Dr Sanam Mustafa

ARC Grant-Funded Researcher B

School of Biomedicine

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

Available For Media Comment.

Dr Sanam Mustafa is at the University of Adelaide and Science Technology Australia’s inaugural Superstar of STEM. An internationally trained molecular pharmacologist , Sanam has developed and leads multidisciplinary and multi-institute research programs that will revolutionise pain management and quantification.Sanam’s academic excellence has been reflected in successful competitive funding (>$4,500,000) funding and her contributions have been recognised by a number of awards, prizes & invited talks. She was recently awarded the University of Adelaide’s Executive Dean’s Medal for Engagement and Advancement for successfully leading a nationally competitive bid to engage with Defence to host a symposium attended by over 100 leading researchers and defence personnel. Demonstrating her reputation as a leading pain researcher, Sanam presented developments in pain management at Royal Australasian College of Surgeons; shared novel concepts for understanding pain signalling at Pain Adelaide; was invited to address Military officials on the importance of the neuroimmune system. In recognition of her successful research approach, Sanam was invited by ARC Centre for Plant Energy Biology to share her insights on the benefits of multidisciplinary research.As a successful first-generation woman in STEM, Sanam leads by positive example to mentor the next generation of researchers, including over 20 student supervisions. A leader among her peers, she represents them at executive levels across the sector, including as Vice President of BliSS Science and Innovation inc. and Chair of BLiSS*Adelaide Chapter – a non-profit organisation fostering & enabling multidisciplinary collaborations. Sanam led a team of 15 to raise over $40,000 in sponsorship and attract over 200 registrants from all the Universities and major research institutions in Adelaide in 2019 and 2020. Sanam contributes actively and positively to the broader science conversation and was interviewed by Nature Careers for an article on media interviews. A passionate advocate for gender, equity and inclusion, Sanam is on the board of aKIDemic Life and a member of multiple committees. Sanam’s invited piece for The Conversation on what Australia needs from the Ambassador for Women in Science received international attention reaching over 4000 reads in two weeks. Sanam has discussed issues facing women in STEM during a radio interview with the Wire and was an invited panel discussion member at a Diversity and Inclusion workshop being held as part of the ASCEPT Annual Scientific Meeting in Adelaide November 2018.

My Research
Career
Publications
Grants and Funding
Teaching
Supervision
Professional Activities
Contact

A molecular pharmacologist trained in one of the world’s most renowned research laboratories, Dr Sanam Mustafa now leads a program of independent research. Working closely with the Neuroimmunopharmacology group led by Prof Mark Hutchinson, her research focusses on determining the fundamental biological processes governing the communication between the brain and immune system.

While the immune system critically influences pain, sleep, fertility and protective responses to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) exposure, researchers lack the technologies to better understand the fundamental process involved in immune signalling and regulation. New tools that provide detailed real-time characterisation of immune signalling are urgently needed. Due to Sanam's unique skillset and experience in developing tools for probing complex intracellular signalling, in response to this problem she has developed a platform technology named illuminating TLR4 assay (iTLR4 assay). Utilising iTLR4 assay, her team has generated data which for the first time allows real-time measurement of a key innate immune receptor, Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4). iTLR4 is the only assay that can measure real-time ligand dependent conformation changes in TLR4.

Recognised as a scientific leader, Sanam was awarded the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences (FHMS) Executive Dean’s medal for Engagement & Advancement and Science & Technology Australia (STA) named her an inaugural ‘Superstar of STEM’. Sanam has built strong industry and professional networks serving as Vice President for BLiSS Science & Innovation Inc - a non-profit organisation fostering & enabling multidisciplinary collaborations and has also fostered ongoing engagement with Defence Science & Technology Group (DSTG) as a key academic contact in Adelaide.

A passionate advocate for human rights and gender equity, Sanam has served on multiple committees including STA’s Diversity and Inclusion committee and is currently on the board of Academics for Palestine-South Australia and aKIDemic Life. As a successful first-generation woman in STEM, Sanam leads by positive example to mentor the next generation of researchers and represents her peers at executive levels across the sector.

Background

Dr Sanam Mustafa completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Glasgow, graduating in 2004 with a M.Sci (Honours) in Genetics. This included an Industrial work placement year at the Comparative Genomics department of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). Sanam then trained in one of the world's leading laboratories researching GPCRs under the supervision of Prof Graeme Milligan and Dr Alan Wise. This PhD studentship was co-funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and GSK. During her case studentship, Sanam had the invaluable opportunity to spend 3 months in the high throughput-screening department of GSK.

Following a short postdoctoral position in collaboration with Almiral, in 2009 Sanam joined A/Prof Kevin Pfleger's group at the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research at the University of Western Australia. Here Sanam expanded her skill-set to encompass the study of protein-protein interactions at a more detailed level. Alongside academic research projects, Sanam managed contract research work for Dimerix Bioscience. This included project management of a research contract outsourced by Takeda Cambridge. Other responsibilities included the teaching and examination of undergraduate students.

In her role as Research Fellow at the Australian Research Council, Centre of Excellence for Nanoscale BioPhotonics (CNBP), University of Adelaide, Sanam worked closely with physicists and chemists to develop novel light based technologies for sensing and investigating intracellular signalling.

Her skill-set includes techniques such as molecular biology (PCR, RT-PCR), confocal microscopy, immunocytochemistry, Bioluminescence Resonance Energy Transfer (BRET), chemotaxis, ERK, [32P] orthophosphate phosphorylation and ELISA assays.

Appointments

Date	Position	Institution name
2024 - 2025	Senior Lecturer	University of Adelaide
2024 - 2025	Senior Researcher Fellow C	University of Adelaide
2021 - 2024	ARC Grant-Funded Researcher B	University of Adelaide
2014 - 2021	ARC Senior Research Fellow	University of Adelaide
2013 - 2014	Research Associate	University of Adelaide
2013 - 2013	Scientific and medical writer	iX Biopharma Limited
2013 - 2013	Case Based Learning tutor	University of Adelaide
2009 - 2011	Postdoctoral Research Associate	University of Western Australia
2009 - 2009	Postdoctoral Researcher	University of Glasgow

Awards and Achievements

Date	Type	Title	Institution Name	Country	Amount
2019	Award	Executive Dean’s Medal for Engagement and Advancement	University of Adelaide	Australia	-
2018	Award	CNBP Director's Award	University of Adelaide	Australia	-
2017	Recognition	Science and Technology Australia inaugural Superstar of STEM	Science and Technology Australia	Australia	-
2014	Award	CNBP Director's Award	University of Adelaide	Australia	-
2010	Award	Prize for best poster	-	-	-
2007	Award	Prize for best poster	-	-	-
2007	Award	Prize for best poster	-	-	-

Education

Date Institution name Country Title

2004 - 2008 University of Glasgow United Kingdom PhD in Molecular Pharmacology

1999 - 2004 University of Glasgow United Kingdom M.Sci (Honours)
Research Interests

Basic Pharmacology Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Innate Immunity Fertility and Conception Immunology and Infection Neuroscience, Behaviour and Brain Health

Date	Institution name	Country	Title
2004 - 2008	University of Glasgow	United Kingdom	PhD in Molecular Pharmacology
1999 - 2004	University of Glasgow	United Kingdom	M.Sci (Honours)

Journals

Year	Citation
2026	Evans, S. G., Buisman-Pijlman, F. T. A., Mustafa, S., & Hutchinson, M. R. (2026). Refining capsaicin-induced pain models: A comprehensive analysis of preclinical practices and their translational potential. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 180, 106455. DOI
2025	Carr, L., Mustafa, S., & Collins-Praino, L. E. (2025). The Hallmarks of Ageing in Microglia. Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology, 45(1), 38 pages. DOI Scopus5 WoS6 Europe PMC4
2025	Carr, L. M., Guglietti, B., Wee, I. C., Musgrave, I. F., Mustafa, S., Corrigan, F., & Collins-Praino, L. E. (2025). Comparison of automated and manual approaches for microglial quantification and classification: A focus on the HALO digital pathology platform. Brain Pathology, 17 pages. DOI
2025	Mustafa, S., Evans, S. G., & Hutchinson, M. R. (2025). Real-time monitoring with iTLR4 assay identifies ligand-dependent TLR4-TLR4 conformational dynamics. Frontiers in Immunology, 16, 1580070-1-1580070-15. DOI
2024	Guglietti, B., Mustafa, S., Corrigan, F., & Collins-Praino, L. E. (2024). Anatomical distribution of Fyn kinase in the human brain in Parkinson's disease.. Parkinsonism Relat Disord, 118, 105957. DOI Scopus2 WoS2 Europe PMC1
2024	Klyne, D. M., Hilliard, B. A., Harris, M. Y., Amin, M., Hall, M., Besomi, M., . . . Barbe, M. F. (2024). Poor sleep versus exercise: A duel to decide whether pain resolves or persists after injury. Brain, Behavior, & Immunity - Health, 35, 100714-1-100714-6. DOI Scopus7 WoS7 Europe PMC6
2024	Carr, L. M., Mustafa, S., Care, A., & Collins-Praino, L. E. (2024). More than a number: Incorporating the aged phenotype to improve in vitro and in vivo modeling of neurodegenerative disease. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 119, 554-571. DOI Scopus2 WoS2 Europe PMC2
2023	Mustafa, S., Bajic, J. E., Barry, B., Evans, S., Siemens, K. R., Hutchinson, M. R., & Grace, P. M. (2023). One immune system plays many parts: The dynamic role of the immune system in chronic pain and opioid pharmacology.. Neuropharmacology, 228, 1-14. DOI Scopus14 WoS14 Europe PMC15
2023	Farrell, S. F., Sterling, M., Klyne, D. M., Mustafa, S., Campos, A. I., Kho, P. -F., . . . Cuéllar-Partida, G. (2023). Genetic impact of blood C-reactive protein levels on chronic spinal & widespread pain.. Eur Spine J, 32(6), 2078-2085. DOI Scopus8 WoS8 Europe PMC13
2022	Tan, C., Mahbub, S., Campbell, J., Habibalahi, A., Campugan, C., Rose, R., . . . Dunning, K. (2022). Non-invasive, label-free optical analysis to detect aneuploidy within the inner cell mass of the preimplantation embryo. Human Reproduction, 37(1), 14-29. DOI Scopus32 WoS31 Europe PMC24
2022	Han, M., Evans, S., Mustafa, S., Wiederman, S., & Ebendorff-Heidepriem, H. (2022). Controlled delivery of quantum dots using microelectrophoresis technique: intracellular behavior and preservation of cell viability. Bioelectrochemistry, 144, 108035-1-108035-9. DOI
2022	Tan, T. C. Y., Brown, H. M., Thompson, J. G., Mustafa, S., & Dunning, K. R. (2022). Optical imaging detects metabolic signatures associated with oocyte quality. Biology of Reproduction, 107(4), 1014-1025. DOI Scopus12 WoS12 Europe PMC6
2022	Habibalahi, A., Campbell, J., Tan, T. C. Y., Mahbub, S., Rose, R., Mustafa, S., . . . Goldys, E. (2022). Automated identification of aneuploid cells within the inner cell mass of an embryo using a numerical extraction of morphological signatures. DOI
2021	Han, M., Zhao, J., Fabian, J. M., Evans, S., Mustafa, S., Ruan, Y., . . . Ebendorff-Heidepriem, H. (2021). Cytoplasmic delivery of quantum dots via microelectrophoresis technique. Electrophoresis, 42(11), 1247-1254. DOI Scopus3 WoS4 Europe PMC2
2021	Guglietti, B., Carr, L., Ellul, B., Mustafa, S., Corrigan, F., & Collins-Praino, L. (2021). Fyn kinase inhibition using AZD0530 improves recognition memory and reduces depressive-like behaviour in an experimental model of Parkinson’s disease. DOI Europe PMC1
2021	Lin, C., Wang, H., Zhang, M., Mustafa, S., Wang, Y., Li, H., . . . Wang, X. (2021). TLR4 biased small molecule modulators. Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 228, 107918-1-107918-12. DOI Scopus38 WoS40 Europe PMC35
2021	Guglietti, B., Sivasankar, S., Mustafa, S., Corrigan, F., & Collins-Praino, L. E. (2021). Fyn Kinase Activity and Its Role in Neurodegenerative Disease Pathology: a Potential Universal Target?. Mol Neurobiol, 58(11), 5986-6005. DOI Scopus34 WoS30 Europe PMC31
2021	Gosnell, M. E., Staikopoulos, V., Anwer, A. G., Mahbub, S. B., Hutchinson, M. R., Mustafa, S., & Goldys, E. M. (2021). Autofluorescent imprint of chronic constriction nerve injury identified by deep learning. Neurobiology of Disease, 160, 105528-1-105528-11. DOI Scopus9 WoS7 Europe PMC5
2020	Chia, J. S. M., Izham, N. A. M., Farouk, A. A. O., Sulaiman, M. R., Mustafa, S., Hutchinson, M. R., & Perimal, E. K. (2020). Zerumbone Modulates α<inf>2A</inf>-Adrenergic, TRPV1, and NMDA NR2B Receptors Plasticity in CCI-Induced Neuropathic Pain In Vivo and LPS-Induced SH-SY5Y Neuroblastoma In Vitro Models. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 11, 92. DOI Scopus29 WoS23 Europe PMC15
2018	Jacobsen, J., Buisman-Pijlman, F., Mustafa, S., Rice, K., & Hutchinson, M. (2018). The efficacy of (+)-Naltrexone on alcohol preference and seeking behaviour is dependent on light-cycle. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 67, 181-193. DOI Scopus10 WoS10 Europe PMC10
2018	Jacobsen, J., Buisman-Pijlman, F., Mustafa, S., Rice, K., & Hutchinson, M. (2018). Antagonising TLR4-TRIF signalling before or after a low-dose alcohol binge during adolescence prevents alcohol drinking but not seeking behaviour in adulthood. Neuropharmacology, 128, 460-473. DOI Scopus14 WoS14 Europe PMC13
2018	Liu, J., Mustafa, S., Barratt, D., & Hutchinson, M. (2018). Corticosterone preexposure increases NF-κB translocation and sensitizes IL-1β responses in BV2 microglia-like cells. Frontiers in Immunology, 9(JAN), 1-12. DOI Scopus26 WoS21 Europe PMC18
2016	Jacobsen, J., Hutchinson, M., & Mustafa, S. (2016). Drug addiction: targeting dynamic neuroimmune receptor interactions as a potential therapeutic strategy. Current Opinion in Pharmacology, 26, 131-137. DOI Scopus25 WoS26 Europe PMC23
2016	Jacobsen, J., Parker, L., Everest-Dass, A., Schartner, E., Tsiminis, G., Staikopoulos, V., . . . Mustafa, S. (2016). Novel imaging tools for investigating the role of immune signalling in the brain. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 58, 40-47. DOI Scopus13 WoS12 Europe PMC6
2014	Watkins, L. R., Wang, X., Mustafa, S., & Hutchinson, M. R. (2014). In vivo veritas: (+)-Naltrexone's actions define translational importance. A letter in response to Skolnick et al. 'Translational potential of naloxone and naltrexone as TLR4 antagonists'. Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, 35(9), 432-433. DOI Scopus16 WoS15 Europe PMC15
2013	Mustafa, S., Hannagan, J., Rigby, P., Pfleger, K., & Corry, B. (2013). Quantitative Föster resonance energy transfer efficiency measurements using simultaneous spectral unmixing of excitation and emission spectra. Journal of Biomedical Optics, 18(2), 026024-1-026024-14. DOI Scopus27 WoS26 Europe PMC17
2012	Mustafa, S., See, H., Seeber, R., Armstrong, S., White, C., Sabatino, V., . . . Pfleger, K. (2012). Identification and profiling of novel a1A-adrenoceptor-CXC chemokine receptor 2 heteromer. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 287(16), 12952-12965. DOI Scopus52 WoS49 Europe PMC42
2012	Brown, R., Mustafa, S., Ayoub, M., Dodd, P., Pfleger, K., & Lawrence, A. (2012). mGlu5 receptor functional interactions and addiction. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 3, 1-9. DOI Scopus16 WoS15 Europe PMC14
2011	Mustafa, S., & Pfleger, K. (2011). G protein-coupled receptor heteromer identification technology: identification and profiling of GPCR heteromers. Journal of Laboratory Automation, 16(4), 285-291. DOI Scopus18 WoS13 Europe PMC16
2011	Tarrason, G., Auli, M., Mustafa, S., Dolgachev, V., Domenech, M., Prats, N., . . . Godessart, N. (2011). The sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor-1 antagonist, W146, causes early and short-lasting peripheral blood lymphopenia in mice. International Immunopharmacology, 11(1135), 1773-1779. DOI Scopus60 WoS59 Europe PMC53
2010	Mustafa, S., Ayoub, M., & Pfleger, K. (2010). Uncovering GPCR heteromer-biased ligands. Drug Discovery Today: Technologies, 7(1), e77-e85. DOI Scopus17

Book Chapters

Year	Citation
2022	Mustafa, S., Evans, S., Barry, B., Barratt, D., Wang, Y., Lin, C., . . . Hutchinson, M. R. (2022). Toll-Like Receptor 4 in Pain: Bridging Molecules-to-Cells-to-Systems.. In V. Kumar (Ed.), Toll-like Receptors in Health and Disease. Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology (Vol. 276, pp. 239-273). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. DOI Scopus2 Europe PMC2
2015	Thomas, J., Sanam, M., Johnson, J., & Nicotra, L. (2015). The relationship between opioids and immune signalling in the spinal cord. In Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology (Vol. 227, pp. 207-238). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. DOI Scopus20 Europe PMC15

Conference Papers

Year	Citation
2019	Dunning, K. R., Campugan, C., Tan, C., Mahbub, S., Goldys, E., Thompson, J., . . . Mustafa, S. (2019). Hyperspectral imaging of the early embryo: can it detect chromosome abnormalities and predict IVF success?. In Label-free Biomedical Imaging and Sensing (LBIS) Vol. 10890:108900I (pp. 1-3). online: SPIE. DOI Scopus2 WoS1
2016	Staikopoulos, V., Gosnell, M., Anwer, A., Mustafa, S., Hutchinson, M., & Goldys, E. (2016). Hyperspectral imaging of endogenous fluorescent metabolic molecules to identify pain states in central nervous system tissue. In M. Hutchinson, & E. Goldys (Eds.), Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering Vol. 10013 (pp. 1-8). Adelaide, AUSTRALIA: SPIE-INT SOC OPTICAL ENGINEERING. DOI Scopus3 WoS3
2016	Peddie, V., Heng, S., Mustafa, S., Thomas, J., Hutchinson, M., & Abell, A. (2016). Shapeshifting photoswitchable azobenzene compounds and their biological applications. In M. Hutchinson, & E. Goldys (Eds.), Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering Vol. 10013 (pp. 4 pages). Adelaide, AUSTRALIA: SPIE-INT SOC OPTICAL ENGINEERING. DOI
2010	Godessarti, N., Mustafa, S., Dolgachev, V., Auli, M., Aguilar, N., Cabedo, J., . . . Tarrason, G. (2010). The S1P1 receptor antagonist W146 induces lymphopenia in mice. Demonstration that functional antagonism of S1P1 is the mechanism of lymphopenia evoked by fingolimod-like compounds.. In JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY Vol. 184 (pp. 1 page). AMER ASSOC IMMUNOLOGISTS.

Conference Items

Year	Citation
2023	Hutchinson, M., Barratt, D. T., Holmes, J., Mustafa, S., Bajic, J. E., Kolarich, D., . . . Semmler, C. (2023). From blood markers to performance prediction: New insights for athletes and beyond. Poster session presented at the meeting of BRAIN BEHAVIOR AND IMMUNITY. CO, Boulder: ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE. DOI
2023	Mustafa, S., Evans, S., & Hutchinson, M. (2023). Breaking ground in pain research: Advancements in TLR4 signaling pathways and implications for brain-behavior-immunity crosstalk. Poster session presented at the meeting of Abstracts of the PsychoNeuroImmunology Research Society Annual Meeting (PNIRS 2023), as published in Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. Boulder, CO, USA: Elsevier. DOI
2021	Tan, C. Y., Mahbub, S. B., Campugan, C. A., Campbell, J., Habibalahi, A., Chow, D. J. X., . . . Dunning, K. R. (2021). Non-invasive, label-free optical analysis to detect aneuploidy within the inner cell mass of the preimplantation embryo. Poster session presented at the meeting of Abstracts of the 37th Annual Meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, as published in Human Reproduction. virtual online: Oxford University Press (OUP). DOI

CI Mustafa 2025 Centre for Advanced Defence Research and Enterprise $50,000

CI Mustafa 2025 ISSLS Clinical Science Research Grant Award, $20,000 USD

CI Mustafa 2024 Russell Cole Memorial ANZCA Research Award, $132,753

CI Mustafa 2024 Centre for Advanced Defence Research and Enterprise $150,000

CIA Mustafa 2022 DSTG, DMTC A Real-Time Innate Immune Screening Technology (ARTIIST), $225,000

CI Mustafa 2022 DSTG, DMTC The Human Integrated Sensor System Challenge, $3,000,000

CI Mustafa 2020 DSTG, Measurement Enabled Precision Human Performance, Industry Competitive Evaluation Research Agreement (ICERA) with Biosensis, $300,000

CI Mustafa 2020 NGTF Human Biotechnologies: Performance Patch and Technology Trajectory $500,000

CI Mustafa 2020 Air Force Office of Scientific Research - The neuroimmune interface, $75,000

CI Mustafa 2019 DSTG, NGTF Human Biotechnologies: Performance Patch and Technology Trajectory, $500,000

CIA Mustafa 2019 FHMS, Emerging Leadership Development Program, $40,000

CI Mustafa 2018 USA Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) The neuroimmune interface, $75,000

CI Mustafa 2017 Barbara Kidman Fellowship

CI Mustafa 2017–2020 AFOSR Shining the light on the neuroimmune interface, $225,000

CI Mustafa 2013 Institute for Photonics Advanced Sensing (IPAS) Extending Collaborations Pilot Project, $20,000

CI Mustafa 2013 IPAS Extending Collaborations Pilot Project, $2,000

Monetary Awards

FHMS Travel Award 2024
FHMS Career Development Coaching Award 2022
FHMS Travel Award 2022
National Science Week, Big Science Adelaide 2021 2000 AUD
National Science Week, Big Science Adelaide 2018 2000 AUD
EDTAS partnership, DVCR and Faculty of Sciences, 40,000 AUD
Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences awarded 3000 AUD travel grant, 2018
Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences Gender Equity and Diversity committee awarded, 1000 AUD dependent travel award, 2018
CNBP awarded 2000 AUD dependent travel grant, 2018
Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences Gender Equity and Diversity committee awarded dependent travel award 450 AUD, 2017

The School of Medical Sciences awarded 13,500 AUD for the purchase of centrifuge equipment in July 2015.

The ARC Centre of Excellence for Nanoscale BioPhotonics awarded 19,000 AUD in May 2015 towards the purchase of equipment for a cell culture facility.

8908 AUD was awarded by the School of Medical Sciences towards the purchase of automated cell counters in October 2014.

The University of Western Australia awarded 750 AUD towards the cost of attending the ELRIG Drug Discovery Conference in Manchester in September 2011.

Recipient of the Tony B academic travel award (>3000 USD) to attend SLAS LabAutomation meeting in Palm Springs, January 2011.

A 500 AUD travel award was granted by the organizers towards the attendance of the Molecular Pharmacology GPCR meeting in Melbourne in December 2010.

Successful for two travel awards; 1000 AUD from WAIMR and a further 750 AUD from the University of Western Australia, to attend the ELRIG Drug Discovery Conference in Coventry in September 2010.

Awarded £100 from the British Pharmacological Society (BPS) to attend the BPS 3^rd focused meeting “Cell Signalling” in Leicester in April 2009.

Supervision of PhD students:
Anston Savio D'silva 2025 -
Michail Laoumtzis 2022 -
Laura Carr, 2021 - 2025
Benjamin Barry, 2021 - 2025
Cheow Yuen Tan (Tiffany), 2017 - 2022
Mengke Han, 2017 - 2022
Bianca Laura Guglietti, 2017-2021
Azim Arman: 2015 - 2020.
Samuel Evans, 2015- 2020
Jonathan Henry Jacobsen, 2014-2017: Award of PhD and Dean's Commendation for Doctoral Thesis Excellence
Jiajun Liu, 2014-2017: Award of PhD and Dean's Commendation for Doctoral Thesis Excellence,
Supervision of Masters student:
Kariel Renee Siemens, 2021-
Supervision of Honours student:
Laura Carr, First class Honours, 2020
Benjamin Barry, First class Honours, 2020
Miriam Dodds, First class Honours, 2019
Edwina Cox, Second class Honours (2A), 2017. On time completion

Supervision of work placement students
Lucille Michelot, Overseas work placement student, October 2018-March 2019
Benjamin Barry, 3 weeks 2018
Shenyi Peng, Summer 2017-2018
Andreas Anargyros, 4 weeks, 2017
Lucy Carpenter, 2 weeks, 2017
Mehrnoosh Ostovar, 6 months, 2015
Kishan Sangani, 6 months, 2014
Mathew Steen, Summer 2014-2015
Regular teaching and assessment of undergraduate (SGDP) and Honours students.

Medicine Learning and Teaching Unit (MLTU), University of Adelaide

Case Based Learning tutor for 2^nd year medical students (2013)

In-depth preparation for group workshop sessions, facilitation of discussions to encourage knowledge consolidation and clinical reasoning, and oral and written assessment of students including providing constructive feedback.

Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)

Date	Role	Research Topic	Program	Degree Type	Student Load	Student Name
2025	Co-Supervisor	Investigating the role of TLR4 antagonists and the effects on chronic pain: a structural biology journey	Doctor of Philosophy under a Jointly-awarded Degree Agreement with	Doctorate	Full Time	Mr Anston Savio D'silva
2022	Co-Supervisor	The Human Integrated Sensor System (HISS) Challenge	Doctor of Philosophy	Doctorate	Full Time	Mr Michail Laoumtzis

Past Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)

Date	Role	Research Topic	Program	Degree Type	Student Load	Student Name
2021 - 2025	Co-Supervisor	Exploring A20 In the Context of Neuroimmune Regulation and Pain.	Doctor of Philosophy	Doctorate	Part Time	Mr Benjamin Daniel Barry
2021 - 2025	Co-Supervisor	Exploring Microglial Ageing: Insights from Human Genomic Data, Pre-Clinical Animal Models, and the Future of In Vitro Modelling	Doctor of Philosophy	Doctorate	Full Time	Miss Laura May Carr
2019 - 2022	Co-Supervisor	Intracellular delivery and voltage sensitivity of nanomaterials for the optical imaging of neuronal activity	Doctor of Philosophy	Doctorate	Full Time	Ms Mengke Han
2018 - 2022	Co-Supervisor	Optical imaging detects metabolic signatures associated with oocyte and embryo quality	Doctor of Philosophy	Doctorate	Full Time	Miss Cheow Yuen Tan
2018 - 2021	Co-Supervisor	Targeting Cognitive Impairment in Parkinson’s Disease: Novel Pharmacological and Non-Pharmacological Approaches	Doctor of Philosophy	Doctorate	Full Time	Miss Bianca Laura Guglietti
2015 - 2020	Co-Supervisor	Investigation of a Functional Relationship Between Toll-Like Receptor 4 and Transient Receptor Potential Cation Channel Subfamily V Member 1 in Relation to a Novel Neuroimmune Pain Model	Doctor of Philosophy	Doctorate	Full Time	Mr Samuel Evans
2015 - 2020	Co-Supervisor	Advanced Preclinical Assessment of Hyper-Nociception	Doctor of Philosophy	Doctorate	Full Time	Mr Azim Arman
2014 - 2017	Co-Supervisor	Exploring the Bidirectional Interface between Stress and Innate Immunity: A Focus on Glucocorticoid and TLR4-MyD88 Signalling	Doctor of Philosophy	Doctorate	Full Time	Dr Jiajun Liu
2014 - 2017	Co-Supervisor	Exploring the Pharmacology of (+)-Naltrexone on Alcohol Reward and Anxiety Behaviours	Doctor of Philosophy	Doctorate	Full Time	Jonathan Henry Jacobsen

Board Memberships

Date Role Board name Institution name Country

2018 - ongoing Advisory Board Member aKIDemic Life University of Tasmania Australia

Date	Role	Board name	Institution name	Country
2018 - ongoing	Advisory Board Member	aKIDemic Life	University of Tasmania	Australia

Committee Memberships

Date	Role	Committee	Institution	Country
2020 - ongoing	Member	Science & Technology Australia Equity, Diversity & Inclusion committee	Science & Technology Australia	Australia
2018 - ongoing	Chair	BliSS Adelaide Steering committee	BLiSS Science & Innovation Inc	Australia
2018 - ongoing	Member	IPAS Scientific Leadership Team	Institute of Photonics Advanced Sensing	Australia
2018 - ongoing	Member	CNBP Nurturing Environment Committee	ARC Centre for Nanoscale BioPhotonics	Australia
2018 - ongoing	Chair	DST EDTAS symposium committee	Defence Science and Technology and University of Adelaide	Australia
2018 - ongoing	Member	ASCEPT Adelaide conference committee	ASCEPT	Australia
2018 - 2018	Representative	CNBP Executive Management Committee	ARC Centre for Nanoscale BioPhotonics	Australia
2018 - 2018	Member	Australasian Society of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacologists and Toxicologists (ASCEPT) Local organising committee	University of Adelaide	Australia
2017 - ongoing	Member	Faculty of Health Sciences, Gender Equity and Diversity Committee	University of Adelaide	Australia
2016 - ongoing	Representative	CNBP Adelaide node Early Career Researcher	ARC Centre for Nanoscale BioPhotonics	Australia
2016 - ongoing	Member	ECR/MCR committee member	University of Adelaide	-
2015 - ongoing	Chair	Biological challenges forum	ARC Centre of Excellence for Nanoscale and BioPhotonics	-
2013 - ongoing	Member	Australasian Neuroscience Society (ANS)	-	-
2010 - 2011	Member	Australian Society for Medical Research (ASMR	-	-
2004 - 2007	Member	Biochemical Society	-	-
2004 - ongoing	Member	British Pharmacological Society (BPS)	-	-

Community Engagement

Date	Title	Engagement Type	Institution	Country
2018 - ongoing	Tall Tales of Science	Public Community Engagement	National Science Week	Australia
2018 - 2018	High school visit	Public Community Engagement	Adelaide High School	Australia

Editorial Boards

Date	Role	Editorial Board Name	Institution	Country
2022 - ongoing	Editor	Brain, Behavior, and Immunity	University of Adelaide	Australia
2014 - ongoing	Board Member	Frontiers in Cellular Endocrinology	-	-

Event Participation

Date Event Name Event Type Institution Country

2014 - 2014 Nanoscale BioPhotonics ASCEPT-MPGPCR meeting Workshop ARC Centre for Nanoscale BioPhotonics Australia
Offices Held

Date Office Name Institution Country

2020 - ongoing Vice President BLiSS Science & Innovation Inc Australia

Date	Event Name	Event Type	Institution	Country
2014 - 2014	Nanoscale BioPhotonics ASCEPT-MPGPCR meeting	Workshop	ARC Centre for Nanoscale BioPhotonics	Australia

Date	Office Name	Institution	Country
2020 - ongoing	Vice President	BLiSS Science & Innovation Inc	Australia

Position: ARC Grant-Funded Researcher B
Phone: 83134101
Email: sanam.mustafa@adelaide.edu.au
Fax: 83134099
Campus: North Terrace
Building: Helen Mayo South, floor Fifth Floor
Org Unit: Medical Sciences

Dr Sanam Mustafa

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Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)

Past Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)

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