Khaled Abdelaziz

Assistant Professor of Immunology
Faculty Scholar-Clemson University School of Health Research
Animal and Veterinary Sciences Department

Office: 125 Poole Agricultural Center
Phone: 864-656-0493
Email: khaled2@clemson.edu

 

 Educational Background

Ph.D
Veterinary Medical Science (Immunopathology), Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Canada and Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Beni-Suef University, Egypt 2011

MS
Veterinary Medical Science (Pathology), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Beni-Suef University, Egypt 2007

DVM
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Egypt 2003

 Courses Taught

AVS 4140/6140 - Basic Immunology
AVS 4670/6670 - Animal Physiology II

 Profile

Dr. Abdelaziz joined the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences, Clemson University in November 2021 as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences. Following his Ph.D., he did his postdoctoral training in the Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph. In 2018, he was appointed to the position of Research Associate in the same department. Before joining Clemson University, Dr. Abdelaziz worked for two years in the poultry vaccine industry (Ceva animal Health Inc., Guelph, Canada) as an Innovation and Development Scientist, where he was responsible for developing and licensing vaccines against poultry coccidiosis by USDA and CFIA.

 Research Interests

My research interests lie in developing novel strategies to promote gut health and prevent enteric bacterial and parasitic infections in poultry.

Dietary supplementation of antibiotic in poultry feed enhances feed efficiency, growth performance and reduce levels of enteric pathogens. However, due to public health concerns about the impact of antibiotic residues on human health and the potential emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria, in 2017, FDA regulations banned antibiotics use for growth promoting purposes across the US. The removal of infeed-antibiotics has resulted in re-emergence of the well-controlled diseases of poultry such as necrotic enteritis, consequently leading to their use at therapeutic doses for treatment of these diseases. The drugs used to treat these diseases during outbreak are category 1 or 2, which are unfavorable from “one health” perspective. Due to these concerns, there is an increased interest in the use of antimicrobial alternatives (such as prebiotics, probiotics, synbiotics, phytobiotics, essential oil, organic acids, enzymes, vaccines and immunostimulants) to fill this gap.

My current research focuses on developing novel immune-based strategies, including vaccines, immunostimulants, and investigating the potential use of probiotics as an alternative to antibiotics to:
- Promote poultry gut health and immune system development and function.
- Prevent or reduce intestinal colonization of chickens by bacterial pathogens of food safety concern, including Campylobacter jejuni, Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella sp.
- Prevent and control of enteric diseases of chickens, including coccidiosis and necrotic enteritis.

The outcomes of this research will promote the USA’agri-food brand through production of safe, sustainable, socially responsible, and high-quality poultry products. This research will lessen the impact of the future significant reduction of the use of antibiotics in poultry production, mitigating against the emergence of AMR, responsible for 700,000 annual deaths globally and thereby enhancing consumer confidence in USA poultry products.

Another area of research in my laboratory is to develop Microbial Ecosystem Therapeutics (microbial consortia) for use in treatment of human campylobacteriosis.

 Lab Members

Lab manager: Annie Joye, Email: ajoye@g.clemson.edu
Graduate students: Shreeya Sharma, MS student, Email: shreeys@g.clemson.edu

 Publications

Selected publications:

Yosra A. Helmy, Khaled Taha-Abdelaziz, Hanan Abd El-Halim Hawwas, Soumya Ghosh, Samar Sami AlKafaas, Mohamed M. M. Moawad, Essa M. Saied, Issmat I. Kassem, Asmaa M. M. Mawad. Antimicrobial resistance and alternatives to antibiotics for control of bacterial infections with an emphasis on foodborne pathogens. Antibiotics 2023, 12(2), 274.

Khaled Taha-Abdelaziz, Mankerat Singh, Shayan Sharif, Shreeya Sharma, Raveendra R Kulkarni, Mohammadali Alizadeh, Alexander Yitbarek, Yosra A. Helmy. Intervention strategies to control Campylobacter at different stages of the food chain. Microorganisms 2023, 11(1), 113.

Raveendra R Kulkarni, Carissa Gaghan, Kaitlin Gorrell, Shayan Sharif, Khaled Taha-Abdelaziz. Probiotics as Alternatives to Antibiotics for the Prevention and Control of Necrotic Enteritis in Chickens. Pathogens 2022 Jun 16;11(6):692.

Seyed Hossien Kairmi, Khaled Taha-Abdelaziz, Alexander Yitbarek, Mehdi Sargolzaei, Hedieh Sadeghiisfahani, Jake Astill, Bahram Shojadoost, Mohammadali Alizadeh, Raveendra Kulkarni, John Parkinson, Shayan Sharif. Effects of therapeutic levels of dietary antibiotics on the cecal microbiome composition of broiler chickens. Poultry Science 2022, 101(6):101864.

Maxine Ty, Khaled Taha-Abdelaziz, Vanessa Demey, Mathieu Castex, Shayan Sharif, John Parkinson. Performance of distinct microbial based solutions in a Campylobacter infection challenge model in poultry. Animal Microbiome 2022, 4:2.

Mohammadali Alizadeh, Jake Astill, Nadiyah Alqazlan, Bahram Shojadoost, Khaled Taha-Abdelaziz, Jegarubee Bavananthasivam, Janan ShojaDoost, Negin Sedeghiisfahani, Shayan Sharif. In ovo co-administration of vitamins (A and D) and probiotic lactobacilli modulates immune responses in broiler chickens. Poultry Science 2022, 101:101717.

Bahram Shojadoost, Mohammadali Alizadeh, Nitish Boodhoo, Jake Astill, Seyed Hossein Karimi, Janan Shoja Doost, Khaled Taha-Abdelaziz, Raveendra Kulkarni, Shayan Sharif. Effects of treatment with lactobacilli on necrotic enteritis in broiler chickens. Probiotics and Antimicrobial Proteins 2022, 14(6):1110-1129.

Mohammadali Alizadeh, Bahram Shojadoost, Jake Astill, Nitish Boodhoo, Khaled Taha-Abdelaziz, Raveendra Kulkarni, Shayan Sharif. Necrotic Enteritis in Chickens: A Review of Pathogenesis, Immune Responses and Prevention Focusing on Probiotics and Vaccination. Animal Health Research Review 2021, 22:147–162.

Mohammadali Alizadeh, Jegarubee Bavananthasivam, Bahram Shojadoost, Jake Astill, Khaled Taha-Abdelaziz, Nadiyah Alqazlan, Nitish Boodhoo, Janan Shoja Doost, Shayan Sharif. In ovo and oral administration of probiotic lactobacilli modulate cell- and antibody-mediated immune responses in newly hatched chicks. Frontiers in Immunology 2021, 12:664387.

Jegarubee Bavananthasivam, Mohammadali Alizadeh, Jake Astill, Nadiyah Alqazlan, Ayumi Matsuyam, Bahram Shojadoost, Khaled Taha-Abdelaziz, Shayan Sharif. The effects of administration of probiotics with Marek’s disease vaccine against challenge with very virulent Marek’s disease virus in chickens. Vaccine 2021, 39 (17):2424-2433.

Jegarubee Bavananthasivam, Jake Astill, Ayumi Matsuyama-Kato, Khaled TahaAbdelaziz, Bahram Shojadoost, Shayan Sharif. Gut microbiota is associated with protection against Marek's disease virus infection in chickens. Virology 2021, 553:122-130.

Bahram Shojadoost, Mohammadali Alizadeh, Khaled Taha-Abdelaziz, Janan Shoja Doost, Jake Astill, Shayan Sharif. In ovo inoculation of vitamin A modulates chicken embryo immune functions. Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research 2021, 41:20-28.

Nadiyah Alqazlan, Jake Astill, Khaled Taha-Abdelaziz, Éva Nagy, Byram Bridle, Shayan Sharif. Probiotic Lactobacilli Enhance Immunogenicity of an Inactivated H9N2 Influenza Virus Vaccine in Chickens. Viral Immunology 2021, 34 (2):86-95.

Khaled Taha-Abdelaziz, Jake Astill, Shayan Sharif. Campylobacter-derived ligands induce cytokine and chemokine expression in chicken macrophages and cecal tonsil mononuclear cells. Veterinary Microbiology 2020, 246:108732.

Mohamadali Alizadeh, Bahram Shojadoost, Jake Astill, Khaled Taha-Abdelaziz, Jegarubee Bavananthasivam, Raveendra R. Kulkarni, Shayan Sharif. Effects of in ovo inoculation of multi-strain lactobacilli on cytokine gene expression and antibody-mediated immune responses in chickens. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 2020, 7:105.

Nadiyah Alqazlan, Mohammadali Alizadeh, Nitish Boodhoo, Khaled Taha-Abdelaziz, EvaNagy, Byram Bridle, Shayan Sharif. Probiotic Lactobacilli Limit Avian Influenza Virus Subtype H9N2 Replication in Chicken Cecal Tonsil Mononuclear Cells. Vaccines 2020, 8:605.

Bahram Shojadoost Khaled Taha-Abdelaziz, Tamiru Negash Alkie, Alexander Bekele-Yitbarek, Neda Barjesteh, Adrianna Laursen, Trevor K. Smith, Janan Shojadoost, Shayan Sharif. Supplemental dietary selenium enhances immune responses conferred by a vaccine against low pathogenicity avian influenza virus. Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology 2020, 227:110089.

Khaled Taha-Abdelaziz, Jake Astill, Raveendra R.Kulkarni, Leah R. Read Afsaneh Najarian, Jeffrey M. Farber, Shayan Sharif. In vitro assessment of immunomodulatory and anti-Campylobacter activities of probiotic lactobacilli. Scientific Reports 2019, 9:17903.

Neda Barjesteh, Khaled Taha-Abdelaziz, Raveendra Kulkarni, and Shayan Sharif. Innate antiviral responses are induced by TLR3 and TLR4 ligands in chicken tracheal epithelial cells: Communication between epithelial cells and macrophages. Virology 2019, 534:132-142.

Saeed A. El-Ashram, Shawky M Aboelhadid, Sahar M Gadelhaq, Walid M Arafa, Abdel-Razik H Abdel-Razik, Abohamra S, Khaled Taha-Abdelaziz. Oral inoculation ultraviolet-irradiated Eimeria species oocysts protects chickens against coccidiosis. Parasitology Research 2019, 118(11):3173-3183.

Tamiru N Alkie, Alexander Yitbarek, Douglas C. Hodgins, Raveendra R Kulkarni, Khaled Taha-Abdelaziz, Shayan Sharif. Development of innate immunity in chicken embryos and newly hatched chicks: A disease control perspective. Avian Pathology 2019, 7:1-75.

Bahram Shojadoost, Raveendra R. Kulkarni, Alexander Bekele-Yitbarek, Adrianna Laursen, Khaled Taha-Abdelaziz, Tamiru Negash Alkie, Neda Barjesteh, Wanderly M. Quinteiro-Filho, Trevor K. Smith, Shayan Sharif. Dietary selenium supplementation enhances antiviral immunity in chickens challenged with low pathogenicity avian influenza virus subtype H9N2. Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology 2019, 207:62-68.

Khaled Taha-Abdelaziz, Douglas C. Hodgins, Tamiru Negash Alkie, Wanderely Quinteiro Filho, Alexander Yitbarek, Jake Astill, Shayan Sharif. Oral administration of PLGA-encapsulated CpG ODN and Campylobacter jejuni lysate reduces cecal colonization by Campylobacter jejuni in chickens. Vaccine 2018, 36 (3):388-394.

Khaled Taha-Abdelaziz, Alexander Yitbarek, Tamiru Negash Alkie, Douglas C. Hodgins, Leah R. Read, J. Scott Weese, Shayan Sharif. PLGA-encapsulated CpG ODN and Campylobacter jejuni lysate modulate cecal microbiota composition in broiler chickens experimentally challenged with C. jejuni. Scientific Reports 2018, 8:12076.

Khaled Taha-Abdelaziz, Douglas C. Hodgins, Tamiru Negash Alkie, Shayan Sharif. Effects of early feeding and dietary interventions on development of lymphoid organs and immunocompetence in neonatal chickens: A review. Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology 2018, 201:1-11.

Alexander Yitbarek, Khaled Taha-Abdelaziz, Douglas Hodgins, Leah R. Read, Éva. Nagy, J. Scott Weese, Jeff L. Caswell, John Parkinson, and Shayan Sharif. Gut microbiota-mediated protection against influenza virus subtype H9N2 in chickens is associated with modulation of the innate responses. Scientific Reports 2018, 8:13189.

Tamiru Negash Alkie, Alexander Yitbarek, Khaled Taha-Abdelaziz, Jake Astill, Shayan Sharif. Characterization of immunogenicity of avian influenza antigens encapsulated in PLGA nanoparticles following mucosal and subcutaneous delivery in chickens. PLoS One 2018, 13 (11):e0206324.

Alexander Yitbarek, Tamiru Negash Alkie, Khaled Taha-Abdelaziz, Jake Astill, Bahram Shojadoost and Shayan Sharif. Gut microbiota modulates type I interferon and antibody-mediated immune responses in chickens infected with influenza virus subtype H9N2. Beneficial Microbes 2018, 30:1-12.

Jake Astill, Tamiru Negash Alkie, Alexander Yitbarek, Khaled Taha-Abdelaziz, Bahram Shojadoost, James John Petrik, Éva Nagy, Shayan Sharif. A comparison of Toll-like receptor 5 and 21 ligands as adjuvants for a formaldehyde inactivated H9N2 avian influenza virus vaccine in chickens. Viral Immunology 2018, 31 (9):1-8.

Adrianna M.S. Laursen, Raveendra R. Kulkarni, Khaled Taha-Abdelaziz, Leah R. Read, Brandon L. Plattner, Shayan Sharif. Characterization of gamma delta T cells in Marek’s disease virus (Gallid herpesvirus 2) infection of chickens. Virology 2018, 522:56-64.

Jake Astill, Tamiru Negash Alkie, Alexander Yitbarek, Khaled Taha-Abdelaziz, Jegarubee Bavananthasivam, Éva Nagy, James John Petrikd, Shayan Sharif. Examination of the effects of virus inactivation methods on the induction of antibody- and cell-mediated immune responses against whole inactivated H9N2 avian influenza virus vaccines in chicken. Vaccine 2018, 26 (27).

Jake Astill, Tamiru Negash Alkie, Alexander Yitbarek, Khaled Taha-Abdelaziz, Jegarubee Bavananthasivam, Éva Nagy, James John Petrikd, Shayan Sharif. Induction of immune response in chickens primed in ovo with an inactivated H9N2 avian influenza virus vaccine. BMC Research Notes 2018, 11:428.

 Links

Google Scholar
ResearchGate
Clemson University School of Health Research (CUSHR)
One Health Research Group