Biography

Dr. Zahraa Khalifa is an Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the College of Pharmacy, Dubai Medical University. She earned her PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences, with a focus on Drug Delivery, from the University of Strathclyde, UK, where her doctoral research focused on the development of multimodal vaccine delivery systems. With more than 15 years of academic experience, she is actively involved in teaching, student mentorship, and the development of innovative learning approaches. Dr. Zahraa is a Fellow of Advance HE, reflecting her commitment to excellence in higher education. Her research expertise includes advanced drug delivery systems, nanoformulations, vaccine adjuvants, and translational drug development. With a Postgraduate Certificate in Artificial Intelligence in Drug Discovery, her research interests extend to the integration of AI and advanced technologies, including 3D printing, into drug discovery and development.

Education

• PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences (Drug Delivery), University of Strathclyde, UK, 2024.
• M.Pharm in Pharmaceutical Product Development, Dubai Pharmacy College, UAE, 2016.
• B.Pharm, Dubai Pharmacy College, UAE, 2008.

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Research Interests

• Advanced Drug Delivery Systems
• Nanoformulation Development
• Vaccine Adjuvant Development
• Pharmaceutical 3D Printing
• Artificial Intelligence in Drug Discovery

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Research Publications

• Khalifa, A. Z. M., Perrie, Y., & Shahiwala, A. F. (2026). Development and in vitro cellular evaluation of optimised multiple emulsion and liposomes-in-emulsion adjuvant systems for vaccine delivery. International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 696, 126811.
• Khalifa, A. Z. M., Shehab, N. G., Jabbar, D. L., Shahiwala, A. F., & Abdul Rasool, B. K. (2026). Development of Phyllanthus emblica extract-loaded niosomes for cancer treatment: Formulation and in vitro evaluation. Pharmaceuticals, 19(4), 582.
• Khalifa, A. Z. M., Perrie, Y., & Shahiwala, A. F. (2025). Solvent free production of liposomes as a vaccine adjuvant with a comparative study of different cationic surfactants. International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 676, 125606.
• Abdul Rasool, B. K., Khalifa, A. Z. M., Abu-Gharbieh, E. F., & Khan, R. K. G. (2020). Employment of alginate floating in situ gel for controlled delivery of celecoxib: Solubilization and formulation studies. BioMed Research International, 2020, 1879125.
• Khalifa, A. Z. M., & Abdul Rasool, B. K. (2017). Optimized mucoadhesive coated niosomes as a sustained oral delivery system of famotidine. AAPS PharmSciTech, 18(8), 3064–3075.
• Khalifa, A. Z. M., Perrie, Y., & Shahiwala, A. F. (2025). Subunit antigen delivery: Emulsion and liposomal adjuvants for next-generation vaccines. Expert Opinion on Drug Delivery, 22(4), 583–597.
• Khalifa, A. Z. M., Zyad, H., Mohammed, H., Abdullah, M., & Akram, O. (2022). Recent advances in remotely controlled pulsatile drug delivery systems. Journal of Advanced Pharmaceutical Technology and Research, 13(2), 77–82.

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