The PhD Defense of the Doctoral Student (Siham Abdul Sahib Mohsen)

**On Sunday, June 9, 2024, the PhD defense of the doctoral student (Siham Abdul Sahib Mohsen) was held at 9:00 AM in the discussion hall of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry/Clinical Biochemistry for her dissertation titled:**

**"Study The Relationship Between Oxidative Stress, MC1R Gene Polymorphism, and Tyrosinase Level in Female with Melasma in Baghdad City"**

**Purpose of the study:**

To estimate the levels of tyrosinase, 8-OHdG, and glutathione in the serum in relation to melasma severity as biomarkers for diagnosis and treatment. To determine the relationship between MC1R gene polymorphism, tyrosinase, 8-OHdG, and glutathione in melasma. Additionally, to investigate the correlation between increased tyrosinase, elevated 8-OHdG levels, decreased glutathione, and SNPs rs1805006 and rs772551710 in MC1R gene polymorphism. Moreover, the study aims to explore a new rapid diagnostic method for melasma based on the biomarkers and SNPs measured using Tetra-primer ARMS-PCR protocol.

**Results:**

This research found a significant increase in tyrosinase concentration along with decreased antioxidant levels in women with melasma. The mean and standard deviation in serum for tyrosinase, 8-OHdG, and glutathione among melasma patients and the control group were evaluated using an independent t-test. The mean and standard deviation according to the severity of melasma were ±SD (7.36±0.19) U/ml, (3.80±0.22) ng/ml, and (18.15±0.81) ng/ml, respectively, with a p-value