Nasser B. Alsaleh, MSc, PhD
Associate Professor, Pharmacology and Toxicology
College of Pharmacy, King Saud University
Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Office: 1A-08, Lab: 1B-68 (Building 23)
Phone: +966-11-806-3275 https://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/nbalsaleh

Professional summary

Dr. Nasser Alsaleh is a faculty member at the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University. He earned a master’s degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Alberta (Edmonton, Canada) and a doctoral degree in Toxicology from the University of Colorado (Dever, United Sates). Dr. Alsaleh’s research is primarily focused on addressing questions related to the safety of engineered nanomaterials particularly those used in biomedical applications and nanomedicine. His research has contributed to understanding the molecular mechanisms driving interaction and toxicity of engineered nanomaterials in immune cells including the mast cell. His research work has also been focused on understanding the impact of nanomaterials on cellular homeostasis at subtoxic exposure levels. The overarching goal of Dr. Alsaleh research is to better understand the toxicological consequences of engineered nanomaterials at the cellular and molecular levels, ultimately to inform safety regulation and unravel novel therapeutic intervention. Dr. Alsaleh has authored and co-authored over 30 peer-reviewed articles, and he received multiple awards including the prestigious Heim Award (Harold C. Heim Endowment) in recognition of his outstanding research and scholastic achievement in his doctoral studies.

Research interests

  • Molecular toxicity of drugs and environmental toxicants

  • Safety of engineered nanomaterials

  • Molecular interactions between nanomaterials and immune cells

  • Therapeutic implications of nanomaterials at the molecular level

Research goals:

  • Elucidate the molecular mechanisms of nanomaterial-bio interactions

  • Understand the impact of nanomaterials on cellular homeostasis at subtoxic concentrations

  • Understand the impact of nanomaterials on contexts of susceptibility (e.g., co-exposures, co-disease)

  •  Utilize nanomaterials to understand fundamental cellular processes and identify novel therapeutic targets

Current projects: 

  • Assessing the safety of novel polymeric nanomaterials on macrophages

  • Understanding the impact of gold and silver nanoparticles in cellular senescence within the context of cancer

  • Investigating the toxicity of nano-vanadium on macrophages with a focus on the impact of shape

  • Investigating the impact of iron oxide nanomaterials on neuronal function and differentiation at subtoxic concentrations

  • Assessing the impact of nanoplastics on basic cellular function

Current and previous graduate and PharmD students: 

Fahad Alhabshan (PharmD student. 2024–current). Fahad is currently getting training in the lab to eventually start working on his own project investigating the toxicity of nano-vanadium on RAW 264.7 cells, with a particular interest in understanding the impact of shape on the internalization and consequent toxicity.

Noura Alnqer, MSc in Toxicology student. Noura is currently carrying out experiments as part of her thesis project investigating the role of gold and silver nanomaterials on cancer cell senescence.

 

Emad Alshehri, Sultan Alghamdi, PharmD students. 2023–24. Emad and Sultan have investigated the impact of imeglimin on the RAW 264.7 cells. Their work demonstrated a wide safety margin of imeglimin on the RAW 264.7 cells.

 

Anas Aljarbou (Masters of Toxicology). Anas's completed his thesis project with the focus on understanding the molecular immunotoxicity of ZnO-doped MnO nanoparticles. His research work help in assessing the safety and delineating the molecular mechanisms of toxicity following exposure of the RAW 264.7 cells to the ZnO-doped MnO nanoparticles.  

 

Areej Alotaibi (Masters of Toxicology, defended Jan 2022). Areej's is currently investigating the synergistic response of combining zinc oxide or silver nanoparticles and conventional antibiotics against clinical isolates of MDR bacteria from Saudi hospitals. Her research work is focused on determining the best combination outcomes against the different MDR bacterial strains including dosing of both engineered nanomaterials and antibiotics. Areej won the Best Research Poster Award at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) Research Conference (Thuwal, Saudi Arabia, 2022).

 

Abdullah Almutairi, Fahad Aldajani, PharmD students. 2021–22. Abdullah and Fahad investigated the impact of nanomaterials at subtoxic concentrations on the RAW 264.7 cells. They won the best poster award at the College of Pharmacy Research Day (2022).

Key publication / select publication

Please see for a complete list of publication at:

  • Alshamrani AA, Salman SB, Alsaleh NB, Assiri MA, Almutairi MM, Almudimeegh S, Alwhaibi A, Sobeai HM.
    miRNA-driven sensitization of breast cancer cells to Doxorubicin treatment following exposure to low dose of Zinc Oxide nanoparticles.
    Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal. 2024 Nov 1;32(11):102169.

  • Alotaibi AM, Alsaleh NB, Aljasham AT, Tawfik EA, Almutairi MM, Assiri MA, Alkholief M, Almutairi MM.
    Silver nanoparticle-based combinations with antimicrobial agents against antimicrobial-resistant clinical isolates.
    Antibiotics. 2022 Sep 8;11(9):1219.

  • Alsaleh NB, Mendoza RP, Brown JM.
    Exposure to silver nanoparticles primes mast cells for enhanced activation through the high-affinity IgE receptor.
    Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology. 2019 Nov 1;382:114746.

  • Persaud I, Shannahan JH, Raghavendra AJ, Alsaleh NB, Podila R, Brown JM.
    Biocorona formation contributes to silver nanoparticle induced endoplasmic reticulum stress.
    Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety. 2019 Apr 15;170:77-86.

  • Alsaleh NB, Minarchick VC, Mendoza RP, Sharma B, Podila R, Brown JM.
    Silver nanoparticle immunomodulatory potential in absence of direct cytotoxicity in RAW 264.7 macrophages and MPRO 2.1 neutrophils.
    Journal of Immunotoxicology. 2019 Jan 1;16(1):63-73.

  • Johnson M, Alsaleh N, Mendoza RP, Persaud I, Bauer AK, Saba L, Brown JM.
    Genomic and transcriptomic comparison of allergen and silver nanoparticle-induced mast cell degranulation reveals novel non-immunoglobulin E mediated mechanisms.
    PLoS One. 2018 Mar 22;13(3):e0193499.

  • Alsaleh NB, Persaud I, Brown JM.
    Silver nanoparticle-directed mast cell degranulation is mediated through calcium and PI3K signaling independent of the high affinity IgE receptor.
    PLoS One. 2016 Dec 1;11(12):e0167366.