Driven PhD candidate in Biotechnology at CABB, UAF, leveraging a diverse molecular biology toolkit for innovative research. My skillset encompasses LAMP, site-directed mutagenesis, molecular cloning, PCR (including qPCR and RT-PCR), CRISPR-based diagnostics, and in silico SNP analysis. Fueled by a passion for genome editing, I'm dedicated to advancing the field and its transformative applications. My Research project at Biophysics and Cell Biology Division, University of Debrecen was intricately linked to the realm of cancer research where I explored the role of disordered domains in ligand binding and dimerization of EGFR. This research was conducted to see the effect of site-specific mutagenesis on the dimerization of EGFR. This study helped us to better understand the importance of these amino acid residues of EGFR protein and disordered regions in ligand binding and dimerization and to locate an area for drug designing. Currently, I am working as a Research Associate at the National Center of Genome Editing at the Center of Advanced Studies, University of Agriculture Faisalabad. My research work is focused on developing and successfully applying a SHERLOCK-based diagnostic assay for infectious diseases of public health importance (COVID-19, TB, Typhoid) by using different variants of CRISPR-associated proteins.

Publications

(1). Zahra, A., Shahid, A., Shamim, A., Khan, S. H., & Arshad, M. I. (2023). The SHERLOCK Platform: An Insight into Advances in Viral Disease Diagnosis. Molecular Biotechnology, 65(5), 699-714.
(2). Ali, W. R., Zahra, A., Rasheed, H., Ahmad, A., Khan, S. H., Shamim, A., ... & Arshad, M. I. (2022, August). Detection of SARS-CoV-2 by RT-LAMP assay in human COVID-19 patients. In 2022 19th International Bhurban Conference on Applied Sciences and Technology (IBCAST) (pp. 381-385). IEEE.