Division of Hematology & Thromboembolism

Shirya Rashid

B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D.

Professor, Division of Hematology and Thromboembolism, Department of Medicine

 

 

 

 

 

Academic (or Research or Clinical) Interests

Dr. Rashid is an Assistant Professor at McMaster University in the Department of Medicine in the Divisions of Hematology (primary), Thrombosis, and Cardiology. She received her M.Sc. in the Department of Physiology under the supervision of Dr. Mladen Vranic at the University of Toronto. She received her Ph.D. in the Department of Medical Sciences under the supervision of Dr. Gary Lewis at the University of Toronto in 2003. Dr. Rashid then spent two years as a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Michael Brown and Dr. Joseph Goldstein (Nobel Laureates) supervised under Dr. Jay Horton in the Department of Molecular Genetics at the University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center (UTSWMC). She is attributed to knocking out at UTSWMC the novel PCSK9 gene, which is only the third gene discovered in three decades which regulates circulating levels of LDL-cholesterol, which directly impacts on the incidence of cardiovascular disease (heart disease and stroke). PCSK9 is already a therapeutic target for drug development in humans. Dr. Rashid then spent two years in the laboratory of Dr. Jacques Genest at the Cardiovascular Research Program at McGill University.

Throughout her training, Dr. Rashid received personal support and grant awards from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. She has published over 25 papers in peer reviewed journals, including Circulation Research, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, European Heart Journal, Cell Metabolism, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, JAMA, Circulation and Diabetes. She has been awarded the Department of Medicine, McMaster University Internal Career Award and the AFP Career Award.

Dr. Rashid’s current integrative research approach includes studies at the levels of cell biology, molecular biology, protein biochemistry, genetically-altered mouse models, and clinical research studies. She currently has two US provisional patents and an international PCT patent for her innovative research and has recently been awarded the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation’s Early Research Award.

Dr. Rashid’s overall research interest is to study the mechanistic links between dyslipidemias and cardiovascular disease, particularly those dyslipidemias associated with (a) the pathophysiology of obesity and (b) the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis. Her current research focuses on two key areas: (1) the mechanisms contributing to low plasma levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (the “good cholesterol”) and elevated levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (the “bad cholesterol”), two major cardiovascular risk factors, in obesity, and (2) the specific mechanistic roles of prohormone convertases, including PCSK9, in atherosclerosis. These research programs should lead to the identification of novel biomarkers of cardiovascular disease, including atherosclerosis, and to the development of novel therapies aimed at normalizing lipoprotein levels and inhibiting atherosclerosis.

Selected Publications

  1. Melone M, Wilsie L, Palyha O Strack A and Rashid S. Discovery of a New Role of Human Resistin in Hepatocyte Low-Density Lipoprotein (LDL) Receptor Suppression Mediated by PCSK9. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, In Press 2011.
  2. Costandi J, Melone M, Zhao A and Rashid S. Human Resistin Stimulates Hepatic Overproduction of Atherogenic ApoB-Containing Llipoprotein Particles by Enhancing ApoB Stability and Impairing Intracellular Insulin Signaling. Circulation Research , 108(6):727-42, 2011.
  3. Rashid S, Marcil M, Ruel I and Genest J. Identification of a Novel Lipid efflux Defect causing Low HDL Cholesterol that is not due to Mutations in the ABCA1 Gene but to Regulation of ABCA1 Protein. European Heart Journal, 30(18):2204-2212, 2009.
  4. Cortés VA, Curtis DE, Sukumaran S,. Shao X, Rashid S, Smith AR, Ren J, Hamme RE, Agarwal AK, Horton JD and Garg A. Molecular Mechanisms of Hepatic Steatosis and Insulin Resistance in the AGPAT2-Deficient Mouse Model of Congenital Generalized Lipodystrophy. Cell Metabolism, 9:165-176, 2009.
  5. Rashid S, Curtis DE, Garuti R, Anderson NN, Bashmakov Y, Ho YK, Hammer RE, Moon YA, and Horton JD. Decreased Plasma Cholesterol and Hypersensitivity to Statins in Mice Lacking PCSK9. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 102(15), 2005.
  6. Rashid S, Trinh DK, Uffelman KD, Cohn, JS, Rader DJ and Lewis GF. Expression of Human Hepatic ipase in the Rabbit Model Preferentially Enhances the Clearance of Triglyceride Enriched versus Native HDL Apolipoprotein A-I . Circulation, 107(24): 3066-72, 2003.
  7. Rashid S, Uffelman KD, Barrett PHR, and Lewis GF. The Effect of Atorvastatin on HDL Apolipoprotein A-I Production and Clearance in the New Zealand White Rabbit. Circulation, 106(23): 2955-60, 2002.
  8. Rashid S, Shi Z.Q, Niwa M, Mathoo JMR, Van Delangeryt M, Bilinski D, Lewis GF, and Vranic M. Beta-blockade, but not Normoglycemia Nor Hyperinsulinemia, Markedly Diminishes Stress-Induced Hyperglycemia in Diabetic Dogs. Diabetes, 49(2):253-62, 2000.