Staff Fellow — Office of Scientific Coordination

Tariq Fahmi, M.D., Ph.D.
(870) 543-7121
[email protected]  

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About  |  Publications

Background

Dr. Tariq Fahmi received his medical degree from Al-Mustansiriya University, Baghdad, Iraq in 1996. He went on to earn a Master of Science degree in pathology in 2002 from the medical college of Al-Nahrain University, Baghdad, Iraq; and a Ph.D. in oncology in 2010 from the Institute of Oncology, Hacettepe University, in Ankara, Turkey. Dr. Fahmi was a faculty member in the Department of Pathology at Al-Mustansiriya University from 1998-2010 while pursuing his master’s degree and Ph.D.  Dr. Fahmi received a fellowship from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) upon completion of his Ph.D. He joined FDA’s NCTR/Office of Regulatory Affairs Nanotechnology Core Facility (Nanocore) in 2015, where he conducted research, scientific publication and monograph reviews with a team of scientists to provide briefs for regulatory decisions by the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER). Dr. Fahmi has received FDA’s NCTR Scientific Achievement Award for “Excellence in Review Science” for his work on the monograph reviews.

Research Interests 

Dr. Fahmi's research interests include:

• Pathology, including the causes of disease, pathogenesis, structural changes, diagnosis, and clinical changes or consequences with the identification of potential therapeutics
• Immunopathology, with respect to the immune system, immunity, and immune responses
• Immunology, especially as it relates to immunotoxicology of nanomaterials
• Oncoloy, including tumor biology and immunology
• Identifying how nanotoxicology impacts human immunotoxicity
• Mitigating tissue injury using several synthetic chemical inhibitors, including nanoparticle-based delivery systems
• Investigating the mechanisms of cell death using different models

Dr. Fahmi’s current research projects and other research efforts at NCTR:

• Sex-based differences in immune responses to nanoparticles
• Immunotoxicity of cobalt chromium (CoCr) particles generated from prosthetic implants
• Investigating the effect of physico-chemical properties of nanoparticles on radioenhancement and DNA damage in cancer cells
• Development of immunotoxicological collaborative consensus-standards for nanomaterial assessment with other stakeholders, through standards development organizations, such as the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM International). Led the development of an immunotoxicological Test Method ASTM E3238-20-"Standard Test Method for Quantitative Measurement of the Chemoattractant Capacity of a Nanoparticulate Material in vitro"- that is now an ASTM International Standard published in 2020
• The effect of physico-chemical properties of the graphitic material on cytotoxicity

Described below are Dr. Fahmi's previous research efforts:

• He investigated the possible mechanisms of nanoparticle-induced cell death following exposure to nanomaterials. He has conducted several research projects that involved 1) the delivery and measurement of the toxicity of different nanomaterials and 2) the development of methods for the evaluation of nanoparticles toxicity. Dr. Fahmi has also investigated the role of endonucleases in the mechanism of graphene and carbon nanotubes cytotoxicity. He helped to develop 1) a photoacoustic in vitro flow cytometry method for the evaluation of nanomaterial toxicity and 2) multi-functional nanomaterials for targeting circulating cancer cells.
• He investigated the role of serotonin transporters in protecting placental cells against cell death.
• He worked with cancer models by investigating the effects of altered expression of human UDP-Glucurosyltransferase (UGT) genes in breast and pancreatic cancers which identify the role of UGT's as lipid controllers in cellular homeostasis and helped identify them as possible targets for future clinical therapeutic development.
• He worked on determining the role of endonuclease and apoptotic proteins and the mechanisms of acute and chronic tissue injury related to cancer and other toxic injuries.
• He investigated the differential distribution of T cell subsets in mammary tumor-bearing animals and potential contribution of T cell localization to the tumor-associated immunosuppression

Professional Societies/National and International Groups

Nanotechnology Task Force Subcommittee
Member
2015-Present

FDA Standard Committee (NCTR representative)
Member
2016-Present

ASTM Committee E56 on Nanotechnology
Member
2017-Present

Selected Publications

Serotonin Transporter Protects the Placental Cells Against Apoptosis in Caspase 3-Independent Pathway.
Hadden C.*, Fahmi T.*, Cooper A., Savenka A., Lupashin V., Roberts D., Maroteaux L., Hauguel-de Mouzon S., and Kilic F.
J Cell Physiol. 2017, 232(12):3520-3529. doi: 10.1002/jcp.25812. (* Represents equal contribution (co-first authorship))
 

Mechanism of Graphene-Induced Cytotoxicity: Role of Endonucleases.
Fahmi T., Branch D., Nima Z., Jang D., Savenka A., Biris A., and Basnakian A.
J Appl Toxicol. 2017, 37(11):1325-1332. doi: 10.1002/jat.3462.
 

Photoacoustic In Vitro Flow Cytometry for Nanomaterial Research.
Nedosekin D., Fahmi T., Nima Z., Nolan J., Cai C., Sarimollaoglu M., Dervishi E., Basnakian A., Biris A., and Zharov V.
Photoacoustics. 2017, 6:16-25. doi: 10.1016/j.pacs.2017.03.002.
 

Mutant Profilin1 Transgenic Mice Recapitulate Cardinal Features of Motor Neuron Disease.
Fil D., DeLoach A., Yadav S., Alkam D., MacNicol M., Singh A., Compadre C., Goellner J., O'Brien C., Fahmi T., Basnakian A., Calingasan N., Klessner J., Flint Beal M., Peters O., Metterville J., Brown R., Ling K., Rigo F., Ozdinler P., and Kiaei M.
Hum Mol Genet. 2017, 26(4):686-701. doi: 10.1093/hmg/ddw429
 

Human UDP-Glucuronosyltransferases: Effects of Altered Expression in Breast and Pancreatic Cancer Cell Lines.
Dates C.*, Fahmi T.*, Pyrek S., Yao-Borengasser A., Borowa-Mazgaj B., Bratton S., Kadlubar S., Mackenzie P., Haun R., and Radominska-Pandya A.
Cancer Biol Ther. 2015, 16(5):714-23. doi: 10.1080/15384047.2015.1026480. (* Represents equal contribution (co-first authorship))
 

Impact of Hydroxychloroquine on Atherosclerosis and Vascular Stiffness in the Presence of Chronic Kidney Disease.
Shukla A., Bose C., Karaduta O., Apostolov E., Kaushal G., Fahmi T., Segal M., and Shah S.
PLoS One. 2015, 10(9): e0139226. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0139226.
 

Regulation of Apoptotic Endonucleases by EndoG.
Zhdanov D., Fahmi T., Wang X., Apostolov E., Sokolov N., Javadov S., and Basnakian A.
DNA Cell Biol. 2015, 34(5):316-26. doi: 10.1089/dna.2014.2772.
 

Novel High-Throughput Deoxyribonuclease 1 Assay.
Jang D., Penthala N., Apostolov E., Wang X., Fahmi T., Crooks P., and Basnakian A.
J Biomol Screen. 2015, 20(2):202-11. doi: 10.1177/1087057114555828.
 

Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube and Graphene Nanodelivery of Gambogic Acid Increases its Cytotoxicity in Breast and Pancreatic Cancer Cells.
Saeed L., Mahmood M., Pyrek S., Fahmi T., Xu Y., Mustafa T., Nima Z., Bratton S., Casciano D., Dervishi E., Radominska-Pandya A., and Biris A.
J Appl Toxicol. 2014, 34(11):1188-99. doi: 10.1002/jat.3018.
 

Circulating Tumor Cell Identification by Functionalized Silver-Gold Nanorods with Multicolor, Super-Enhanced SERS and Photothermal Resonances.
Nima Z., Mahmood M., Xu Y., Mustafa T., Watanabe F., Nedosekin D., Juratli M., Fahmi T., Galanzha E., Nolan J., Basnakian A., Zharov V., and Biris A.
Sci Rep. 2014, 4:4752. doi: 10.1038/srep04752.
 

Immune Compartmentalization of T Cell Subsets in Chemically-Induced Breast Cancer.
Fahmi T., Esendagli G., Yilmaz G., Kansu E., and Guc D.
Scand J Immunol. 2010, 72(4):339-48. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-3083.2010.02447