Al-Shifa Research Centre

Vision:

To be the centre of excellence for conducting world-class and creative bio-medical research activities to enhance the knowledge base and contribute towards improving the health care system and social advancement for the people of Pakistan.

Mission:

To emphasize rigorous research fundamentals while stimulating innovation and providing the highest quality research facilities in the institution.

Aim and Objectives

Work in coordination with the head of departments to identify areas of research
Provide operational support to the institution’s research activities/program and play a central role in facilitating the research outcome
Enhance the capacity building of trainees and students in academic research
Facilitating the faculty/postgraduate students to apply for research grants to HEC and other donor agencies
Find and explore the collaborations with national and international organizations
Establish and implement appropriate procedures and guidelines for monitoring research progress

Establishing a research centre shows that we really see value in bringing scientific evidence and also appreciate the importance of scientific culture. We believe that as long as we continue to work together as a team, we can give the very best of ourselves. We are dedicated to driving impact in critical spheres of health care to create impressive and meaningful breakthroughs and to fostering innovation through partnerships and team works. Al-Shifa Research Centre also prepares an annual research report covering the diverse array of all research activities done by the faculty, students, and trainees of Al-Shifa.

Prof. Dr. Ume Sughra
MBBS, MPH, FCPS (Comm. Med),
FRCP (Glasgow), MCPS-HPE
Director Research, Al-Shifa Research Centre
Professor of Public Health
E-mail: dr_sughra@yahoo.com

Prof. Dr. Ume Sughra
Director Research

Clinical Trials

Sr. no.	Trial Name	Sponsor	Principal Investigator	Status
1.	A Phase III Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Clinical Trial in 18 Years of Age and Above to Determine the Safety and Efficacy of ZF2001, a Recombinant Novel Coronavirus Vaccine (CHO cell) for Prevention of COVID-19	Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd China	Prof. Dr. Ume Sughra	Completed Published in The New England Journal of Medicine DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2202261
2.	A Phase III, Randomized, Observer-blind, Multicenter Study to Evaluate the Efficacy, Immunogenicity and Safety of Seqirus Cell-Based Quadrivalent Subunit Influenza Virus Vaccine (QIVc) Compared to a Non-Influenza Vaccine when Administrated in Healthy Subjects aged 6 Months through 47 Months	Seqirus	Prof. Dr. Ume Sughra	Completed
3.	(ALVOEYE) :A Randomized, Double-masked, Parallel-group, Multicenter Clinical Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of AVT06 Compared with EU-Eylea® in Subjects with Neovascular (wet) Age-related Macular Degeneration	Alvotech Swiss AG	Prof. Dr. Ume Sughra	Completed
4.	A Multi-center, Randomized, Blinded, Placebo-controlled, Phase 3 Clinical Study to Evaluate the Efficacy, Safety and immunogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 Bivalent mRNA Vaccine (LVRNA021) as Booster in Participants Aged 18 Years and Older who Completed Primary/1 Booster Dose(s) of SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination	AIM Vaccine Co., Ltd. Ningbo Rongan Biological Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. LiveRNA Therapeutics Inc.	Prof. Dr. Ume Sughra	On going
5.	A Phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the effect of Bi-26 (strain of Bifidobacterium longum, B. infantis) supplementation versus placebo on weight gain in underweight infants	Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute	Prof. Dr. Ume Sughra	Completed
6.	A Phase 3 Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Bemnifosbuvir in High-Risk Outpatients with COVID-19	Atea Pharmaceuticals, Inc. USA	Prof. Dr. Ume Sughra	Completed
7.	A phase III, Randomized, Comparator-Controlled, Double-Blind, Multicenter Study to Evaluate the Immunogenicity, Safety and Lot to Lot Consistency of Three Lots of a PIKA Rabies Vaccine (Vero cell) for human use, freeze-dried in Healthy Adults using a Post-Exposure Prophylaxis schedule	Yisheng Biopharma (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.	Prof. Dr. Ume Sughra	On going

Projects

Sr. no.	Project Name	Sponsor	Principal Investigator	Status
1.	A project by WHO to evaluate the preparedness of public health facilities in Islamabad Capital Territory and Rawalpindi, Pakistan, for managing (potential) CBRN events and development of a standard national tool to evaluate hospital preparedness involving Emergency Departments (ED) as well as EMS providers’ readiness for CBRN events in Pakistan	WHO EMRO, Pakistan	Prof. Dr. Ume Sughra	Completed
2.	Post Evaluation Campaign field activity for Lot Quality Assessment Sampling (LQAS) as a part of Polio Eradication Program after National Immunization Day (NID)	WHO EMRO, Pakistan	Prof. Dr. Ume Sughra	Completed

Clinical Trials Reports

Annual Research Reports

Events

3rd International Al-Shifa Research Conference 2024

3rd International Al-Shifa Research Conference at Al Shifa Trust Eye Hospital was held on Friday, March 8th, 2024 under the esteemed leadership of President, Al-Shifa Trust Maj Gen (R) Rehmat Khan. Prof. Dr. Ume Sughra, Director of Research, and the Al-Shifa Research Centre team successfully organized the conference under the theme “Exploring the Global Perspective: Trends & Insights of Clinical Research”.

The welcome address was given by Prof. Dr. Wajid Ali Khan, Dean & Chief of Medical Services, Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital, Rawalpindi. The chief guest of the conference was Dr. Obaidullah, Director Division of Pharmacy Services, Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan. The guests of honor were Dr. Baber Saeed Khan, Founder & CEO of The Emergent Platform, Karachi, and Prof. Dr. Shahzad Ali Khan, Vice Chancellor of Health Services Academy, Islamabad.

The speakers at the conference were renowned medical and clinical research professionals from across the globe, including Mr. Ben Laverty, Research & Development Operations Head, Southeast Asia, Australia & New Zealand, IQVIA; Mr. Lei Zhang, Vice President of International Medical Affairs Division, AIM Vaccine Co., Ltd, China; Ms. Janie Parrino MD, Clinical Development Leader; and Ms. Lori Muir, Clinical Trial Leader, Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute, USA; Mr. Syed Munawar Ali, Head of Clinical Operations, IQVIA Solutions Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd., Karachi; and Dr. Saboora Waris, Associate Director of Research, Maroof International Hospital, Islamabad.

We are thankful to our conference participants and attendees for the enriching discussions and insights shared at this impactful gathering.