning at the undergraduate level. Methods: The mixed-method study was conducted at the Aga Khan University Medical College in Karachi from May 2014 to May 2015. Data was collected from students, faculty and academic prog...

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the sixth most common cancer type globally and contributes significantly to burden of disease in South Asia. In Pakistan, HNSCC is among the most commonly diagnosed cancer in males and females. The increasing regional burden of HNSCC along with a unique set of risk factors merited a deeper investigat...

This article was migrated. The article was not marked as recommended. Experiences in medical education have changed significantly in the last two decades. This evolution is apparent in the teaching/ learning environment, types of education resources and learners. In this article two students provide a reflective account of their individual journeys...

In developing countries such as Pakistan, bioethics has not been included in mainstream thinking in medical education. The authors’ experiences suggest that current methods of teaching bioethics are problematic as students are unable to translate theory to practice. Alternative pedagogies, such as just-in-time learning (JiTL) using mobile devices,...

In developing countries such as Pakistan, bioethics has not been included in mainstream thinking in medical education. The authors’ experiences suggest that current methods of teaching bioethics are problematic as students are unable to translate theory to practice. Alternative pedagogies, such as just-in-time learning (JiTL) using mobile devices,...

Background Problem-based learning (PBL) is one of the main pedagogical approaches utilized in the undergraduate medical education (UGME) program at a private medical college in Karachi, Pakistan. Video-enhanced cases and formative assessments were introduced at the end of PBL sessions to evaluate their effectiveness in enhancing student engagement....

This article was migrated. The article was not marked as recommended. In this view point challenges of a diverse student body and its impact on quality of education and student' social interactions are discussed. Enhanced institutional responsibility and ownership of all institutional members to provide adequate support for all individuals that mak...

Background: Diversity in education has been associated with benefits for individuals, institutions and society. Classroom diversity positively affects the learning environment and provides exposure to various personal experiences, ideas and opinions. However, it is critical to contextualize definition of diversity and respond to context‐specific ch...

This article was migrated. The article was not marked as recommended. Background: Leadership is an important competency expected of medical graduates. However, formal leadership curricula have been adopted sparingly and there is no reported curriculum specifically developed for resource-constrained healthcare settings that face unique challenges.We...

Objective: To compare students' response assessed by Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure on the basis of the year of study, gender and pre-medical educational background. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out at the Aga Khan University Medical College, Karachi, Pakistan, from June 2014 to March 2015, and comprised medical...

Objective: Aga Khan University, a private medical college, had a vision of producing physicians who are not only scientifically competent, but also socially sensitive, the latter by exposure of medical students to a broad-based curriculum. The objective of this study was to identify the genesis of broad-based education and its integration into the...

o assess educational environment in Aga Khan University Medical College (AKUMC) by Dundee Ready Educational Environmental Measure (DREEM) scale. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of students at the AKUMC with simple random sampling was carried out from June 2014 till March 2015. Responses in five subscales were used to calculate DREEM scores. Resul...

Phenomenon: Transient health-related anxiety/hypochondriacal concerns in medical students are well documented. The literature suggests that after studying a particular disease, medical students are likely to consider any symptoms earlier regarded as normal to be signs of the disease they are studying. The aim of this study was to investigate the pr...

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most common cancer in women and the third most common in men globally. CRC arisesfrom one or a combination of chromosomal instability, CpG island methylator phenotype, and microsatellite instability. Geneticinstability is usually caused by aneuploidy and loss of heterozygosity. Mutations in the tumor suppressor...

Exposure assessment of lead (Pb) and Arsenic (As) from food, water, and house dust intake were assessed among pregnant women, their children and fetuses in Pakistan and Japan, as well as their body burden of the metals in their blood. Fifty families which included a pregnant woman, a fetus and the 1–3-year-old siblings were recruited in Karachi and...

Background: Early onset sporadic colorectal cancer (CRC) is a biologically and clinically distinct entity hypothesized to exhibit differences in histological features and microsatellite instability (MSI) as compared to typical onset CRC. This study compared the MSI status, mismatch repair enzyme deficiency and clinicopathological features of early...

Background Honesty and integrity are key attributes of an ethically competent physician. However, academic misconduct, which includes but is not limited to plagiarism, cheating, and falsifying documentation, is common in medical colleges across the world. The purpose of this study is to describe differences in the self-reported attitudes and behavi...

Background. Early onset colorectal carcinoma (CRC) is rare and has been hypothesized to be a biologically and clinically distinct entity personifying aggressive disease and worse survival. Methods. Data for 131 patients was collected by retrospective chart review. Cox proportional hazard model was used to compute prevalence ratios and 95% confidenc...

The importance of health research training in medical education has been well-documented in the literature and is fully recognized at Aga Khan University Medical College (AKUMC). The goals and attributes of undergraduate medical education (UGME) at AKUMC emphasize the ability to become critical thinkers and conduct basic science research. In the UG...

Background. Early onset colorectal carcinoma (CRC) is rare and has been hypothesized to be a biologically and clinically distinct entity personifying aggressive disease and worse survival. Methods. Data for 131 patients was collected by retrospective chart review. Cox proportional hazard model was used to compute prevalence ratios and 95% confidenc...

To review the clinical presentations of Juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma surgical approaches used and outcomes of patients at an urban tertiary care centre in Pakistan. The retrospective study was conducted at Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, involving medical records of patients with histologically confirmed Juvenile nasopharyngeal angio...

e14680 Background: Early onset colorectal carcinoma (CRC), defined as CRC at age below 45 years is rare. However, an increasing incidence has been noted in Southeast Asia. It is hypothesized to be a biologically and clinically distinct entity personifying aggressive disease and a worse survival. Data on this subject is scarce from this part of the...

The 5-year undergraduate medical curriculum at Aga Khan University integrates basic sciences with clinical and community health sciences. Multimodal strategies of teaching and learning, with an emphasis on problem-based learning, are utilized to equip students with knowledge, skills, behaviours, attitudes and values necessary for a high-calibre med...

A good physician must be both clinically and ethically competent. High ethical standards are especially important in psychiatry in which several unique challenges present due to a vulnerable patient population, intimate physician-patient relationships, diagnoses made on signs and symptoms rather than irrefutable laboratory investigations, and thera...

Enzastaurin (LY317615), an acyclic bisindolylmaleimide, is an oral inhibitor of the protein kinase Cbeta isozyme. The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy of enzastaurin in inducing apoptosis in multiple myeloma (MM) cell lines and to investigate possible mechanisms of apoptosis. Cell proliferation assays were done on a variety of MM...

The protein kinase C (PKC) family consists of 11 serine/threonine protein kinase isoforms that are involved with cell proliferation and differentiation, gene transcription, and tumor-induced angiogenesis. The PKC pathway has been shown to play a role in the regulation of cell growth in several hematologic malignancies. However, in multiple myeloma...

Multiple myeloma is a slowly proliferating B-cell malignancy that accumulates apoptosis-resistant and replication-quiescent cell populations, posing a challenge for current chemotherapeutics that target rapidly replicating cells. Multiple myeloma remains an incurable disease in need of new therapeutic approaches. The purine nucleoside analogue, 8-a...

Multiple Myeloma (MM) is a malignancy of monoclonal plasma cell proliferation in the bone marrow, which accounts for 10% of all hematologic cancers. This slow proliferating B-cell malignancy accumulates apoptosis-resistant and replication-quiescent cell populations, posing a challenge for current chemotherapeutics, which target rapidly replicating...

The objective of this study was to determine potential mechanisms of apoptotic activity of gemcitabine, a pyrimidine nucleoside analogue, in the MM1.S multiple myeloma (MM) cell line. A MM cell line that is sensitive to glucocorticoids (MM1.S) was used for this study. Immunoblotting analysis, cell cycle assays, and annexin V staining were performed...

Although glucocorticoids (GCs) have been used for their immunosuppressive, anti-inflammatory, and cytotoxic effects for many years, their precise mechanism of action has not been fully elucidated. Evidence indicates that GCs induce apoptosis in hematological cells, thus supporting their use as chemotherapeutic agents for leukemias, lymphomas, and m...