The Doctor of Philosophy Seminar and Examination of Yehia Elgammal

Biography

Yehia Elgammal was born and raised in Egypt, in an average sized city in the banks of the Nile. After finishing High School, he migrated to the United States to pursue his undergraduate degree. Yehia graduated from Saint Louis University, where he completed both his undergraduate and master's degrees. He subsequently joined Dr. Seleem's lab at Virginia Tech, where he focused on the discovery and development of novel antifungal agents targeting the human fungal pathogen Candida auris.

Funded by

• National Institute of Health
• VMCVM Office of Research and Graduate Studies

Awards and Academic Achievements

• 2024 Biomedical and Veterinary Science travel award

Lay Language Abstract 

Fungi is a group of living organisms that are neither plants nor animals. While Some fungi are beneficial, others can cause serious diseases in humans. Candida auris is a human fungal pathogen that causes serious infections. It has become a growing threat to global public health. This pathogen is particularly concerning due to its high virulence, resistance to multiple antifungal drugs, and ability to rapidly spread, often leading to hospital outbreaks. In our current research, we have identified several compounds that either inhibit the growth of C. auris or enhance the efficacy of existing antifungals, such as azoles and amphotericin B. Additionally, we have explored the mechanisms by which these compounds act on the pathogen. Finally, we have evaluated the effectiveness of these drugs in animal models, including mice, to assess their potential for treating C. auris infections.

Publications

Salama EA, Elgammal Y, Utturkar SM, Lanman NA, Hazbun TR, Seleem MN. 2024. Overcoming amphotericin B resistance in Candida auris using the antiemetic drug rolapitant. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 68:e00556-24.https://doi.org/10.1128/aac.00556-24. IF=4.1.

Salama, E. A., Elgammal, Y, Wijeratne, A., Lanman, N. A., Utturkar, S. M., Farhangian, A., Li, J., Meunier, B., Hazbun, T. R., & Seleem, M. N. (2024). Lansoprazole interferes with fungal respiration and acts synergistically with amphotericin B against multidrug-resistant Candida auris. Emerging microbes & infections, 13(1), 2322649. https://doi.org/10.1080/22221751.2024.2322649. IF= 8.4.

Elgammal, Y, Salama, E.A. & Seleem, M.N. Enhanced antifungal activity of posaconazole against Candida auris by HIV protease inhibitors, atazanavir and saquinavir. Sci Rep 14, 1571 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-52012-8. IF= 3.8.

Elgammal, Y, Salama, E. A., & Seleem, M. N. (2023). Saquinavir potentiates itraconazole's antifungal activity against multidrug-resistant Candida auris in vitro and in vivo. Medical Mycology. myad081. https://doi.org/10.1093/mmy/myad081. IF=2.79.

Salama EA, Eldesouky HE, Elgammal Y, Abutaleb NS, Seleem MN. (2023). Lopinavir and ritonavir act synergistically with azoles against Candida auris in vitro and in a mouse model of disseminated candidiasis. International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents, 106906. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2023.106906. IF= 4.9.

Elgammal, Y, Salama, E. A., & Seleem, M. N. (2023). Atazanavir Resensitizes Candida auris to Azoles. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, e01631-22. https://doi.org/10.1128/aac.01631-22. IF=4.1.

Wagdy RA, Abutaleb NS, Fathalla RK, Elgammal Y, Weck S, Pal R, Fischer PD, Ducho C, Abadi AH, Seleem MN, Engel M. (2023). Discovery of 1,2-diaryl-3-oxopyrazolidin-4-carboxamides as a new class of MurA enzyme inhibitors and characterization of their antibacterial activity. European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. 2023, 115789. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejmech.2023.115789. IF= 7.1.

Dokla EM, Abutaleb NS, Milik SN, Kandil EA, Qassem OM, Elgammal Y, Nasr M, McPhillie MJ, Abouzid KA, Seleem MN, Imming P. (2023). SAR investigation and optimization of benzimidazole-based derivatives as antimicrobial agents against Gram-negative bacteria. European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. Volume 247, 5 February 2023, 115040. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejmech.2022.115040. IF= 7.1.

Wagdy, R.; Abutaleb, N.S.; Elgammal, Y; Pal, R.; Abadi, A.; Seleem, M.; Engel, M.; Abdel-Halim, M. Identification of N-(5-nitrothiazol-2-yl)-3- oxopyrazolidine-4-carboxamide derivative as a potent inhibitor of Clostridioides difficile, in Proceedings of the 27th International Electronic Conference on Synthetic Organic Chemistry, 15–30 November 2023, MDPI: Basel, Switzerland, doi:https://sciforum.net/paper/view/16379.

Hewitt CS, Abutaleb NS, Elhassanny AEM, Nocentini A, Cao X, Amos DP, Youse MS, Holly KJ, Marapaka AK, An W, Kaur J, Krabill AD, Elkashif A, Elgammal Y, Graboski AL, Supuran CT, Seleem MN, Flaherty DP. (2021). Structure–Activity Relationship Studies of Acetazolamide-Based Carbonic Anhydrase Inhibitors with Activity against Neisseria gonorrhoeae. ACS Infectious Diseases. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsinfecdis.1c00055. IF=5.084.

Presentations

Y. Elgammal, E. A. Salama, M. N. Seleem. (2024). Evaluation of the combinational therapy of atazanavir and saquinavir with azole antifungals against Candida auris. ASM Microbe 2024, June 15th, 2024, Atlanta, GA.

Y. Elgammal, E. A. Salama, M. N. Seleem. (2024). Repurposing HIV-Protease Inhibitors With Antifungal Potential Through Combinatorial Synergy. Virginia Tech Center for Drug Discovery. April 12th, 2024, Blacksburg, VA.

Y. Elgammal, E. A. Salama, M. N. Seleem. (2024). Oral presentation title: Enhancing the activity of azole antifungals against Candida auris by HIV- protease inhibitors. 33rd Annual BMVS Graduate Research Symposium, March 14th, 2024, Blacksburg, VA.

Y. Elgammal, E. A. Salama, M. N. Seleem. (2023). Evaluation of the combinational therapy of saquinavir and itraconazole against Candida auris. 2023 CeZAP Infectious Diseases Symposium, October 6th, 2023, Blacksburg, VA.

Y. Elgammal, E. A. Salama, M. N. Seleem. (2023). Hope on the horizon: HIV protease inhibitor, atazanavir overcomes azole resistance in Candida auris infection. Virginia Tech Center for Drug Discovery. April 16th, 2023.

Y. Elgammal, E. Salama, M. N. Seleem. (2022). In vitro and in vivo synergistic interaction of atazanavir and azole antifungals against Candida auris. 2022 CeZAP Infectious Diseases Symposium, October 7th, 2022, Blacksburg, VA.

Examination Graduate Committee

Major Advisor/Chair:

Mohamed Seleem, DVM, MS, PhD
Professor
Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology

Graduate Advising Committee Members:

Clayton Caswell, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology

Abey Bandara, PhD
Research Associate Professor
Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology

Nammalwar Sriranganathan, PhD, DACVM, BVSc, MVSc
Emeritus Professor
Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology