Nayiar Shahid is the Drug Metabolism and Disposition Highlighted Trainee Author for the October 2024 issue. Shahid is a PhD candidate at the University of Alberta.  

The DMD article that earned her the selection as a Highlighted Trainee Author is titled “Development of a Novel HEK293 Cell Model Lacking SLC29A1 to Study the Pharmacology of Endogenous SLC29A2-Encoded Equilibrative Nucleoside Transporter Subtype 2” and is available at https://doi.org/10.1124/dmd.124.001814.

Shahid is currently working on the pharmacological, functional and molecular characterization of the membrane transport systems, under the supervision of Dr. James R. Hammond. Specifically, her PhD research involves the development of novel CRSPR-Cas9 knockout cell models for assessment of the subtype selectivity of nucleoside transport inhibitors and substrates.

She hopes her research will provide a better understanding of ENT regulation and help to develop new classes of nucleoside/nucleobase analogues that can be used as anti-cancer or anti-viral therapies in mammalian cell lines. This would aid in the future discovery of novel targets in disease management leading to improved patient healthcare and thus aligns with the key research priorities.