Curriculum Vitae

Dr. Muhammad Ajmal, (PhD)

CONTACT DETAILS

Home: House No. 3, Ch. Muhammad Hanif Street No. 1, Opposite Arif Enterprises, Nai Abadi Dhoke Gujran, Near Iqbal Masjid Chakra Road, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Office: Department of Biosciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Park Road, Tarlai Kalan, Islamabad 45550, Pakistan

Tel: +92 51 9049 6107 | Cell: +92 300 5347366

Email: ; ;

CURRENT POSITION

Assistant Professor: Department of Biosciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan (January 2016-Present).

EXPERIENCE

Senior Scientific Officer: Department of Biosciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan (June 2013-January 2016).

Post Doc: (March 2015 - July 2015)Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

Administrator PCR Laboratories: (2005-2013) Shifa College of Medicine, Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University, Sector H-8/4, Islamabad.

Technical Assistant: (February 2005 – December 2005) Shifa College of Medicine, Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University, Sector H-8/4, Islamabad.

ACADEMIC RECORD

Ph.D. (Molecular Genetics), 2013Netherlands

M.Phil. (Molecular Biology/Biochemistry), 2005Pakistan

M.Sc. (Biochemistry), 2001Pakistan

B.Ed. (Biology, chemistry), 1998Pakistan

B.Sc. (Botany, Zoology and Chemistry), 1995Pakistan

F.Sc. (Pre-Medical),1994Pakistan

Matric (Science), 1991Pakistan

TECHNICAL EXPERTISE

Next Generation Sequencing, PCR, Real-Time PCR, Sanger Sequencing, Homozygosity Mapping, Disease Gene Identification, Poly Acrylamide Gel Electrophoresis (PAGE), Agarose Gel Electrophoresis, RFLP, ARMS, DNA/RNA Extraction.

Molecular Diagnostics: Qualitative and quantitative PCR of HBV, HSV and CMV using real-time PCR (Rotor Gene). Qualitative and quantitative PCR of HCV using Roche Amplicor automated detection system and conventional PCR. HCV genotyping using Roche linear array detection kit. Detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in different body fluids like human blood, cerebrospinal fluid, sputum and urine etc. Detection of HLA-B27 allele in humans.

Bioinformatic Tools: Easylinkage, VectorNTI, BioEdit, IGV, Alamut, Homozygosity Mapper, Mutation Taster, Mutalyzer, Primer3, NEB Cutter, NetGene2, UCSC genome browser, Ensembl genome browser, Galaxy project etc.

Computer Application: MS Office, Corel Draw, End Note, Reference Manager, Adobe photoshop, Basic knowledge of Linux/Unix commands (Ubuntu 14.04 LTS), R-Packages.

ADMINISTRATIVE SKILLS

Problem solving related to the diagnostics and research, handling of critical issues, communication, staff management, organization, job prioritization, information handling etc.

HONOR AND AWARDS

Guest Researcher/PhD Student at Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands (2010-2012)

International Research Support Initiative Programme (IRSIP) – HEC Scholarship (2010)

PhD Fellowship at COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (2007-2010)

CONFERENCES AND COURSES ATTENDED

Real Time PCR Workshop: 12-08-2005 at Shifa College of Medicine, Islamabad, Pakistan conducted by BioFlux Corporation, Tokyo, Japan.

BICMAPE Conference: Held from 28-07-2009 to 29-07-2009 at CIIT, Abbottabad, Pakistan.

Eye Genetics Course: Held from 28-09-2011 to 01-10-2011 at Bologna, Italy.

NGS Course: Genomic resequencing: Held from 04-04-2012 to 05-04-2012 at Nijmegen, Netherlands.

Dutch Ophthalmology PhD Students (DOPS) conference: Held from 13-04-2012 to 14-04-2012 at Nijmegen, Netherlands.

M.SC, M.PHIL AND PH.D RESEARCH PROJECTS

PhD thesis: “Genetic Basis of Inherited Eye Diseases”. Online link to access PhD thesis: (

M. Phil thesis: “Genetic Mapping of The Candidates of Hereditary Deafness Genes”.

M.Sc. Research report “Correlation of Serum Cholesterol and Sugar with Age and Gender”.

RESEARCH GRANTS

Grants awarded

1. “Molecular Genetic Basis of Retinitis Pigmentosa in Pakistan.” From CIIT Islamabad. Total amount 176000 PKR. (Principal Investigator)

2. “Registration of inherited retinal disease-associated DNA sequence variants in Leiden Open Variation Databases (LOVDs).” From RUMC Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Total amount 4900 EUR and 1500 USD. (Co-Principal Investigator)

3. “Identification of Common Genetic Factors in Age Related Multifactorial Diseases.” From Higher Education Commission of Pakistan, National Research Program for Universities (NRPU2014) Total amount 2.0 Million PKR. (Co-Principal Investigator)

Grants not funded

1. “Molecular Basis of Retinitis Pigmentosa in Pakistan.” Submitted in Higher Education Commission of Pakistan, National Research Program for Universities (NRPU2014). Total amount 14.8005 Million PKR. (Principal Investigator)

2. “Exploring the Molecular Mechanisms of Bardet-Biedl Syndrome in Pakistan” Submitted in Higher Education Commission of Pakistan, National Research Program for Universities (NRPU2016). Total amount 7.6 Million PKR. (Principal Investigator)

3. “Arginase-1 and the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus: A CANDIDATE GENE APPROACH” Submitted in Higher Education Commission of Pakistan, National Research Program for Universities (NRPU2016). Total amount 7.6 Million PKR. (Co-Principal Investigator)

COURSES TAUGHT (at BS level)

  1. Cellular Biology (BSC204)Spring 2016
  2. Introductory Molecular Biology (BIO240)Fall 2016
  3. Introductory Molecular Biology (BIO240)Spring 2017
  4. Fundamentals of Genetics (BIO231)Fall 2017

MS/PhD Thesis Supervision

  1. 2013-2015 – Asad Ullah Saeed – MS thesis “Screening of Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) Associated Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) in Pakistani Population”. (Completed)
  2. 2016-2018 – Merlyn Sabina Raja – MS thesis “Role of TENM4 SNP rs12576775 in Bipolar Disorder in the Pakistani Population”. (In progress)
  3. 2016-2018 – Fatima tu Zahra – MS thesis “Genetics of Bipolar Disorder in Pakistan”. (In progress)
  4. 2017-2019 – Maryam Riaz – MS thesis (currently doing her course work)
  5. 2014-present: Aisha Hashmi, Member of supervisory committee of PhD thesis “Molecular characterization of Psychiatric Disorders”. (In progress)

Posters

  1. M. Azam, M. I. Khan, M. Ajmal, Rob W.J. Collin, Anneke I. denHollander, Frans P.M. Cremers, Raheel Qamar. Molecular Basis of Retinal Dystrophies in Pakistan. International Conference Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. ISRA University, Islamabad 2015.
  2. M.I. Khan, M. Ajmal, K. Neveling, S. Micheal, M. Azam, A.I. den Hollander, R.W.J. Collin, R. Qamar, F.P.M. Cremers. Hypomorphic variants in the splice factor genes DHX38 and SNRNP200 are associated with autosomal recessive retinitis pigmentosa. ESHG 2014.
  3. M. Khan, M. Azam, M. Ajmal, R. Collin, R. Qamar, A. Den Hollander, F. Cremers. Overview of genetic causes and identification of novel loci for retinal dystrophies in Pakistan. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science 54 (15), 1307-1307. 2013.
  4. F. Cremers, J. den Dunnen, M. Ajmal, A. Hussain, M. I. Khan, M. Preising, S. Daiger, R. Qamar. Towards Comprehensive Registration of DNA Sequence Variants Associated with Inherited Retinal Diseases in Leiden Open Variation Databases. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science 54 (15), 3379-3379. 2013.
  5. M. Ajmal, W. Ahmed, A. Sadeque, S. H. B. Ali, S. H. Bokhari, N. Ahmed, R. Qamar. Identification of a recurrent insertion mutation in the LDLRgene in a Pakistani family with autosomal dominant hypercholesterolemia. BICMAPE Conference:Held from 28-07-2009 to 29-07-2009 at CIIT, Abbottabad, Pakistan. 2009.

PUBLICATIONS(Total Impact Factor: 69.076):

  1. Ali L, Goraya MU, Arafat Y, Ajmal M, Chen JL, Yu D. Molecular Mechanism of Quorum-Sensing in Enterococcus faecalis: Its Role in Virulence and Therapeutic Approaches. Int J Mol Sci 2017;18(5):960. Impact factor: 3.257
  2. Cornelis SS, Bax NM, Zernant J, Allikmets R, Fritsche LG, den Dunnen JT, Ajmal M, Hoyng CB, Cremers FP. In silico Functional Meta-Analysis of 5,962 ABCA4 Variants in 3,928 Retinal Dystrophy Cases. Hum Mutat2017; 38(4):400-408. Impact factor: 5.340
  3. Ali L, Wang YQ, Zhang J,Ajmal M, Xiao Z, Wu J, Chen JL, Yu D. Nutrient-induced antibiotic resistance in Enterococcus faecalis in the eutrophic environment. J Glob Antimicrob Resist 2016; 7:78-83. Impact factor: 1.086
  4. Maria M, Lamers IJ, Schmidts M,Ajmal M, Jaffar S, Ullah E, Mustafa B, Ahmad S, Nazmutdinova K, Hoskins B, van Wijk E, Koster-Kamphuis L, Khan MI, Beales PL, Cremers FP, Roepman R, Azam M, Arts HH, Qamar R. Genetic and clinical characterization of Pakistani families with Bardet-Biedl syndrome extends the genetic and phenotypic spectrum. Sci Rep 2016; 6:34764. Impact factor: 5.578
  5. Astuti GDN, Bertelsen M, Preising MN, Ajmal M, Lorenz B, Faradz SMH, Qamar R, Collin RWJ, Rosenberg T, Cremers FPM. Mutation hotspot and gene-specific sequencing reveals RPE65 as the most frequently mutated gene in Leber congenital amaurosis in Denmark. Eur J Hum Genet 2016; 24(7):1071-1079. Impact factor: 4.394
  6. Maria M*, Ajmal M*, Azam M*, Waheed NK, Siddiqui SN, Mustafa B, Ayub H, Ali L, Ahmad S, Micheal S, Hussain A, Shah STA, Ali SHB, Ahmed W, Khan YM, den Hollander AI, Haer-Wigman L, Collin RWJ, Khan MI, Qamar R, Cremers FPM. Homozygosity mapping and targeted Sanger sequencing reveal genetic defects underlying inherited retinal disease in families from Pakistan. Plos One2015; 16;10(3):e0119806. *Shared first author. Impact factor: 3.234
  7. Shafique S, Siddiqi S, Schraders M, Oostrik J, Ayub H, Bilal A, Ajmal M, Seco CZ, Strom TM, Mansoor A, Mazhar M, Shah STA, Hussain A, Azam M, Kremer H, Qamar R. Genetic Spectrum of Autosomal Recessive Non-Syndromic Hearing Loss in Pakistani Families. PlosOne 2014; 20:9(6):e100146. Impact factor: 3.234
  8. Ajmal M, Khan MI, Neveling K, Khan YM, Azam M, Waheed NK, Hamel C, Ben-Yosef T, De Baere E, Koenekoop RK, Collin RWJ, Qamar R, Cremers FPM. A missense mutation in the splicing factor gene DHX38 is associated with early-onset retinitis pigmentosa with macular coloboma. J Med Genet 2014; 51:444-448. Impact factor: 6.335
  9. Khan MI, Azam M, Ajmal M, Collin RWJ, den Hollander AI, Cremers FPM, Qamar R. The molecular basis of retinal dystrophies in Pakistan. Genes2014; 176-195. Impact factor: 1.151
  10. Cremers FPM, den Dunnen JT, Ajmal M, Hussain A, Preising MN, Daiger SP, Qamar R. Comprehensive Registration of DNA Sequence Variants Associated with Inherited Retinal Diseases in Leiden Open Variation Databases. Hum Mutat. 2014; 35:147-148. Impact factor: 5.340
  11. Ajmal M, Khan MI, Neveling K, Tayyab A, Jaffar S, Sadeque A, Ayub H, Abbasi NM, Riaz M, Micheal S, Gilissen C, Ali SHB, Azam M, Collin RWJ, Cremers FPM, Qamar R. Exome sequencing identifies a novel and a recurrent BBS1 mutation in Pakistani families with Bardet-Biedl syndrome. Mol Vis2013; 19:644-653. Impact factor: 2.245
  12. Ahmad W, Whittal RA, Riaz M, Putt W, Ajmal M, Sadeque A, Ayub H, Qamar R, Humphries SE. The genetic spectrum of familial hypercholesterolemia in Pakistan. Clinica Chimica Acta2013; 421:219-225. Impact factor: 2.764
  13. Khan MI, Ajmal M, Micheal S, Azam M, Hussain A, Shehzad A, Venselaar H, Bokhari H, de Wijs IJ, Hoefsloot LH, Gill M, Waheed NK, Collin RWJ, den Hollander AI, Qamar R, Cremers FPM. Homozygosity mapping identifies genetic defects in four consanguineous families with retinal dystrophy from Pakistan. Clin Genet2013; 84:290-293. Impact factor: 3.652
  14. Ajmal M, Khan MI, Neveling K, Khan YM, Ali SHB, Ahmed W, Iqbal MS, den Hollander AI, Collin RWJ, Qamar R, Cremers FPM. Novel mutations in RDH5 cause fundus albipunctatus in two consanguineous Pakistani families. Mol Vis2012; 18:1558-1571. Impact factor: 1.987
  15. Ajmal M*, Khan MI*, Micheal S, Ahmed W, Shah A, Venselaar H, Bokhari H, Azam A, Waheed NK, Collin RWJ, den Hollander AI, Qamar R, Cremers FPM. Identification of recurrent and novel mutations in TULP1 in Pakistani families with early onset retinitis pigmentosa. Mol Vis2012; 18:1226-1237. *Shared first author. Impact factor: 1.987
  16. Ahmed W, Ajmal M, Sadeque A, Whittall RA, Rafiq S, Putt W, Khawaja A, Imtiaz F, Ahmed N, Azam M, Humphries SE, Qamar R. Novel and recurrent LDLR gene mutations in Pakistani hypercholesterolemia patients. MolBiol Rep 2012; 39:7365-7372. Impact factor: 2.506
  17. Satti R, Mustafa F, Khan MI, Haq TS, Khan ZU, Zubair M, Rasool STU, Azam M, Ajmal M, Qamar R. Prevalence of Hepatitis C Virus in Urban Ghettos of Twin Cities. Pak J Zool2012; 44:937-943. Impact factor: 0.309
  18. Ajmal M, Ahmed W, Akhtar N, Sadeque A, Khalid A, Ali SHB, Ahmed N, Azam M, Qamar R. First report of a nonsense triple nucleotide polymorphism (TNP) in the low density lipoprotein receptor gene in familial hypercholesterolemia. Genet Test Mol Biomarkers2011; 15:601-606. Impact factor: 1.110
  19. Azam M, Collin RWJ, Malik A, Khan MI, Sadeque A, Shah STA, Shah AA, Hussain A, Ajmal M, Arimadyo K, Cremers FPM, Qamar R, den Hollander AI. Identification of novel mutations in Pakistani families with autosomal recessive retinitis pigmentosa.ArchivOpthalmol2011; 129:1377-1378. Impact factor: 3.711
  1. Ahmed W, Malik M, Khan AA, Saeed I, Sadeque A, Kaleem U, Ajmal M, Azam M, Qamar R. Role of tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) and plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1) polymorphism in Myocardial Infarction. MolBiol Rep2011; 38:2541-2548. Impact factor: 2.929
  2. Ajmal M, Ahmed W, Sadeque A, Ali SHB, Bokhari SH, Ahmed N, Qamar R. Identification of a recurrent insertion mutation in the LDLR gene in a Pakistani family with autosomal dominant hypercholesterolemia. MolBiol Rep2010; 37:3869-3875. Impact factor: 1.875
  3. Ayub H, Khan MI, Micheal S, Akhtar F, Ajmal M, Shafique S, Ali SHB, den Hollander AI, Ahmed A, Qamar R. Association of eNOS and HSP70gene polymorphisms with glaucoma in Pakistani cohorts. Mol Vis2010; 16:18-25. Impact factor: 2.511
  4. Azam M, Collin RWJ, Khan MI, Shah STA, Qureshi N, Ajmal M, den Hollander AI, Qamar R, Cremers FPM. A novel mutation in GRK1 causes Oguchi disease in a consanguineous Pakistani family. Mol Vis 2009; 15:1788-1793. Impact factor: 2.541