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Biography |
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Dr. Ayman El-Shibiny is currently a professor of biomedical sciences at the University of Science and Technology, Zewail City. Prior to joining Zewail City, El-Shibiny worked as a postdoctoral fellow at a number of universities including Nottingham University in the U.K., Cardiff University in the U.K., and The Evergreen State College in the U.S. He also served as an associate professor and head of the food sciences department at the Faculty of Environmental Agricultural Sciences, Suez Canal University (Egypt).
El-Shibiny completed his Doctor of Philosophy degree in microbiology from The University of Nottingham, UK. As a microbiologist, El-Shibiny’s research interests cover a broad range of topics related to food safety and human health. His main research area is phage therapy and his current research interests include the therapeutic use of bacteriophages as a possible alternative to treat and control antibiotic-resistant pathogens. His research has aimed at improving our understanding of the causes of contamination of foods of animal origin with human pathogens. El-Shibiny has a strong scientific network in the U.K., the U.S., Belgium, Canada, France and Egypt.
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Abstract |
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Back to the nature with antibiotic resistance |
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Antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacteria has become a worldwide issue. Salmonella, Campylobacter, E. coli, Listeria, Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas, Klebsiella and Clostridium are a few of the bacterial pathogens that infect humans causing serious illness. Those pathogens are not just hard to treat; they have also increased the cost of healthcare. The withdrawal of antibiotics without a proper substitute can have an adverse effect on human, foods, meat and poultry production. Therefore, the development of an alternative treatment has become one of the highest priorities of modern medicine and biotechnology. An urgent action from all stakeholders should be taken, including healthcare professionals, policymakers, food industry and the public. There are novel approaches in dealing with bacterial infections, such as phage therapy. Phage therapy is the therapeutic use of lytic bacteriophages (bacterial viruses which have the ability to infect and kill bacteria) to control bacterial infections while leaving beneficial bacteria, people, animals and plants unharmed. The FDA has approved the administration of phages in veterinary medicine to reduce intestinal colonization of live animals with pathogenic bacteria and as a safe food additive on ready-to-eat products. Phages are also being used in agricultural applications to improve the safety of foods and prevent foodborne diseases. Because of their specificity, bacteriophages only affect the target pathogenic bacteria without affecting the other naturally present microbiota. This presentation will review the use of different bacteriophages that treat and kill pathogenic bacteria such as E. coli, Salmonella, Klebsiella and Campylobacter. |
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