Rate My Professor Muhammad Shahzad Shabir

Dr. Muhammad Shahzad Shabir is an Adjunct Clinical Lecturer in the Curtin Medical School, Faculty of Health Sciences at Curtin University, Perth, Australia. He holds a clinical appointment as a Fellow Physician in pediatric gastroenterology, previously affiliated with the Gastroenterology Department at Perth Children's Hospital, where he conducts research on vaccination strategies for children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) receiving immunosuppressive therapies. His work addresses critical gaps in preventive care for vulnerable pediatric populations at risk of vaccine-preventable infections.

In November 2024, Shabir published a key study as first author in Cureus titled 'Suboptimal Vaccination Coverage and Serological Screening in Western Australian Children With Inflammatory Bowel Disease Receiving Immunosuppressive Therapy: An Opportunity for Improvement.' This audit at Perth Children's Hospital examined 243 children aged 0-18 years with IBD, of whom 52% had Crohn's disease and 43% ulcerative colitis; 74.5% were on immunomodulators and 26% on biologics. Routine childhood vaccination coverage was incomplete in 29.2% of patients, with specific deficiencies in human papillomavirus vaccine (24%), varicella (16%), and diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (6.5%). Additional vaccines showed influenza coverage at 80% but only 1.6% for 23-valent pneumococcal vaccine. Pre-treatment serological screening compliance was low, ranging from 13.2% for Epstein-Barr virus to 74.6% for varicella. Shabir contributed to the study's concept and design, data acquisition, analysis and interpretation, manuscript drafting, and critical review. He has also co-authored research on the impact of pneumococcal vaccination on disease activity in children and adolescents with IBD over a two-year prospective study period. These contributions underscore opportunities for targeted interventions to enhance vaccination and screening practices in immunosuppressed pediatric IBD patients.