Academic TitleAssistant Professor of Pharmacology
Contact Information Office Phone: (916) 686-7378 Email: noor.hussein@cnsu.edu
Dr. Hussein, Assistant Professor of Pharmacology is a biomedical scientist with interdisciplinary expertise spanning pharmacology, cancer biology, toxicology, experimental therapeutics, translational immunology, and neuroinflammation. Her research program focuses on understanding the mechanisms underlying immune dysregulation in neuroinflammatory and neuropsychiatric disorders and translating these discoveries into novel therapeutic strategies. She is also committed to student mentorship and interdisciplinary education and research.
Dr. Hussein earned her Bachelor of Pharmacy degree, followed by an M.S. in Pharmacology and Toxicology and a Ph.D. in Experimental Therapeutics from the University of Toledo in Toledo, Ohio. During her graduate training, she investigated the molecular mechanisms underlying multidrug resistance in cancer and contributed to the discovery and evaluation of novel therapeutic agents. Her research achievements were recognized with several awards, including the prestigious American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Scholar-in-Training Award.
In Fall 2021, Dr. Hussein joined the Department of Pediatrics at Stanford University as a Postdoctoral Research Scholar. Her postdoctoral research focused on understanding the role of regulatory T cells (Tregs) in Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS), a disorder characterized by the abrupt onset of neuropsychiatric symptoms and associated with immune dysregulation and neuroinflammation. Her work identified a distinct CD39+ regulatory T-cell subset associated with neuroinflammatory disease status, providing new insights into the role of immune regulation in PANS.
Dr. Hussein's research program focuses on defining the role of adaptive immune cells, particularly CD39+ regulatory T cells (Tregs), in the pathophysiology of neuroinflammatory and neuroimmune disorders, including Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS) and pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
Building on her postdoctoral discoveries, her laboratory investigates the biology, function, and therapeutic potential of CD39+ Tregs in neuroinflammatory and autoimmune diseases. A major area of interest is understanding how genetic and epigenetic mechanisms regulate T-cell function, including variation within the ENTPD1 (CD39) locus, and how these factors contribute to inter-individual differences in immune responses, disease susceptibility, and treatment outcomes.
Her research also seeks to determine whether CD39+ Tregs can be therapeutically targeted to restore immune homeostasis in neuroinflammatory and neuropsychiatric disorders. Potential strategies include enhancing endogenous regulatory T-cell function and developing approaches to restore or replace dysfunctional Tregs through cellular and pharmacological therapies.
Through an interdisciplinary approach integrating immunology, molecular biology, pharmacology, and translational research, Dr. Hussein's long-term goal is to uncover novel mechanisms of immune-mediated disease and advance the development of precision therapeutic strategies for patients with neuroinflammatory and autoimmune disorders.
For Complete list of publications and citation indices: Noor A. Hussein - Google Scholar
Pasternak, Hussein N, Piedra V, Malla S, Karthikeyan C, Amawi H, Rajak H, Ashby Jr. CR, Babu RJ, Tiwari AK. Vacuolization as a Novel Approach to Cancer Therapy. Journal of Biochemical and Molecular Toxicology. 2026, 40(6):e70912. doi: 10.1002/jbt.70912. PubMed PMID: 42204967.
Rahman SS§, Hussein N§, Galfrè SG, Gaertner F, Macaubas C, Chan A, Columbo L, Gao J, Galehdari S, Bayram B, Ma M, Manko C, Miles K, Farhadian B, Silverman M, Thienemann M, Or-Geva N, Van Haren K, Nadeau KC, Tian L, Frankovich J, Mellins ED. Sex-associated and disease state-dependent monocyte polarization and CNS-trafficking phenotypes in pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome (PANS). J Neuroinflammation. 2025;22(1):273. Epub 2025/11/19. doi: 10.1186/s12974-025-03549-6. PubMed PMID: 41254741. (§Equal first author).
Macaubas C, Bayram B, Hussein N, Jager A, Davis K, Graf G, Nakamura M, Devy Z, and E. D Mellins. Using mass cytometry to probe the STAT signaling landscape in circulating immune cells in Rheumatoid Arthritis uncovers signaling dysregulation and correlation with disease activity. Frontiers in Medicine. 2025. Volume 12, 1622537. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2025.1622537/
Malla S, Neupane R, Sood S, Hussein N, Abou-Dahech M, Terrero D, Ashby CR, Jr., Babu RJ, Tiwari AK. Mitochondria as Regulators of Nonapoptotic Cell Death in Cancer. MedComm (2020). 2025;6(8): e70244. Epub 2025/07/24. doi: 10.1002/mco2.70244. PubMed PMID: 40703196; PMCID: PMC12284444.
Amawi H, Hammad AM, Hall FS, Hussein N, Rataan AO, Mrayyan A, Al-Kofahi M, Hmedat A, Ashby CR, Tiwari AK. Revisiting strategies to target ABC transporter-mediated drug resistance in CNS cancer. Cancer Biol Med. 2025;22(10):1158-80. Epub 2025/09/30. doi: 10.20892/j.issn.2095-3941.2025.0060. PubMed PMID: 41024626; PMCID: PMC12533758.
Jiang Y§, Sanyal M§, Hussein N§, Baghdasaryan A, Zhang M, Wang F, Ren F, Li J, Zhu G, Meng Y, Adamska JZ Mellins E, Dai H. A SARS-CoV-2 vaccine on an NIR-II/SWIR emitting nanoparticle platform. Sci Adv. 2025 Feb 7;11(6): eadp5539. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adp5539 Epub 2025 Feb 7. PMID: 39919189; PMCID: PMC11804919. (§Equal first author).
Breitman M, Cameron C, Bonfield T, Reese J, Bamboyrn E, Haghiae M, Lewis S, Lazarus H, Hussein N, Anthony D, Cameron M, Richardson B, Singer N. POS0632 ARE GENES IN T-REGULATORY CELLS ARE DIFFERENTIALLY FOLLOWING TREATMENT WITH ALLOGENEIC MESENCHYMAL STEM CELLS IN EARLY RA. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. 2025; 84:822. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ard.2025.05.1012