Niyaz Ahmed

Niyaz Ahmed is a molecular epidemiologist, professor of microbial sciences, genomicist, and a veterinarian by training, based in Hyderabad.[1]

Niyaz Ahmed
Niyaz Ahmed
Born (1971-12-25) 25 December 1971
Paras, Maharashtra, India
NationalityIndian
Alma materManipal University (Ph.D)
AwardsShanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, National Bioscience Award, Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, Microsoft Azure for Research Award in public health
Scientific career
FieldsBacterial genomics
Molecular epidemiology
InstitutionsICDDRB (2016-2020) University of Hyderabad (2008 -) Universiti Malaya (2010 -) and Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (2013 - 2016)
WebsiteOfficial website Edit this at Wikidata

Biography

Ahmed was born in Paras of Maharashtra state in 1971 and completed his early schooling from Akola. He went on to graduate in Veterinary Medicine in 1995 (Nagpur) and obtained further degrees in Animal Biotechnology (NDRI, Karnal) and Biotechnology/Infectious Diseases (PhD) (Manipal University).[2] In December 2008, he joined the University of Hyderabad as a member of the Faculty and went on to serve as Chairman of the Department of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics.[2] He served as Senior Director at the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research in Dhaka.[2] Ahmed was affiliated with the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia as a Visiting Professor of Molecular Biosciences at the Institute of Biological Sciences and was an Adjunct Professor of the Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research, India.[3] Ahmed is currently working as Professor at the School of Life Sciences at the University of Hyderabad.[4] He served as Senior Director from November 2016 to March 2020 at the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research (icddr,b), also as a member of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) of the Centre.[5]

Legacy

Having fathered molecular epidemiology in India, Ahmed's work provided wheels to the emerging discipline of Functional molecular infection epidemiology. His research interests encompass genomics, evolution and molecular pathogenesis of enteric pathogens with major emphasis on virulence and antimicrobial resistance.[6] He also contributed important initial studies on 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.[7] Ahmed also has interest in comparative genomics of bacterial pathogens obtained from single patients at different occasions and this approach nurtures the concept of 'chronological evolution and replicative genomics'[8] 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.[9] Ahmed has also worked extensively on the nomenclature, taxonomic status, genome sequencing and functional characterization of Mycobacterium indicus pranii,[10] a non-pathogenic mycobacterial species with very high translational promise as an immunotherapeutic. Ahmed taught courses in Molecular and Cell Biology, Intellectual Property Rights and Biosafety, Research and Publication Ethics and Research Methodology.

Recognitions, awards and honors

Niyaz Ahmed served as Section Editor (Genomics and Microbiology) of PLoS ONE (from August 2008 to September 2013) wherein he provided editorial oversight to the "PLoS ONE Prokaryotic Genome Collection".[11] Ahmed also served as a member of the PLoS International Advisory Group and was the founding Editor-in-Chief of Gut Pathogens journal,[12] published by BioMed Central Ltd. (London). Ahmed was elected as fellow of the National Academy of Sciences[13] of India and was admitted as fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry in January 2015 [14] and a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology[15] in 2018.

Ahmed is serving as a member of the editorial boards of the following scientific journals:

  • Gut Pathogens - Editor in Chief[12]
  • Infection Genetics and Evolution - Receiving Editor[16]
  • Helicobacter - Editorial Board Member[17]

Ahmed has been awarded with the following notable awards:

References
  1. Home page of Dr Niyaz Ahmed
  2. "Ahmed". Ehmsg2019. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  3. https://www.niyazahmed.org%5B%5D
  4. School of Life Sciences
  5. Rajalakshmi, S (5 November 2016). "Niyaz Ahmed appointed Senior Director, ICDDR'B at Dhaka". The Hindu BusinessLine.
  6. Shaik, Sabiha; Suresh, Arya; Ahmed, Niyaz (20 December 2021). "Genome Dynamics and Evolution of Multiple-Drug–Resistant Bacteria: Implications for Global Infection Control Priorities". The Journal of Infectious Diseases. 224 (Supplement_7): S876–S882. doi:10.1093/infdis/jiab456. PMC 8687076. PMID 34550361.
  7. Ahmed, Niyaz; Dobrindt, Ulrich; Hacker, Jörg; Hasnain, Seyed E. (May 2008). "Genomic fluidity and pathogenic bacteria: applications in diagnostics, epidemiology and intervention". Nature Reviews Microbiology. 6 (5): 387–394. doi:10.1038/nrmicro1889. PMID 18392032. S2CID 9880135.
  8. Ahmed, Niyaz (2010). "Replicative genomics can help Helicobacter fraternity usher in good times". Gut Pathogens. 2 (1): 25. doi:10.1186/1757-4749-2-25. PMC 3017002. PMID 21182772.
  9. Ahmed, N.; Devi, S.; Valverde Mde, L.; Vijayachari, P.; Machang'u, R.; Ellis, W.; Hartskeerl, R. (2006). "Multilocus sequence typing method for identification and genotypic classification of pathogenic Leptospira species". Annals of Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobials. 5: 28. doi:10.1186/1476-0711-5-28. PMC 1664579. PMID 17121682.
  10. Saini, Vikram; Raghuvanshi, Saurabh; Talwar, Gursaran P.; Ahmed, Niyaz; Khurana, Jitendra P.; Hasnain, Seyed E.; Tyagi, Akhilesh K.; Tyagi, Anil K. (16 July 2009). "Polyphasic Taxonomic Analysis Establishes Mycobacterium indicus pranii as a Distinct Species". PLOS ONE. 4 (7): e6263. Bibcode:2009PLoSO...4.6263S. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0006263. PMC 2707620. PMID 19606228.
  11. "New collection on Prokaryotic Genomes". 9 June 2009. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  12. "Gut Pathogens". BioMed Central. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  13. "The National Academy of Sciences, India - Life Members". 5 October 2009. Retrieved 5 October 2009.
  14. "UoH Professor Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry |". Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  15. "96 Fellows Elected into the American Academy of Microbiology". asm.org. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020.
  16. "Niyaz Ahmed - Editorial Board - Infection, Genetics and Evolution - Journal - Elsevier".
  17. "Helicobacter". doi:10.1111/(ISSN)1523-5378. S2CID 232566449.
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