Dr Heba Ghazal

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Heba Ghazal
About
Teaching and learning
Research
Professional practice, knowledge exchange and impact
Leadership and management

About

I am senior lecturer in pharmacy and a pharmacist prescriber registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council in the UK (GPhC), specialised in chronic heart failure. I teach in the MPharm course, and I am year lead of level-four pharmacy students. My educational background includes pharmacy degree, PGCert in Independent Prescribing, a master's degree in drug delivery and a PhD in biopharmaceutics.

My current research activities focus on the elimination of pharmaceutical residues/contaminants from the environment, water treatment and sustainability in waste management. Specifically, I am investigating the potential of the pyrolysis process as a mean to address these challenges. I have published peer-reviewed articles in high impact journals and conferences.

Throughout my career, I have worked in academia, industry, and community pharmacies. This diverse background has allowed me to develop expertise in research, pharmacy practice and academic teaching.

In the industry, I have been a scientific consultant for Flint Engineering Limited since 2015, within this role I have been working on several projects in areas related to the vaccine storage, stability of food preserved in open refrigerators and enhancing food processing for better food safety. I actively collaborate with national and international universities on various projects related to pyrolysis, drug stability and the detection of carcinogens in herbal drinks. I supervise MSc in pharmaceutical sciences and chemical analysis in Kingston University and PhD students and other UK universities.

I am also a community pharmacist and I was a relief pharmacist manager with Lloyds Pharmacy and since 2022, I have the privilege of being under honorary contract at St George's Hospital that enables joint supervision of research students and enhancement to my prescriber experience. In addition, I am currently pharmacist under Epsom and St Helier Hospital pharmacists' bank.

In addition  I contribute to the peer review process in academic journals as an editor of the following journals:

  • Editor in "Science Talks" journal by Elsevier
  • Editorial board member in "Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering" by Elsevier.
  • Managing Guest Editor for special issue in "Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology" by Elsevier, impact factor 5.78.

Academic responsibilities

Senior Lecturer in Pharmacy

Qualifications

  • PhD in Biopharmaceutics, Liverpool John Moores University
  • Master's degree in Drug Delivery, The University of Manchester
  • Diploma in Pharmaceutical Quality Control and Analytical Methods
  • Bachelor's degree in Pharmacy
  • PGCert Independent and Supplementary Prescribing for Pharmacists, University of Reading
  • Aurora Advance HE
  • Orcid 0000-0002-1176-2241

Teaching and learning

I am committed to delivering high quality teaching and aspire to motivate students to achieve excellent results. I teach a range of topics including clinical pharmacy and pharmacy practice. Given the significant role of pharmaceutical calculations in the pharmacy profession and ensuring patient's safety, I lead on teaching calculations within the MPharm course. I have a keen interest in teaching pharmacy calculations using blended teaching methods that facilitate student comprehension.

I also bring my research activities to my teaching to ensure the students have access to real life experience. This was demonstrated through joint supervision for MPharm projects "audits in prescribing for heart failure" at St Georges Hospital (abstracts have been published in international heart failure specialised conferences) and industrial support to my PhD students from industrial contacts.

Qualifications and expertise

  • Fellow in the Higher education academy (HEA)

Undergraduate courses taught

Research

Grants

Innovate UK: Active refrigeration shelf with thermal storage. Grant Number: 102330. Grant Value: £412,572. Duration: 18 months from 2015 to 2016 Role: PI (under Flint Engineering Limited).

Research and projects

  • The occurrence and removal of pharmaceuticals from aquatic environment.
  • The use of biochar obtained from the pyrolysis of municipal solid waste to remove pollutants from water, in particular pharmaceutical contamination such antibiotics and contraceptives.      
  • "Recycling the non-recyclable", a new project concerned with recycling and re-use of pharmaceutical packaging's and blister packs.
  • Through collaboration with Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Poland, projects including waste tyres pyrolysis and hydrothermal carbonisation of sewage sludge.
  • Pharmacy practice topics such as pharmacogenomics testing service, pharmacists' views, and training needs.
  • Conducting clinical audits in heart failure prescribing in St George's hospital, London.
  • Evaluating the safety of food, the effect of storage conditions on the oxidative stability of lipids in food products.  This is a part of a project in collaboration that aims to evaluate new supermarket shelves that provide a consistent cooling in supermarket fridges.
  • Comparing the levels of carcinogenic substances polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in herbal drink -Yerba Mate- dried using traditional method versus samples dried using the novel drying system.
  • Through collaboration with Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Poland, a project concerned with air quality, toxicity and genotoxicity assessment of particulate matters suspended in urban areas.
  • Through collaboration with SANZI, evaluation of non-alcoholic antibacterial hand sanitisers to demonstrate that an alcohol-free hand sanitiser can be as effective as an alcohol-based antiseptic.
  • The development and validation of stability indicating methods for the analysis of medicinal substances such as rivaroxaban, sitagliptin and terbinafine in bulk drug substance and pharmaceutical preparations.
  • Developing teaching materials that help student students ‘visualize' the calculation problems using short illustrative videos showing the practicals steps involved in working the question.

Scholarly affiliations

  • Higher Education Higher academy (FHEA)
  • General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) member

Publications

Jump to: Article | Conference or Workshop Item
Number of items: 31.

Article

Ghazal, Heba and Ramroop, Nadia (2023) The use of biochar for the removal of erythromycin residues from aqueous environment. Key Engineering Materials, 962, pp. 149-154. ISSN (print) 1013-9826

Mokbel, Kefah, Kodresko, Alevtina, Ghazal, Heba, Mokbel, Ramia, Trembley, Jon and Jouhara, Hussam (2023) The evolving role of cryosurgery in breast cancer management : a comprehensive review. Cancers, 15(17), p. 4272. ISSN (online) 2072-6694

Ghazal, Heba (2023) Pharmaceuticals contamination in the environment. Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology, p. 104251. ISSN (print) 1382-6689 (Epub Ahead of Print)

Kossińska, Nina, Krzyżyńska, Renata, Ghazal, Heba and Jouhara, Hussam (2023) Hydrothermal carbonisation of sewage sludge and resulting biofuels as a sustainable energy source. Energy, p. 127337. ISSN (print) 0360-5442 (Epub Ahead of Print)

Czajczyńska, Dina, Krzyżyńska, Renata, Ghazal, Heba and Jouhara, Hussam (2022) Experimental investigation of waste tyres pyrolysis gas desulfurization through absorption in alkanolamines solutions. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, ISSN (print) 0360-3199 (Epub Ahead of Print)

Ghazal, Heba, Koumaki, Elena, Hoslett, John, Malamis, Simos, Katsou, Evina, Barcelo, Damia and Jouhara, Hussam (2022) Insights into current physical, chemical and hybrid technologies used for the treatment of wastewater contaminated with pharmaceuticals. Journal of Cleaner Production, 361, p. 132079. ISSN (print) 0959-6526

Hoslett, John, Ghazal, Heba, Katsou, Evina and Jouhara, Hussam (2021) The removal of tetracycline from water using biochar produced from agricultural discarded material. Science of The Total Environment, 751, p. 141755. ISSN (print) 0048-9697

Trusz, Agnieszka, Ghazal, Heba and Piekarska, Katarzyna (2020) Seasonal variability of chemical composition and mutagenic effect of organic PM2.5 pollutants collected in the urban area of Wrocław (Poland). Science of the Total Environment, 733, p. 138911. ISSN (print) 0048-9697

Ajji, Z., Maarouf, M., Khattab, A. and Ghazal, H. (2020) Synthesis of pH-responsive hydrogel based on PVP grafted with crotonic acid for controlled drug delivery. Radiation Physics and Chemistry, 170, p. 108612. ISSN (print) 0969-806X

Hoslett, John, Ghazal, Heba, Mohamad, Nour and Jouhara, Hussam (2020) Removal of methylene blue from aqueous solutions by biochar prepared from the pyrolysis of mixed municipal discarded material. Science of the Total Environment, 714, p. 136832. ISSN (print) 0048-9697

Hoslett, John, Ghazal, Heba, Ahmad, Darem and Jouhara, Hussam (2019) Removal of copper ions from aqueous solution using low temperature biochar derived from the pyrolysis of municipal solid waste. Science of the Total Environment, 673, pp. 777-789. ISSN (print) 0048-9697

Ghazal, Heba, Ahmadouk, Judy, Dhanji, Sumayya, El-bushra, Amani, Kayyali, Reem and Elshaer, Amr (2019) Patients' and prescribers' perception of contact lenses as a potential ocular drug delivery system. Contact Lens and Anterior Eye, 42(2), pp. 190-195. ISSN (print) 1367-0484

Hoslett, John, Theoni, Massara, Malamis, Simos, Ahmad, Darem, Boogaert, Inge Van Den, Katsou, Evina, Ahmad, Balsam, Ghazal, Heba, Simons, Stefaan, Wrobel, Luiz and Jouhara, Hussam (2018) Surface water filtration using granular media and membranes: A review. Science of the Total Environment, 639, pp. 1268-1282. ISSN (print) 0048-9697

Jouhara, Hussam, Ahmad, Darem, Czajczynska, Dina, Ghazal, Heba, Anguilano, Lorna, Reynolds, Alan, Rutkowski, Piotr, Krzyzynska, Renata, Katsou, Evina, Simons, Stefaan and Spencer, Nik (2018) Experimental investigation on the chemical characterisation of pyrolytic products of discarded food at temperatures up to 300[degrees]C. Thermal Science and Engineering Progress, 5, pp. 579-588. ISSN (print) 2451-9049

Arous, Basima, Al-Mardini, Mohammad Amer, Ghazal, Heba and Al-Lahham, Fida (2018) Stability-indicating method for the determination of Rivaroxaban and its degradation products using LC-MS and TLC. Research Journal of Pharmacy and Technology, 11(1), pp. 212-220. ISSN (print) 0974-3618

Jouhara, H., Nannou, T.K., Ghazal, H. and Spencer, N. (2017) Heat pipe based municipal waste treatment unit for home energy recovery. Energy, 139, pp. 1210-1230. ISSN (print) 0360-5442

Jouhara, H., Czajczynska, D., Ghazal, H., Krzyzynska, R., Anguilano, L., Reynolds, A.J. and Spencer, N. (2017) Municipal waste management systems for domestic use. Energy, 139, pp. 485-506. ISSN (print) 0360-5442

Czajczynska, D., Anguilano, L., Ghazal, H., Krzyzynska, R., Reynolds, A.J., Spencer, N. and Jouhara, H. (2017) Potential of pyrolysis processes in the waste management sector. Thermal Science and Engineering Progress, 3, pp. 171-197. ISSN (print) 2451-9049

Czajczynska, Dina, Nannou, Theodora, Anguilano, Lorna, Krzyzynska, Renata, Ghazal, Heba, Spencer, Nik and Jouhara, Hussam (2017) Potentials of pyrolysis processes in the waste management sector. Energy Procedia, 123, pp. 387-394. ISSN (online) 1876-6102

Jouhara, H., Nannou, T., Ghazal, H., Kayyali, R., Tassou, S.A. and Lester, S. (2017) Temperature and energy performance of open refrigerated display cabinets using heat pipe shelves. Energy Procedia, 123, pp. 273-280. ISSN (online) 1876-6102

Qassas, Mohamed Karam, Al-Mardini, Mohammad Ameral-mardini and Ghazal, Heba (2015) A validated HPLC stability indicating method for the determination of sitagliptin in bulk drug substance and tablets. International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Review and Research, 32(1), pp. 194-198. ISSN (online) 0976-044X

Ghazal, Heba, Dyas, Mark A., Ford, James L. and Hutcheon, Gillian A. (2014) The impact of food components on the intrinsic dissolution rate of ketoconazole. Drug Development and Industrial Pharmacy, 41(10), pp. 1647-1654. ISSN (print) 0363-9045

Ghazal, Heba S., Dyas, A. Mark, Ford, James and Hutcheon, Gillian A. (2009) In vitro evaluation of the dissolution behaviour of itraconazole in bio-relevant media. International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 366(1-2), pp. 117-123. ISSN (print) 0378-5173

Conference or Workshop Item

Macken, Elizabeth, Ferrari, Marco, Danso-Dapaah, Rosemary, Ahmed, Fadumo, Ahmed, Faisa Mohamed, Mandanrano, Lilly, Bocchio, Giuseppe Carlo, Ghazal, Heba, Ray, Robin, Shanmugam, Nesan, Anderson, Lisa, Rosano, Giuseppe, Metra, Marco and Jouhra, Fadi (2023) Role of specialised Heart Failure Unit in optimisation of guideline-directed medical therapy : real world data. In: Heart Failure 2023; 20-23 May 2023, Prague, Czech Republic.

Ghazal, Heba (2023) Biochar utilisation in erythromycin residues removal from aqueous environment. In: The International Conference on Sustainable Energy & Power Systems (SEPS); 13-16 Mar 2023, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. (Unpublished)

Ghazal, Heba (2023) Systematic review on the occurrence of contraceptives in the aquatic environment. In: The International Conference on Sustainable Energy & Power Systems (SEPS); 13-16 Mar 2023, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. (Unpublished)

Nwankwo, Christian, Barton, Stephen and Ghazal, Heba (2019) Determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Yerba-mate herbal drink. In: International Conference on Advances in Energy Systems and Environmental Engineering (ASEE19); 09-12 Jun 2019, Wrocław, Poland.

Czajczynska, D., Nannou, T., Anguilan, L., Krzyzynska, R., Ghazal, H., Spencer, N. and Jouhara, H. (2017) Potentials of pyrolysis processes in the waste management sector. In: 1st International Conference on Sustainable Energy and Resource Use in Food Chains; 19 - 20 Apr 2017, Windsor, U.K..

Jouhara, H., Nannou, T., Ghazal, H., Kayyali, R., Tassou, S.A. and Lester, S. (2017) Temperature and energy performance of open refrigerated display cabinets using heat pipe shelves. In: 1st International Conference on Sustainable Energy and Resource Use in Food Chains; 19 - 20 Apr 2017, Windsor, U.K..

Ghazal, H., Dyas, A. M., Ford, J. L. and Hutcheon, G. A. (2007) The intrinsic dissolution rate of ketoconazole in proteinaceous biorelevant media. In: British Pharmaceutical Conference (BPC); 10 - 12 Sep 2007, Manchester, U.K.. (Unpublished)

Ghazal, H., Ford, J. L. and Dyas, A. M. (2006) Morphological changes observed during intrinsic dissolution rate testing of itraconazole. In: British Pharmaceutical Conference (BPC); 04 - 06 Sep 2006, Manchester, U.K.. (Unpublished)

This list was generated on Fri Apr 19 07:18:05 2024 BST.

Professional practice, knowledge exchange and impact

Executive Editor for Science Talks, by Elsevier.

Conference Organising committee

I have been part of the organisational boards for the following major academic conferences:

  • Water, Energy & Climate Change conference (2021) Sharja University, UAE leading on a theme on pharmaceuticals in aquatic environment.
  • International Conference on Sustainable Energy & Environmental Protection (SEEP 2021 & 2022).
  • Currently, a member of the international advisory board SEEP September (2024), Vienna, Austria.
  • Currently, local organising committee MSSM, May (2024), Athens, Greece.

Leadership and management

University responsibilities

  • First year pharmacy (MPharm) year lead
  • Calculations teaching and assessment lead