International expertise and visiting scholars

3 June 2019

NICM continues to welcome and support visiting international scholars to participate in collaborative projects focused on complementary and integrative medicines. In 2019, NICM has welcomed to date academics from China, United States and Iran.

• Professor Tariq, a NICM Adjunct Professor received training in pharmacology from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, he served as a member of the Faculty of Medicine at Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh India and later as Professor of Pharmacology at King Saud University Riyadh Saudi Arabia.  In addition to his active involvement in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching program, Professor Tariq participated in numerous research projects to study safety, efficacy and quality control of herbal drugs used in Indian and Arabic Traditional Medicine. He also undertook numerous research projects pertaining to pharmacokinetics, drug interaction and bioavailability of drugs.  Professor Tariq has published more than 300 research papers, has served on review panels and also the editorial board of several medical journals. His research interests include herbal pharmacology, diabetes, neuropharmacology, drug safety, quality control, bioavailability and targeted drug delivery. Professor Tariq will be involved in a range of research activities within NICM including pharmacological and clinical studies of Bush Medicine, Ayurvedic and Arabic Medicine.

• Associate Professors Wenzhen Yu and Yanfang Zheng join NICM as visiting scholars from Fujian University of Chinese Medicine. They are supported by both their home institutions and provincial government, and the Dr Gary Lam Visiting Fellowship. Associate Professor Yu research interests include Chinese Medicine, pharmacology and diabetes and she has received support from the Natural Science Foundation of China and Fujian Provincial Science and Technology Foundation. Associate Professor Yanfang (Jenny) Zheng research interests include the mechanism of Chinese medicine’s prevention and treatment effects on diabetic encephalopathy based on the microbiota-gut-brain axis.  Her research has also been supported by Natural Science Foundation of China and Fujian Provincial Science and Technology Foundation. During their stay they will be working principally in the NICM laboratories, and are contributing to research within NICM’s Healthy Hearts and Healthy Minds

• Dr Zahra Ayati is a visiting scholar from Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, in Iran. She is finalising her PhD studies and has a research interests in Persian Traditional Medicine, pharmacognosy, phytotherapy, herbal cosmetic formulation and tablet formulation which has been resulted in six papers published in the relevant journals. Dr Ayati is also working towards bringing ancient Traditional Persian Medicine literature into today’s scientific audience and is translating ancient Arabic and Persian manuscripts into English. She is a visiting scholar within NICM’s Healthy Hearts and Healthy Minds program and has been participating in various in research activities.

• Nikita Roy joins NICM and THRI as a graduate Fulbright Scholar from the University of Connecticut undertaking a Master of Public Health. She will be working closely with Dr Gen Steiner on our mild cognitive impairment studies and also running her own project exploring the neuroplastic mechanisms of Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) in cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease.  Nikita will use her Fulbright Scholarship to study the association between a genetic polymorphism and cognitive function in humans. This work explores the role of neuroplasticity in dementia and other forms of cognitive decline.  Her hope is that this work will advance clinical research surrounding early detection and prevention of neurodegenerative disease.  Nikita also looks forward to gaining insight on the Australian healthcare system and practices, and to bringing what she has learned back to the United States to aid in her future practice of medicine. She believes that a brighter future for American healthcare can be shaped by cross-cultural collaboration with other developed nations.