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College of Medicine

Research Area(s)

  • Research in Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics: Conducting research to advance the understanding of HLA, transplant immunology, and related fields
  • Novel Biomarkers for Graft Rejection: Investigate new molecular or cellular biomarkers, such as non-HLA antibodies or microRNAs, to predict and monitor graft rejection more accurately.
  • HLA Epitope Matching Algorithms: Develop and validate advanced algorithms for HLA epitope matching that consider both antibody-verified and unverified eplets to improve donor-recipient compatibility and reduce post-transplant complications.
  • Machine Learning in HLA Antibody Prediction: Apply machine learning models to predict the likelihood and severity of donor-specific antibody (DSA) formation based on pre-transplant risk factors, including genetic and clinical data.

About

Dr. Mostafa's academic journey began with the attainment of his Medical Degree (MD) and the completion of his residency in diagnostic laboratory medicine. Furthering his expertise, he pursued a Ph.D. in Immunology and Infectious Diseases from Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada. Subsequently, Dr. Mostafa embarked on a two-year postdoctoral training at the University of Calgary before honing his skills as a clinical fellow in histocompatibility and Immunogenetics at Alberta Precision Labs, Canada. Acknowledged for his proficiency in the field, Dr. Mostafa holds fellowship status with the American College of Histocompatibility Immunogenetics (ACHI) and certification from the American Society of Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics. Presently, Dr. Mostafa serves as the Clinical Director and Consultant of the HLA laboratory at St Paul’s Hospital in Saskatoon, Canada. Concurrently, he holds the position of Associate Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada

Clinical Interests

  • Solid Organ and Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation: Overseeing and optimizing histocompatibility testing to improve donor-recipient matching and transplantation outcomes.
  • HLA Antibody Testing and Characterization: Developing and implementing protocols for identifying and characterizing HLA antibodies to manage transplant recipients effectively.
  • Immunogenetics: Studying the genetic basis of immune responses and its implications in transplantation and autoimmune diseases.
  • Post-Transplant Monitoring: Establishing strategies for the ongoing monitoring of transplant patients for rejection, infection, and graft function.
  • HLA Disease Association Studies: Investigating the association of HLA alleles with specific diseases, such as autoimmune disorders, to inform diagnosis and management.
  • Advances in Molecular Techniques: Applying next-generation sequencing (NGS) and other molecular methods to improve typing accuracy and resolution.

Research

  1. Refine and innovate clinically applicable assays to augment and refine existing histocompatibility tests, aiming to improve diagnostic accuracy and clinical outcomes by interpreting diverse HLA laboratory data.
  2. Implement precision medicine strategies to discern risk profiles in transplantation, enhancing patient stratification and treatment efficacy.
  3. Pioneer computational algorithms tailored for transplantation risk assessment, leveraging advanced data analytics to optimize patient outcomes and refine clinical decision-making processes.

Teaching

  • Immunology
  • Transplant Immunology
  • Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics

Some of the teaching courses on my YouTube Channel

Education

  • Medical Degree (MD) – Cairo University-Egypt
  • Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) – Memorial University of Newfoundland
  • Canada Postdoctoral Fellowship – University of Calgary
  • Canada Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics Fellowship – Alberta Precision Laboratories
  • Fellow of the American College of Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics F (ACHI)

Publications

  • Misra M, Mostafa A, Charron D. Editorial: HLA in Personalized Medicine, Front. Genet. Sec. Immunogenetics Volume 15 – 2024, doi: 10.3389/fgene.2024.1480936
  • Zhao Y, Kakodkar P, Pan H, Zhu R, Musa K, Hassan A, Shoker A, Webster D, Pearce T, Dokouhaki P, Wu F, Mostafa A.The Interplay between Human Leukocyte Antigen Antibody Profile and COVID-19 Vaccination in Waitlisted Renal Transplant Patients. Arch Pathol Lab Med (2024).
  • Zhang Z, Yu H, Wong-Ma E, Dokouhaki P, Mostafa A, S.Shavadia J, Wu F, Huan T. Reducing Quantitative Uncertainty Caused by Data Processing in Untargeted Metabolomics. Anal Chem. 2024 Feb 23. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.3c04046. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38395621.
  • Kakodkar P, Zhao Y, Pan H, Wu F, Pearce T, Webster D, Elemary M, Sabry W, Kwan L, Pelzer L, Bosch M, Tran J, Sherwood K, Lan J, Keown P, Liwski R and Mostafa A. Validation of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) Based Chimerism Testing for Accurate Detection and Monitoring of Engraftment in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation. Front. Genet., Sec. Immunogenetics Volume 14 - 2023 https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2023.1282947
  • Tran J, Sherwood K, Mostafa A, Benedicto RV, ElaAlim A, Greenshields A, Keown P, Liwski R and Lan JH. Novel alleles in the era of next-generation sequencing-based HLA typing calls for standardization and policy. Front. Genet., Sec. Immunogenetics Volume 14 - 202 https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2023.1282834
  • Kakodkar P, Dokouhaki P, Wu F, Shavadia J, Nair R, Webster D, Sawyer T, Huan T and Mostafa A*. The role of the HLA allelic repertoire on the clinical severity of COVID-19 in Canadians, living in Saskatchewan. Hum Immunol. 2023 Jan 20;84(3):163-171. doi: 10.1016/j.humimm.2023.01.003. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36707385; PMCID: PMC9852320.
  • Abdelfatah N, Mostafa AA, French CR, Doucette LP, Penney C, Lucas MB, Griffin A, Booth V, Rowley C, Besaw JE, Tranebjærg L, Rendtorff ND, Hodgkinson KA, Little LA, Agrawal S, Parnes L, Batten T, Moore S, Hu P, Pater JA, Houston J, Galutira D, Benteau T, MacDonald C, French D, O'Rielly DD, Stanton SG, Young TL A Pathogenic Deletion in Forkhead Box L1 (FOXL1) Identifies the First Otosclerosis (OTSC) Gene. Hum Genet. 2022 Apr;141(3-4):965-979. doi: 10.1007/s00439-021-02381-1. Epub 2021 Oct 11. PMID: 34633540; PMCID: PMC9034980.
  • Smith AG, Pereira S, Jaramillo A, Stoll ST, Khan FM, Berka N, Mostafa AA, Pando MJ, Usenko CY, Bettinotti MP, Pyo CW, Nelson WC, Willis A, Askar M, Geraghty DE. Comparison of sequence-specific oligonucleotide probe vs next generation sequencing for HLA-A, B, C, DRB1, DRB3/B4/B5, DQA1, DQB1, DPA1, and DPB1 typing: Toward single-pass high-resolution HLA typing in support of solid organ and hematopoietic cell transplant programs. HLA. 2019 Sep;94(3):296-306. doi: 10.1111/tan.13619. Epub 2019 Jul 15. PMID: 31237117; PMCID: PMC6772026.
  • Gareau AJ, Mostafa AA, Stamm L, Khan F, Berka N. The identification of a novel HLA-B allele, HLA-B*27:05:38. HLA. 2019 Aug;94(2):157-158. doi: 10.1111/tan.13576. Epub 2019 Jun 3. PMID: 31074116.
  • Gareau AJ, Mostafa AA, Williams J, Stamm L, Berka N: Identification of a Novel HLA-C Allele, HLA-C*07:778, in an Unrelated Hematopoietic Stem Cell Donor. HLA. 2019 Aug;94(2):161-162. doi: 10.1111/tan.13575. Epub 2019 May 26. PMID: 31069965.
  • Thirukkumaran CM, Shi ZQ, Nuovo GJ, Luider J, Kopciuk KA, Dong Y, Mostafa AA, Thakur S, Gratton K, Yang A, Chin AC, Coffey MC, Jimenez-Zepeda VH, Stewart D, Chesi M, Bergsagel PL, Morris D. Oncolytic immunotherapy and bortezomib synergy improves survival of refractory multiple myeloma in a preclinical model. Blood Adv. 2019 Mar 12;3(5):797-812. doi: 10.1182/bloodadvances.2018025593. PMID: 30850386; PMCID: PMC6418503.
  • Mostafa AA, Meyers DE, Thirukkumaran CM, Liu J, Gratton K, Spurrell J, Shi Q, Morris DG. Oncolytic Reovirus and Immune Checkpoint Inhibition as a Novel Immunotherapeutic Strategy for Breast Cancer. Cancers (Basel). 2018 Jun 15;10(6):205. doi: 10.3390/cancers10060205. PMID: 29914097; PMCID: PMC6025420.
  • Mostafa, AA., Kostur, C., Stamm, L., M., Faisal, K., Berka, N: Characterization of a novel allele HLA-C*02:135N, by full-length genome sequencing in a Caucasian bone marrow donor. HLA. 2018 Jun;91(6):538-539. doi: 10.1111/tan.13260. PMID: 29575749.
  • Mostafa, AA., Faisal, K., Stamm, L., Petrosenko, M., and Berka, N. A novel HLA-A*26 allele, HLA-A*26:01:44, identified in a Caucasian individual. HLA. 2018 Feb;91(2):127-128. doi: 10.1111/tan.13182. Epub 2017 Dec 20. PMID: 29168355.
  • Mostafa, AA. Petrosenko, Stamm, L., M., Faisal, K., Berka, N: The novel HLA-B*08:183 allele identified by sequence-based typing in a Caucasian leukemia patient. HLA. 2017 Dec; 90(6):367-368. doi: 10.1111/tan.13151. Epub 2017 Oct 10. PMID: 2898045
  • Mostafa, AA, Faisal, K., Stamm, L., Petrosenko, M., and Berka, N. HLA- DQB1*05:144, a novel allele, discovered in a Southeast Asian matched unrelated donor for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation patient. HLA. 2017 Sep;90(3):182-183. doi: 10.1111/tan.13074. Epub 2017 Jun 28. PMID: 28660703.
  • Lawson KA, Mostafa AA*, Shi Z, Spurrell J, Chen W, Kawakami J, Morris DG. Repurposing Sunitinib with Oncolytic Reovirus as a Novel Immunotherapeutic Strategy for Renal Cell Carcinoma. Clin Cancer Res. 2016 Dec 1;22(23):5839-5850. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-16- 0143. Epub 2016 May 24. PMID: 27220962.
  • O’Reilly D, Uddin M, Codner D, Hayley M, Zhou J, Pena-Castillo L, Mostafa AA,. Hasan M, Liu W, Haroon N, Inman R, Rahman P. Private rare deletions in SEC16A and MAMDC4 may represent novel pathogenic variants in familial axial spondyloarthritis. Ann Rheum Dis. 2016 Apr;75(4):772-9. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2014-206484. Epub 2015 May 8. PMID: 25956157; PMCID: PMC4819618.
  • Mostafa AA. and Morris DG. Immunotherapy for lung cancer: Has it finally arrived? Front Oncol. 2014 Oct 22;4:288. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2014.00288. PMID: 25374843; PMCID: PMC4206190. Impact Factor 6.244 and H Index 102 Contribution: 85% I collected, analyzed, and interpreted the data, wrote the entire manuscript, approved the version to be published, submitted the manuscript to the journal, and prepared the reply letter to address the reviewers' questions
  • Mostafa AA, Codner D, Hirasawa K, Komatsu Y, Young MN, Steimle V, Drover S. Activation of ERα Signaling Differentially Modulates IFN-γ Induced HLA-class II Expression in Breast Cancer Cells. PLoS One. 2014 Jan 27;9(1):e87377. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0087377. PMID:24475282; PMCID: PMC3903652
  • Mostafa AA, Randell EW, Vasdev SC, Gill VD, Han Y, Gadag V, Raouf AA, El Said H.2007: Plasma protein advanced glycation end products, carboxymethyl cysteine, and carboxyethyl cysteine, are elevated and related to nephropathy in patients with Diabetes Mol Cell Biochem. 2007 Aug; 302(1-2):35-42