Dr. Ali Habashi

Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical & Pharmaceutical Sciences

Dr. Habashi is a pharmaceutical scientist, educator, and Director of the ISU Pharmaceutics Translation Core Facility at the College of Pharmacy. His research program centers on understanding drug-disease interactions, particularly through pharmacokinetics-pharmacodynamics analysis, identifying disease biomarkers, developing novel nano-formulations, and delivering small-molecule and peptide drugs. His laboratory focuses on the effects of inflammation on critical pathways, including the Arachidonic Acid Pathway and Renin-Angiotensin System (RAS). These systems are involved in the pathology of various inflammatory diseases, including cardiovascular, pulmonary, renal, hepatic, gastrointestinal, endocrine, musculoskeletal, autoimmune, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and neuroinflammatory diseases, as well as cancer. Targeting the RAS reflects Dr. Habahsi’s commitment to tackling complex biological challenges and provides trainees with hands-on experience in targeted drug-delivery systems using nanotechnology. Through innovative drug delivery systems, he enhanced the efficacy and safety of small molecules and peptides by targeting specific organs, extending their biological half-life, and amplifying their pharmacological impact. His research team applied these approaches to different inflammatory diseases in animal models and identified disease-relevant biomarkers in human subjects. He recently received an INBRE-5 Developmental Research Project award to treat Rheumatoid Arthritis by targeting the Gut RAS, and a SuRE-First (R16) grant to modulate breast cancer metastasis using bone-targeted delivery of a small anti-cancer peptide.

He earned a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences (Pharmacokinetics) from the University of Alberta; a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences (Bioanalysis) from Tehran University of Medical Sciences; and a Pharm.D. from Tehran University of Medical Sciences.