Saame Raz Shaikh

Saame Raz Shaikh, PhD, is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Nutrition at the University of North Carolina’s Gillings School of Global Public Health. He holds concurrent roles as Co-Director of the UNC Nutrition Obesity Research Center (NORC) and leads the Shaikh Lab, focusing on lipid biochemistry, nutritional immunology, and metabolic health. His research explores how dietary fatty acids and their metabolites modulate immunological and metabolic outcomes in obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases, with a particular emphasis on mitochondrial function and clinical trials targeting inflammation reduction.

Education:

• Postdoctoral Fellowship in Immunology, Johns Hopkins University (2008)
• PhD in Medical Biophysics, Indiana University (2004)
• MS in Biology, Purdue University (2001)
• BS in Psychology/Biology, Purdue University (1998)

Research Interests: Dr. Shaikh investigates how dietary n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and their metabolites regulate immunity and metabolism in obesity-related complications. Key projects include:

• Role of specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs) in boosting B-cell immunity
• Impact of cardiolipin remodeling on mitochondrial dysfunction in diabetes
• Clinical trials assessing palmitoleic acid’s anti-inflammatory effects
• Environmental exposure effects on pulmonary lipid metabolism

Awards:

• ISSFAL Early Career Award (2012)
• ASN Mary Swartz Rose Young Investigator Award (2018)
• Member of ISSFAL and ASN Boards of Directors (2021–present)

Advising & Grants: Dr. Shaikh oversees NORC’s Pilot & Feasibility Program and Animal Metabolism Phenotyping Core. His lab has secured funding from NIH and collaborates on translational initiatives like the BRIDGES consortium to diversify the biomedical workforce.

Labs & Teams: The Shaikh Lab integrates mouse models, human clinical trials, and computational approaches. The NORC fosters interdisciplinary collaborations across UNC’s campuses in Chapel Hill and Kannapolis.