Laila Elsherif, PhD
Dr. Laila Elsherif obtained her master’s and PhD degrees in Pharmacology and Toxicology from the University of Louisville in Kentucky and completed her postdoctoral training at the University of California-San Diego. She has extensive experience in cardiovascular research investigating the role of nutritional copper-deficiency on cardiac hemodynamics, the role of the adhesion molecules in cardiac dysfunction of muscular dystrophy, cardiac ischemia-reperfusion injury and vascular ischemic injury and angiogenesis. She became interested in Sickle Cell Disease while working within a multidisciplinary research group at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and studying the clinical and preclinical/translational research of Drs. Kenneth Ataga, Leslie Parise and Julie Brittain. Her current focus is the role of activated endothelium in the initiation and progression of kidney damage and chronic kidney disease in patients with Sickle Cell Disease. Chronic kidney disease is a serious and common complication affecting this patient population and its impact on patients’ health, daily function, and work productivity is well recognized. Early detection and intervention are effective in curtailing the progression of kidney disease and our research aims to advance our knowledge in the area of early detection. In addition, Dr. Elsherif is actively investigating the role of immune system dysregulation and inflammation in Sickle Cell Disease and her focus is on the role of neutrophils, the most abundant white cells in the human body, in modifying patients’ susceptibility to infections as well as chronic inflammation.