Profile
Global Toxicologist with nearly eight years of academic and industrial experience across toxicology, cancer research, and
environmental risk assessment. Passionate about integrating toxicology with modern data science, machine learning,
and in vitro / in vivo methods to advance human and environmental health. Fast learner who enjoys troubleshooting,
complex problem-solving, and collaborating in multidisciplinary, international teams.
Work Experience
- Support Global HSE on Pharmaceuticals in the Environment (PiE), including PNEC derivation, PNEC monographs, and PBT assessments in line with EMA and ECHA guidance (REACH).
- Prepare environmental risk assessment (ERA) reports for active pharmaceutical ingredients and related substances.
- Plan, supervise, and interpret outsourced in vitro and in vivo preclinical studies, ensuring compliance with timelines, resources, and regulatory standards.
- Perform toxicological risk assessments for impurities and excipients (ADE/PDE derivation, impurity qualification for small-molecule drug substances and products).
- Conduct genotoxicity hazard assessments for impurities using in vitro, in vivo, and in silico (Q)SAR tools in accordance with ICH M7.
- Determine harmful dose for children for US blister packaging selection and peer-review toxicological assessments.
- Interpret health hazard assessments for occupational safety and cleaning validation and support implementation of GLP and other GxP standards.
- Active member of the AMR Industry Alliance Science and Manufacturing Group and the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Initiative (PSCI).
- Led independent research on lung cancer, resulting in three peer-reviewed publications on nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) antagonists and nanoparticle-based delivery.
- Evaluated anticancer properties and safety profiles of synthetic analogs of marine toxins in cancerous and non-cancerous cell lines.
- Developed and optimized gelatin nanoparticles loaded with nAChR antagonists for targeted lung cancer therapy.
- Refined analytical protocols to quantify alkaloids within nanoparticles, improving accuracy and reproducibility.
- Investigated nicotine–drug interactions and the impact of nAChR antagonist-loaded nanoparticles on cisplatin chemotherapy efficacy.
- Collected psychophysiological data (heart rate variability, interviews, questionnaires) from Syrian refugees in a randomized controlled trial.
- Conducted qualitative interviews and administered mental health and stress questionnaires.
- Ensured robust data collection under challenging field conditions.
- Handled and cared for rats, mice, and chicks in multiple research projects and supported in vivo experimental work.
- Administered test substances, conducted dissections, and collected tissues for toxicological and forensic analyses.
- Performed drug abuse testing for school students and contributed to data analysis and reporting.
Education
Final grade: 9.83 / 10 (Excellent, EQF level 8). Thesis: "The Effects of Selected Free and Nanoparticle Embedded Antagonists of Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors on Lung Cancer Cells".
GPA: 4.05 / 4.00 (Distinguished, EQF level 7). Thesis: "Fortilin and S100A1 as biomarkers for estimation of postmortem interval in corpses post euthanasia".
Final grade: 85.3 / 100 (Excellent, EQF level 6). Ranked 1st in class, 4x Dean's List.
Completed courses in supervised learning, advanced learning algorithms, unsupervised learning, recommender systems, and reinforcement learning.
Skills
Technical
Cell culture
Cytotoxicity assays
Colony formation
ELISA
Flow cytometry
Western blot
Microplate reader
Risk assessment
Hazard identification
Genotoxicity (ICH M7)
PiE & ERA
Data & Software
Machine Learning
Deep Learning
Data analysis
OECD QSAR Toolbox
Derek Nexus
Lhasa Nexus
GraphPad Prism
ImageJ
FlowJo
SPSS
Excel
Microsoft Office
Interpersonal
Teamwork
Scientific communication
Training & mentoring
Organizational skills
Critical thinking
Decision-making
Debating
Languages
| Language | Listening | Reading | Spoken production | Spoken interaction | Writing |
|---|
| Arabic (mother tongue) | C2 | C2 | C2 | C2 | C2 |
| English | C1 | C1 | C1 | C1 | C1 |
Publications
Joukhan A., Kononenko V., Bele T., Sollner Dolenc M., Peigneur S., Pinheiro-Junior E. L., et al. (2024).
Attenuation of Nicotine Effects on A549 Lung Cancer Cells by Synthetic α7 nAChR Antagonists APS7-2 and APS8-2.
Marine Drugs, 22(4), 147.
https://doi.org/10.3390/md22040147
Joukhan A., et al. (2024). Modulation of the effect of cisplatin on nicotine-stimulated A549 lung cancer cells using analog of marine sponge toxin loaded in gelatin nanoparticles.
Nanomaterials, 14(9), 777.
Kononenko V., Joukhan A., Bele T., Križaj I., Kralj S., Turk T., Drobne D. (2024).
Gelatin nanoparticles loaded with 3-alkylpyridinium salt APS7, an analog of marine toxin, are a promising support in human lung cancer therapy.
Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy, 177, 117007.
Nusair S. D., Joukhan A. N., Rashaid A. B., Rababa'h A. M. (2019).
Methomyl induced effect on fortilin and S100A1 in serum and cardiac tissue: Potential biomarkers of toxicity.
Human & Experimental Toxicology, 38(3), 371–377.
Joukhan A. (2024). The effects of selected free and nanoparticle embedded antagonists of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors on lung cancer cells. Doctoral dissertation, University of Ljubljana.
References
Available upon request (including Prof. Damjana Drobne, Prof. Marija Sollner Dolenc, and Asst. Prof. Shreen Nusair).