Resume

Positions, Scientific Appointments

• 2023 - Associate Scientist, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b)
• 2022 - Graduate Teaching Assistant, Cornell University, Division of Nutritional Sciences, Ithaca, NY
• 2021 - 2022 Assistant Scientist, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b)
• 2019 - 2020 Research Investigator, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b)
• 2018 - 2019 Study Physician, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b)
• 2016 - 2018 Research Fellow, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b)

Honors

• 2020 Young Scientist Award, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, BD
• 2018 Dr. Asma Islam Memorial Award, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, BD
• 2018 Summa-Cum-Laude, American International University-Bangladesh, Dhaka, BD

Scientific Contributions

1. Nutrition, immune function, infection, and inflammation in the context of Maternal and Child Health: My work in this area is focused on the biological interplay between nutrition, infection, and inflammation, particularly in children and women of reproductive age. My recent works are focused on elucidating the pathogenesis of environmental enteric dysfunction (EED) and determining the consequences of this sub-clinical disorder during the early years of life. I am also involved in projects with the goal of assessing non-invasive biomarkers of micronutrient status, inflammation, and EED in low-income settings.

• Fahim SM, Alam M, Alam J, Gazi M, Mahfuz M, Ahmed T. Inadequate Vitamin C Intake and Intestinal Inflammation Are Associated with Multiple Micronutrient Deficiency in Young Children: Results from a Multi-Country Birth Cohort Study. Nutrients. 2022 March 28; 14(7):1408-. Available from: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/7/1408 DOI: 10.3390/nu14071408

• Fahim SM, Das S, Gazi M, Alam M, Hasan M, Hossain M, Mahfuz M, Rahman M, Haque R, Sarker S, Mazumder R, Ahmed T. Helicobacter pylori infection is associated with fecal biomarkers of environmental enteric dysfunction but not with the nutritional status of children living in Bangladesh. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. 2020; 14(4):e0008243-. Available from: https://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0008243 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008243

• Fahim SM, Das S, Gazi M, Alam M, Mahfuz M, Ahmed T. Evidence of gut enteropathy and factors associated with undernutrition among slum-dwelling adults in Bangladesh. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2020 March; 111(3):657-666. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/111/3/657/5698012 DOI: 10.1093/ajcn/nqz327

• Fahim SM, Das S, Gazi MA, Mahfuz M, Ahmed T. Association of intestinal pathogens with faecal markers of environmental enteric dysfunction among slum-dwelling children in the first 2 years of life in Bangladesh. Trop Med Int Health. 2018 Nov;23(11):1242-1250. PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6282798.

2. Nutritional Status, the Gut Microbiome, and Diet-based Approaches to Improve Gut Microbial Dysbiosis: My prior and present works are focused on elucidating the role of nutrition-infection interactions on gut microbial dysbiosis. I am also involved in projects aimed at identifying if and to what extent diet can be used to modify the gut microbiome to optimize population health.

• Mostafa I, Fahim SM, Das S, Gazi M, Hasan M, Saqeeb K, Mahfuz M, Lynn H, Barratt M, Gordon J, Ahmed T. Developing shelf-stable Microbiota Directed Complementary Food (MDCF) prototypes for malnourished children: study protocol for a randomized, single-blinded, clinical study. BMC Pediatrics. 2022 July 01; 22(1):-. Available from: https://bmcpediatr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12887-022-03436-6 DOI: 10.1186/s12887-022-03436-6

• Chen R, Kung V, Das S, Hossain MS, Hibberd M, Guruge J, Mahfuz M, Begum S, Rahman MM, Fahim SM, Gazi M, Haque R, Sarker S, Mazumder R, Di Luccia B, Ahsan K, Kennedy E, Santiago-Borges J, Rodionov D, Leyn S, Osterman A, Barratt M, Ahmed T, Gordon J. Duodenal Microbiota in Stunted Undernourished Children with Enteropathy. New England Journal of Medicine. 2020 July 23; 383(4):321-333. Available from: http://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa1916004 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1916004

3. Biomarkers for Nutrition, Infection, and Inflammation Assessment: I am working with Dr. Saurabh Mehta to assess the diagnostic performance and feasibility of using salivary biomarkers to measure nutritional status. This work will enable early screening and detection of nutritional impairments and associated inflammatory changes in community settings in the US and abroad.

• Fahim SM, Gazi MA, Alam MA, Hasan MM, Das S, Mahfuz M, Ahmed T. Association between Circulating Retinol Binding Protein 4, Body Mass Index, and Biomarkers of Environmental Enteric Dysfunction among Slum-Dwelling Lean Adults in Bangladesh. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2022 Dec 14;107(6):1315-1322. PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9768260.

• Hasan MM, Fahim SM, Das S, Gazi MA, Mahfuz M, Ahmed T. Association of plasma low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein-1 (LRP1) with undernutrition: a case-control study in Bangladeshi adults. Biomarkers. 2021 Nov;26(7):625-631. PubMed PMID: 34433325.