If mitochondria are the powerhouse of cells, Ilhem Messaoudi, PhD, is the mitochondria of the microbiology, immunology, and molecular genetics department.
As the department chair, she brings the energy to her team of faculty, staff, and trainees. Her mission is to help her department flourish by hiring the best and brightest researchers and facilitating an environment of support, discovery, and “team science.” She knows that collaboration breeds success, and that goal gives her the energy to bring people together.
Dr. Messaoudi arrived to the U.S. from Tunisia when she was 17 years old. Her goal: become a “kickass scientist.”
“I was not very complicated,” she jokes. “Everything I’ve done has really been driven by that.”
She grew up reading books about famous male scientists like Louis Pasteur, but sprinkled within were famous female scientists like Barbara McClintock and Marie Curie.
Dr. Messaoudi’s focus was obtaining a college education so she could follow her scientific idols. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Lafayette College in Pennsylvania, and then her PhD from the Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University.
“To go to college was one of the steps toward achieving that dream and pushing the boundaries,” Dr. Messaoudi says. “I wanted to lead and inspire other people to be as excited about science and about seeing strong women in positions of power and leadership as I was.”
She continued pushing the boundaries in her career for the love of science, and that career led her to where she is today – chairing the UK College of Medicine Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics.
Infectious diseases are one of UK’s highly prioritized research areas, particularly after the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Messaoudi’s department includes incredibly seasoned researchers. She is building upon those strengths to assemble a team prepared to combat a myriad of future infections.
In the fall, she brought on James D. Brien, PhD, Amelia K. Pinto, PhD, and Christopher D. Radka, PhD.
Then in the winter, Saurabh Chattopadhyay, PhD, and William de Souza, PhD, joined the department. Dr. Chattopadhyay moved from the University of Toledo Medical College of Medicine. His laboratory studies key components of the host response to viruses. Dr. de Souza moved from the University of Texas Medical Branch and studies viral transmission dynamics and emerging RNA viruses such as chikungunya virus.
Jennifer Simkin, PhD, started July 1, 2024, after relocation from Louisiana State University. Her laboratory studies how macrophages regulate wound healing and tissue repair after injury.
Dr. Messaoudi has always loved “team science.” To this day, she has only written one R01 as the sole principal investigator (PI).
It is not for lack of publications – she has been part of almost 200 publications – but rather, because she gets genuine joy from working with other people.
This year, she fostered existing collaborations with researchers across departments and colleges as co-PI of the COVID-19 Unified Research Experts (CURE) Alliance. She also helped co-found the relatively new UK-Maternal and Pediatric Research Alliance (MaPRA) that studies pregnancy, perinatology, and pediatrics. Both teams are part of the College of Medicine Alliance Research Initiative.
Dr. Messaoudi says she thrives at UK because of its collaborative atmosphere. Research buildings are mere walks away from the large hospital system in Lexington.
“UK is a really great place. The people here are so collaborative and so friendly and give each other so much grace,” she says. “It's a great place for somebody like me. It fits my personality. I know it provides more support for the way that I want to do science.”
On the heels of the CURE Alliance, Dr. Messaoudi helped bridge a major collaborative effort to combat infectious diseases.
With an Emerging Themes for Research Program award from the UK Office of the Vice President for Research, she was able to start the Consortium for Understanding and Reducing Infectious Disease Research at the University of Kentucky (CURE-KY). This interdisciplinary team involves multiple UK colleges and the Markey Cancer Center. Research areas include microbial pathogenesis, vaccines, animal health, engineering, and public health.
The team will work “to combat the threat of infectious diseases through transdisciplinary research directed at the prevention and treatment, targeting those diseases that significantly endanger humanity.” It will address vaccine hesitancy, build trust within the community, and pass along essential skills to the next generation of scientists.
CURE-KY embodies Dr. Messaoudi’s career mission: bringing experts together for the advancement of research.
“Dr. Messaoudi is a passionate researcher with a love for science that is infectious (pun intended). Dr. Messaoudi has an incredible talent for breaking down research silos and bringing together faculty with shared interests, yet highly diverse expertise. This is not a small task. The CURE-KY consortium brings together clinicians, epidemiologists, behavioral researchers, and basic scientists from five UK colleges and centers to address the numerous infectious disease threats plaguing the Commonwealth of Kentucky.”
In December 2023, Dr. Messaoudi joined seven colleagues from across the College of Medicine and University of Kentucky for a groundbreaking, $3 million National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) study.
Titled “POPI: Placenta, Opioids and Perinatal Implications,” the study aims to better understand the impact of opioid use disorder on mothers and babies.
In Kentucky, roughly 20 of every 1,000 babies born in 2020 had symptoms of neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome — the third-highest rate in the U.S. In the Appalachian region of Kentucky, that frequency increases to 77 babies of every 1,000. Early delivery can complicate pregnancies with opioid use disorder and children have an increased risk of neurodevelopment impairment including cognitive, motor, social, and emotional abilities related to this exposure.
Dr. Messaoudi knows that clinical and translational research are a big part of the future of academic medicine, especially at UK.
She was accepted to the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine® (ELAM) program, a one-year fellowship with coaching, networking, and mentoring “aimed at expanding the national pool of qualified women candidates for leadership in academic medicine, dentistry, public health, and pharmacy.”
As part of the ELAM program, Dr. Messaoudi connected with female leaders across the country and presented a capstone project about increasing the footprint of research in clinical departments.
“UK has been in this exponential growth phase,” Dr. Messaoudi says, “and I think the next big jumps that we're going to make are in the realm of clinical transdisciplinary research.”
By building strong interdisciplinary collaborations, Dr. Messaoudi is creating more opportunities for UK’s early-career faculty to network and bounce ideas off of one another. They are able to work alongside more experienced scientists and clinicians to gain experience and expertise.
Ultimately, this leads to stronger solutions for Kentuckians and beyond.
Dr. Messaoudi enjoys helping young faculty shine in their research, and she is their cheerleader throughout their time at UK.
“I can't wait for them to get their first grants, their first papers, their dossiers together,” she says.
“Dr. Messaoudi is a scientific visionary and a passionate researcher who cares deeply about the scientific community at UK. While serving as department chair, she uses her position to continually advocate for junior faculty and trainees in her department and across campus. She remains focused on building a stronger UK community by elevating all voices, which highlights her vision of equitable and inclusive interdisciplinary research. She has excellent perspective to recognize impactful science and pushes to elevate those who are doing the work, regardless of position or rank. Through these efforts, she has demonstrated a strategic approach to building a strong network of scientists and innovators who will have a profound and long-lasting impact on the University and the Commonwealth.”
With a stronger team of faculty and staff comes stronger educational offerings within the department.
Dr. Messaoudi firmly believes in getting students early exposure to research. She is really excited about the pipeline programs offered at UK, including the Appalachian Career Training in Oncology (ACTION) program that provides high school and undergraduate students from Appalachia the opportunity to gain experience with cancer research.
Someday, Dr. Messaoudi hopes to start a weekend academy that can transform UK’s microbiology lab spaces into teaching labs for K-12 students.
“I want every kid to have the opportunity to just discover how amazing it is to be in a lab, to do science, and to ask questions,” she says.
When Dr. Messaoudi has her mind set on something, she achieves it. She did when she moved to the U.S. for her college education, and today, she does it in growing her department.
So what’s her focus now?
“My dream is that five years from now, I’m at a conference, and if someone’s struggling with a question, it’s common practice to say, ‘Oh you should go to the University of Kentucky’s microbiology, immunology, and molecular genetics department,’” she says. “If there’s ever some sort of infectious disease that hits the state, our governor goes, ‘We don’t need to go anywhere. We have our experts right here. We’re going to lean on our flagship institution.’”
And for future generations, she hopes that “every kid in Kentucky who wants to be in immunology and infectious disease has a place, has a home, has a path toward what they want to accomplish here.”
The work won’t stop for Dr. Messaoudi. Her department has accomplished a lot in a year, yet upon each milestone, she is just as motivated to keep going.
She feels a sense of duty to succeed as chair, but there is another underlying motivation: being a parent to a young son and daughter.
By far, her proudest moment this year was when her son came back from school, giddy because his teacher Googled Dr. Messaoudi during class. When the search brought forth the news pieces, the videos, and articles about UK’s research, he proudly told everyone, “that’s my mom.”
Having trained in a male-dominated research industry, this moment was a dream for Dr. Messaoudi. If she has it her way – and with her tenacity, she will – more future scientists will have opportunities to share in these proud moments.
She hopes that each day, her hard work and vibrant energy can serve as a catalyst for all who have a dream – and that includes her two young children.
“I want my daughter to know that she can do whatever she wants,” she says. “And I want my son to know that he can too, but also that women can kick ass.”
As of September 2024, Dr. Messaoudi was announced as the University of Kentucky’s acting vice president for research.
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