Niyaz Ahmed
Encyclopedia
Niyaz Ahmed is an Indian professor of microbial sciences, a veterinarian
by training, science blog
ger, and an Open Access advocate based in Hyderabad, India
.
in 1995 (Nagpur) and obtained further degrees in Animal Biotechnology (MS) (NDRI, Karnal) and Molecular Medicine (PhD) (Manipal University). He joined CDFD in Hyderabad as a tenured faculty member (Staff Scientist) in 1998. In December 2008 he moved to the University of Hyderabad
as Associate Professor
of Biotechnology
and since then has been involved in graduate teaching and research supervision at the School of Life Sciences. Ahmed is also affiliated with the University of Malaya
, Kuala Lumpur
, Malaysia as an Adjunct Professor of Molecular Biosciences at the Institute of Biological Sciences. He also serves as Professor of Chemical Biology (Adjunct) at the Institute of Life Sciences Hyderabad, India.
, published by the Public Library of Science
(PLoS), USA. Currently, he is also providing editorial oversight to the "PLoS ONE Prokaryotic Genome Collection". Ahmed also serves as a member of the PLoS International Advisory Group. More recently, he became one of the Editors-in-Chief of Gut Pathogens, published by BioMed Central
Ltd. (London).
Ahmed is a member of the International Society for Genomic and Evolutionary Microbiology (Italy) and currently serves as its General Secretary. He is also a member of the Faculty of 1000
Biology and has been elected to the Indian National Academy of Sciences
. Ahmed served as an expert evaluator/panelist for the research proposals submitted to European Commission's Seventh Framework Program and the Skolkovo Foundation of the Russian Federation.
, 3) Biosafety and Intellectual Property and 4) Research Ethics and Management for Master's and Doctoral students, at the School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad. His current research interests include genomics, evolution and molecular pathogenesis of the two co-evolved human pathogens, namely, Mycobacterium tuberculosis
and Helicobacter pylori
, in the context of evolution of adaptation mechanisms, and acquisition and optimization of virulence during colonization/infection. Ahmed also has interest in comparative genomics of bacterial pathogens obtained from single patients at different occasions and this approach nurtures his concept of 'chronological evolution and replicative genomics' as tools to study host-microbe interaction over time. Ahmed's group has developed a widely used multilocus sequence typing
scheme for species level identification of pathogenic Leptospira
with a potential to replace the highly ambiguous serotyping method that currently is used for Leptospiral strain identification.
Ahmed is also a Speaker of the International Graduate College - Functional molecular infection epidemiology
- GRK1673, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), and heads the India arm of the GRK 1673.
Veterinarian
A veterinary physician, colloquially called a vet, shortened from veterinarian or veterinary surgeon , is a professional who treats disease, disorder and injury in animals....
by training, science blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
ger, and an Open Access advocate based in Hyderabad, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Training and career
Ahmed graduated in Veterinary MedicineVeterinary medicine
Veterinary Medicine is the branch of science that deals with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease, disorder and injury in non-human animals...
in 1995 (Nagpur) and obtained further degrees in Animal Biotechnology (MS) (NDRI, Karnal) and Molecular Medicine (PhD) (Manipal University). He joined CDFD in Hyderabad as a tenured faculty member (Staff Scientist) in 1998. In December 2008 he moved to the University of Hyderabad
University of Hyderabad
The University of Hyderabad is a post-graduate teaching and research institute in India. It was established by an act of the Parliament in 1974 as a Central University. The university also offers courses under distance learning programs...
as Associate Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of Biotechnology
Biotechnology
Biotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
and since then has been involved in graduate teaching and research supervision at the School of Life Sciences. Ahmed is also affiliated with the University of Malaya
University of Malaya
The University of Malaya is located on a campus near the centre of Kuala Lumpur, and is the oldest university in Malaysia. It was founded in 1905 as a public-funded tertiary institution...
, Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
, Malaysia as an Adjunct Professor of Molecular Biosciences at the Institute of Biological Sciences. He also serves as Professor of Chemical Biology (Adjunct) at the Institute of Life Sciences Hyderabad, India.
Professional contributions
Ahmed serves as Section Editor (Genomics and Microbiology) of PLoS ONEPLoS ONE
PLoS ONE is an open access peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the Public Library of Science since 2006. It covers primary research from any discipline within science and medicine. All submissions go through an internal and external pre-publication peer review but are not excluded on the...
, published by the Public Library of Science
Public Library of Science
The Public Library of Science is a nonprofit open-access scientific publishing project aimed at creating a library of open access journals and other scientific literature under an open content license...
(PLoS), USA. Currently, he is also providing editorial oversight to the "PLoS ONE Prokaryotic Genome Collection". Ahmed also serves as a member of the PLoS International Advisory Group. More recently, he became one of the Editors-in-Chief of Gut Pathogens, published by BioMed Central
BioMed Central
BioMed Central is a UK-based, for-profit scientific publisher specialising in open access journal publication. BMC, and its sister companies Chemistry Central and PhysMath Central, publish over 200 scientific journals. Most BMC journals are now published only online. BMC describes itself as the...
Ltd. (London).
Ahmed is a member of the International Society for Genomic and Evolutionary Microbiology (Italy) and currently serves as its General Secretary. He is also a member of the Faculty of 1000
Faculty of 1000
Faculty of 1000 is a service for researchers and clinicians that provides ratings of and commentary on scientific research papers. The service acts as a filter, identifying and evaluating the most significant articles from biomedical research publications...
Biology and has been elected to the Indian National Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Sciences, India
The National Academy of Sciences, India is the oldest Science Academy in India. It is located in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh...
. Ahmed served as an expert evaluator/panelist for the research proposals submitted to European Commission's Seventh Framework Program and the Skolkovo Foundation of the Russian Federation.
Graduate teaching and research
Ahmed teaches courses in 1) Molecular Biology (laboratory), 2) GenomicsGenomics
Genomics is a discipline in genetics concerning the study of the genomes of organisms. The field includes intensive efforts to determine the entire DNA sequence of organisms and fine-scale genetic mapping efforts. The field also includes studies of intragenomic phenomena such as heterosis,...
, 3) Biosafety and Intellectual Property and 4) Research Ethics and Management for Master's and Doctoral students, at the School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad. His current research interests include genomics, evolution and molecular pathogenesis of the two co-evolved human pathogens, namely, Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a pathogenic bacterial species in the genus Mycobacterium and the causative agent of most cases of tuberculosis . First discovered in 1882 by Robert Koch, M...
and Helicobacter pylori
Helicobacter pylori
Helicobacter pylori , previously named Campylobacter pyloridis, is a Gram-negative, microaerophilic bacterium found in the stomach. It was identified in 1982 by Barry Marshall and Robin Warren, who found that it was present in patients with chronic gastritis and gastric ulcers, conditions that were...
, in the context of evolution of adaptation mechanisms, and acquisition and optimization of virulence during colonization/infection. Ahmed also has interest in comparative genomics of bacterial pathogens obtained from single patients at different occasions and this approach nurtures his concept of 'chronological evolution and replicative genomics' as tools to study host-microbe interaction over time. Ahmed's group has developed a widely used multilocus sequence typing
Multilocus sequence typing
Multilocus sequence typing is a technique in molecular biology for the typing of multiple loci. The procedure characterizes isolates of bacterial species using the DNA sequences of internal fragments of multiple housekeeping genes...
scheme for species level identification of pathogenic Leptospira
Leptospira
Leptospira is a genus of spirochaete bacteria, including a small number of pathogenic and saprophytic species...
with a potential to replace the highly ambiguous serotyping method that currently is used for Leptospiral strain identification.
Ahmed is also a Speaker of the International Graduate College - Functional molecular infection epidemiology
Functional molecular infection epidemiology
Functional Molecular Infection Epidemiology is an emerging area of medicine that entails the study of pathogen genes and genomes in the context of their functional association with the host niches and the complex interactions they trigger within the host immune system to culminate in varied...
- GRK1673, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), and heads the India arm of the GRK 1673.