Dr Mohamed ElGhazaly
postdoctoral research fellow at the Blizard Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Dr Mohamed ElGhazaly
Dr Mohamed ElGhazaly
About
Dr ElGhazaly is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Blizard Institute, Queen Mary University of London, within the Centre of Immunobiology and Infection. He obtained his PhD in Biomedical Science from the University of Sheffield in 2021. Following this, he remained at Sheffield as a postdoctoral research associate for two years. He then took up a postdoctoral position at University College London, where he worked for a further two years before transferring to the Blizard Institute to continue the same programme of research.
Current research
All viruses have evolved mechanisms to evade host innate immune sensing. ElGhazaly’s current research focuses on defining the epigenetic mechanisms that regulate innate immune responses. Using HIV as a model system, he investigates how viral factors manipulate host epigenetic regulators to suppress or activate innate immune defence pathways. His research will allow us to understand what makes viruses pandemic and provide insight into how viruses evolve to exploit or evade these systems.
Future research vision
ElGhazaly’s long-term research vision is to establish host–pathogen interactions as a framework for understanding fundamental principles of human biology. Building on his PhD and postdoctoral work at Sheffield on DNA damage and senescence responses to the Salmonella Typhi typhoid toxin, and his expertise spanning bacteriology and virology, he aims to use pathogens as tools to interrogate ageing, innate immunity, and host resilience. By integrating mechanistic cell biology with evolutionary and infection biology, he will shed light into how host responses shape pathogenesis, influence pandemic potential, and drive pathogen evolution.
Key publications

Morling KL*, ElGhazaly M*, Milne RSB, Towers GJ. HIV capsids: orchestrators of innate immune evasion, pathogenesis and pandemicity. J Gen Virol. 2025

ElGhazaly, M et al. Typhoid Toxin Hijacks Wnt5a to Potentiate TGFβ-Mediated Senescence and Salmonella Infections. Cell Reports, 2022.

Humphreys, D et al. Senescence and Host-Pathogen Interactions. Cells, 2020.

Ibler, AEM et al. Typhoid Toxin Exhausts the RPA Response to DNA Replication Stress Driving Senescence and Salmonella Infection. Nature Communications, 2019.

Key awards

First Talk Prize, young International Cell Senescence Association (yICSA) conference.

First Poster Prize, Scientistt.com.

First 3-minute Thesis Talk Prize, University of Sheffield.

Outstanding Poster Presentation, University of Sheffield.

First Poster Prize, Cellular Microbiology Meeting at the Francis Crick Institute.

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