PD. Dr. Mona Mohsen – Senior scientist and group leader
| mona.mohsen@unibe.ch | |
| Phone | +41796854061 |
| Address | Office 113, Sahli Haus 1/2 Freiburgstrasse 14, Inselspital Bern, Switzerland |
Education
| 2003 | Bachelor in Biomedical Science at Qatar University |
| 2015 | Master in Biomedical Science at Qatar University |
| 2018 | Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Cancer immunology/Immunology at University of Oxford |
| 2019 | Post Doctoral Fellow at University Hospital of Bern |
| 2021 | Senior Researcher and group leader |
| 2022 | PrivatDozent (PD) at University Hospital of Bern |
Professional experience
| 2003 | Lab technologist at the general microbiology lab at Hamad Medical Cooperation (HMC) Qatar |
| 2014 | Clinical researcher at Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar |
| 2015 | Summer internship at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, US |
| 2016 | International program launched by Harvard Medical School and HMC (cancer biology & therapeutics) |
| 2019 | Postdoctoral fellow at University Hospital of Bern |
| 2021 | Senior researcher and a group leader at University Hospital of Bern |
| 2022 | PrivatDozent (PD) at University Hospital of Bern |
Personal data
| My research interest is focused on cancer immunology/immunotherapy. More specifically, I work on developing therapeutic cancer vaccines, immune-enhancers, checkpoint-inhibitors and other immunotherapies for different solid tumours such as breast cancer, melanoma and head/neck carcinoma. I utilise in my research virus-like nanoparticles (VLPs) as an efficient platform for vaccine development. Designing and developing personalised cancer vaccines are of high-interest in my research. I have provided proof-of-concepts (PoCs) for effective therapeutic cancer vaccines and immune-enhancers in different preclinical murine models. I have been awarded several funding grants and established my own research group. I have also worked during my postdoc period on developing vaccines against infectious diseases such as MERS, Dengue and SARS-CoV-2. During COVID-19 pandemic, I have been appointed as the head of corona-preclinical development team at Prof. Bachmann's lab where I worked and led the group with great enthusiasm and published several papers as a corresponding author. |
Employment
| Recent | Senior scientist and group leader at University Hospital of Bern |
Awards
| 2023 | SwissLife (Jubiläumsstiftung von Swiss Life), Role: PI, (Title: Preclinical efficacy of a personalized therapeutic vaccine to prevent postoperative metastases in mammary carcinoma. |
| 2023 | NIH parent R01, Role: Multiple PI, (Title: Personalized, antigen-directed immunotherapy delivered to lymph nodes) |
| 2023 | Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, Role: Co-PI, Title: Nanoparticle Trafficking in Trees Visualized by Virus-Like Particles |
| 2021 | Swiss Cancer League, KFS-5246-02-2021 Role: Co-investigator. This grant has been highlighted in media by Krebsforschung Schweiz (Swiss Cancer League), Role: Co-PI, Intratumor immunotherapy using TLR7/8 loaded nanoparticles formulated with an inflammasome activating micron-sized particulate adjuvant (MCT) in solid murine tumor models |
| 2019 | Qatar Foundation, PDRA4-0118-18002, Role: Lead PI, Title: Development and exploration of a novel personalized breast-cancer vaccine based on virus-like particles by incorporating tumor-specific T-cell epitopes |
| 2018 | Allergy Therapeutics PLC, Role: Lead PI, Title: Developing a novel immune-enhancer for melanoma using MCT adjuvant |
Prizes and honours
1. Master research project award at Qatar University, 2016
2. SSAI award for poster presentation, 2019
3. Board member of Female Empowerement in Life Sciences (FELS), University of Bern
4. Guest editor at Vaccines Journal (Basel)
Teaching activities
I have a very good experience in academic teaching in national and international universities including (Switzerland, Qatar, China and UK). Topics include: Immunology, vaccination, cancer immunology and cancer vaccines.