Key details
Dr Mohamed Samir
Lecture in Bioinformatics
Dr Mohamed Samir earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Zagazig University in Egypt. In 2016, he was awarded a PhD from the University of Veterinary Medicine in Hannover, Germany, through the prestigious German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) award. It was during his doctoral studies that Dr Samir developed a deep passion for bioinformatics and its applications in the biomedical field. Through postdoctoral positions in Germany (2018) and the UK (2022), Dr Samir further honed his bioinformatics expertise and expanded his research to include the application of machine learning models to large-scale biological datasets.
Dr Mohamed’s research is currently focused on leveraging bioinformatics and building machine learning models to gain deeper insights into bacterial antimicrobial resistance (AMR) phenomena, which is one of the most pressing global challenges we face this century. Specifically, he aims to uncover patterns in AMR evolution, cross-species spread of resistant bacteria and dissect the influence of the human microbiome on AMR development.
With a career grounded in biomedical field and bioinformatics, and collaboration with other researchers, Dr Mohamed’s work has contributed to the better understanding of genetic diversity and population structure of major zoonotic bacteria across multiple hosts as well as predicting genomic drivers for cross-antibiotic resistance. This paves the way for data-driven solutions that can enhance disease control and prevention in the fight against AMR.
In addition to his main research, Dr Mohamed utilizes his proficiency in programming languages and the usage of high-performance supercomputing resources at the University of Greenwich to provide support for other biomedical scientists.
Dr Samir joined the University of Greenwich in September 2024 as a Lecturer in Bioinformatics, where he continues his teaching and translational research in bioinformatics and big data science.
Responsibilities within the university
- Teaching
- Module leader (Chemometrics & Informatics, CHEM1107)
- Module tutor (Research Methods & Data Management, BIOT 1012).
- Module tutor (Bioinformatics, BIOT 1011).
- Module tutor (Research and professional skills, BIOT1004).
- Research activities
- Member of the early career researcher network.
- Supervision of master students within biotechnology/pharmaceutical MSc programs.
Awards
- June 2024: Country encouragement award in advanced technological sciences (value = 50000 EGP), Egypt.
- July 2018: Science fellowship, HZI, Germany to perform postdoctoral research.
- Sep. 2018: Delegation award from DAAD, to represent Egypt in Science journalism workshop in Germany.
- 2017: Young Ambassador Award from the ASM to support its scientific and societal activity in Egypt.
- 2019, 2021, 2022, 2024: Scientific excellence award, Zagazig University, Egypt. This includes 5-awards for excellent research articles published in Q1 (web of knowledge) highly ranked journals.
Recognition
- Member in the American Society for Microbiology (ASM), ID: 100179898.
- Member in the International Veterinary Vaccinology Network (IVVN)
- Editorial board member in Frontiers journals
- Guest associate editor, Frontiers in Veterinary Science (editor for 2-topics: bioinformatics approaches applied in antimicrobial resistance and secondly, the roles of coding and non-coding RNAs in veterinary infectious diseases)
- Review editor in Frontiers in Public Health
- Review editor in Frontiers in Medicine
- Reviewer for PLOS ONE journal.
- Reviewer for the Egyptian Science and Technology Development Fund (STDF).
- Reviewer for multiple other national and international journals.
Research / Scholarly interests
Dr Mohamed's primary research focus is on the application of bioinformatics and machine learning models to address pressing questions within the biomedical field, with particular emphasis on antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The power of bioinformatics lies in its capacity to manage, process, and analyse high-dimensional datasets, uncovering insights, patterns, and conclusions that would otherwise remain elusive through traditional data analysis methods. Dr Mohamed's extensive bioinformatics portfolio includes expertise in the analysis of high-dimensional data across multiple omics disciplines, such as transcriptomics, genomics, and metabolomics, as well as the application of machine learning techniques in areas like COVID-19 diagnostics and biomarker discovery. Since 2017, Dr Mohamed has contributed significantly to research exploring various facets of genotypic diversity, epidemiology, and the antimicrobial resistance potential of zoonotic bacterial pathogens, primarily offering his expertise in bioinformatics and machine learning.
At the University of Greenwich, he purses his research with the goal of harnessing the power of bioinformatics and machine learning to gain a deeper understanding of the cross-host adaptation of zoonotic bacteria at the genomic and transcriptomic levels, the transmission dynamics of antibiotic resistance (AMR) among bacterial hosts, and the impact of microbiota diversity and abundance on the evolution of AMR. The insights derived from this research are poised to significantly inform and enhance ongoing efforts to address the AMR crisis from a One Health perspective. By initiating his bioinformatics-centred research trajectory, Dr Mohamed is expected to fortify the collaborative landscape at the university, leveraging both his established connections with Egyptian scientists and his current network within the UK.
Should you wish to engage or collaborate in any aspect of his research- or if you would like to pursue a research degree project with him (for MSc by Research, MPhil, or BioMed Online), please reach out to Dr Mohamed Samir via email at ms5711g@greenwich.ac.uk
Media activity
- Science blogger: German alumni Deutschland.
- Egyptian Radio interview related to the “country encouragement award” received in 2024.