biology

Samira Mubareka

Samira Mubareka is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Samira Mubareka rather than just read about it. In short: Samira Mubareka (born 1972) is a Canadian microbiologist who is a clinical scientist at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, Ontario. Her research considers the influenza virus, viral transmission and aerobiology.

Key takeaways

Samira Mubareka belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
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Reproduce the core statement of Samira Mubareka from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Samira Mubareka (born 1972) is a Canadian microbiologist who is a clinical scientist at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, Ontario. Her research considers the influenza virus, viral transmission and aerobiology. During the COVID-19 pandemic Mubareka isolated the genome of Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in an effort to improve detection and diagnostics. She served as a member of the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table.

Early life and education Mubareka was born to Kathy Elizabeth Cannon and Aboud Mubareka in Göttingen, Germany. Her father was born in Iraq and attended the University of Baghdad and University of Göttingen. Her mother attended the University of Mainz. She and her family immigrated to northwestern New Brunswick when she was two. Mubareka herself was an undergraduate student at the University of New Brunswick. She eventually studied medicine at Dalhousie University, which she graduated in 1999. She specialised in internal medicine at McGill University, before moving to the University of Manitoba to train in infectious diseases. After completing her registrar training, Mubareka moved to Mount Sinai Hospital where she worked in the laboratory of Peter Palese.

Research and career Mubareka is a Clinical Scientist at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto and on the faculty at the University of Toronto. She works as lead of infectious diseases at the Centre for Research Expertise in Occupational Diseases, and chair of the Royal Society of Canada's Working Group on One Health. Her research considers the development of mammalian model to describe the transmission of respiratory disease and the influenza virus. She is interested in the co-pathogenesis of Staphylococcus aureus and its role in influenza virus transmission. She looks to apply her understanding of viral transmission to the development of protective strategies. By analysing data from a five-year period in Toronto, Mubareka identified that the virus struggles to survive in more humid environments. Several of Mubareka's publications on viral transmission were edited by American virologist Ralph S. Baric of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

COVID-19 In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mubareka worked with Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre to better inform the public about the disease. She created a series of videos that described the biology and symptoms of COVID-19. In mid February 2020 Mubareka was awarded a research grant from the McLaughlin Centre to identify the genome sequence of SARS-CoV-2. Genomic data can help to better diagnose COVID-19, including how much of the virus is shed by people who are infected. Mubareka established the Toronto 2019-nCoV Working Group with Allison McGeer and Robert Kozak. On March 10, 2020, Mubareka participated in the convening of the Chief Science Advisor of Canada's COVID-19 Expert Panel. By mid March 2020, Mubareka and colleagues had successfully isolated SARS-CoV-2, providing researchers access to the genetic sequence for the development of new therapies and vaccines. The virus was isolated from patients at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, the first hospital in Canada to treat COVID-19 patients. She succeeded in isolating the virus by getting it to reproduce in genetically engineered animal cells, then using whole genome sequencing to deduce the genome. The isolated virus can be used to ensure tests work effectively, as well as being used to analyse the suitability of antiviral drugs. Mubareka helped the World Health Organization to write guidelines on the clinical management of severe acute respiratory infection with an expectant diagnosis of COVID-19. The guidelines include close monitoring, the provision of oxygen therapy and the determination of chronic therapies and co-infections. She served as a founding member of the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table upon its creation in July 2020 until its dissolution in September 2022.

Selected publications Lowen, Anice C.; Mubareka, Samira; Steel, John; Palese, Peter (2007). "Influenza Virus Transmission Is Dependent on Relative Humidity and Temperature". PLOS Pathogens. 3 (10): 1470–6. doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.0030151. ISSN 1553-7366. PMC 2034399. PMID 17953482. Steel, John; Lowen, Anice C.; Mubareka, Samira; Palese, Peter (2009-01-02). Baric, Ralph S. (ed.). "Transmission of Influenza Virus in a Mammalian Host Is Increased by PB2 Amino Acids 627K or 627E/701N". PLOS Pathogens. 5 (1) e1000252. doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1000252. ISSN 1553-7374. PMC 2603332. PMID 19119420. Lowen, A. C.; Mubareka, S.; Tumpey, T. M.; Garcia-Sastre, A.; Palese, P. (2006-06-27). "The guinea pig as a transmission model for human influenza viruses". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 103 (26): 9988–9992. Bibcode:2006PNAS..103.9988L. doi:10.1073/pnas.0604157103. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 1502566. PMID 16785447.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Samira Mubareka

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Samira Mubareka claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Samira Mubareka before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Samira Mubareka ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Samira Mubareka

In research: Samira Mubareka appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Samira Mubareka in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Samira Mubareka is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1972 births, COVID-19 researchers, Canadian microbiologists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Samira Mubareka outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Samira Mubareka in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Samira Mubareka means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Samira Mubareka out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Samira Mubareka in simple terms?

Why does Samira Mubareka matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Samira Mubareka?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Samira Mubareka.