Dr. Amir Ali Abbasi

Designation:  Professor 

National Centre for BioInformatics, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad

Email address: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Office Phone: +92-051 9064-4109 

Current Position: Visiting Scientist, PIFI Fellow, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), at the Beijing Institute of Genomics and China National Center for Bioinformation (https://www.cncb.ac.cn/?lang=en)

PhD: Philipps University Marburg, Germany
M.Phil: Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad
M.Sc: Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad (President and Chancellor Gold-Medalist) 

Other Links:

Database PAHG: https://www.pahgncb.com   : http://pahg.qau.edu.pk/
Database Commons: https://ngdc.cncb.ac.cn/databasecommons/
Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Amir_Abbasi3
BHBD Alliance: http://bhbd-alliance.org/

Professor of Bioinformatics (Comparative Genomics)

Education

I completed my Secondary (SSC) and Higher Secondary School Certificates (HSSC) in the Science group from The Federal Board of Intermediate & Secondary Education (FBISE),Islamabad. I pursued my Bachelor’s education in Biological Sciences at IMCB H-9, Islamabad, with the degree awarded by Punjab University, Pakistan. I obtained Masters degrees (M.Sc and M.Phil: 1999-2003) in Biochemistry/Molecular Biology from the Department of Biological Sciences at Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan. During my academic tenure, I earned recognitions for academic excellence (M.Sc 1999-2001; President and Chancellor Gold Medals), securing the first position across the faculty of Biology and the entire Faculty of Natural Sciences. My M.Phil thesis research, supervised by Prof. Dr. Wasim Ahmad (2001-2003), titled “Linkage Studies of Hearing Impairment Loci in Pakistani Kindreds,” led to my first scientific publication: Dissertation link.

Professional Journey

After completing my academic milestones, I commenced my teaching career at Hazara University, Pakistan (2003-2004). Subsequently, I secured a scholarship funded by HEC Pakistan and DAAD Germany, which facilitated my Ph.D. studies at the Center for Human Genetics, Philipps-Universität Marburg, under the supervision of Prof. Karl-Heinz Grzeschik (2005-2008). My doctoral research focused on exploring the non-coding cis-regulatory architecture of the human/mammalian Gli3 gene using comparative genomics, transgenic zebrafish/mice models, and in vitro assays in human cell lines. Dissertation link

Upon completing my Ph.D., I joined Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad as an Assistant Professor in 2008 at the National Center for Bioinformatics. Over the years, I progressed to the positions of Associate Professor (2015) and Full Professor (2021), leading a dynamic research group focused on functional genomics, molecular phylogenetics, evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo), and evolutionary genomic medicine. Noteworthy is the establishment of Pakistan’s first Zebrafish facility, aimed at functional genomic assays on human non-coding cis regulatory elements. This facility also serves as a training hub for M.Phil and Ph.D. level scholars in various zebrafish husbandry and breeding techniques. Additionally, the facility is equipped with basic instrumentation relevant to generating transgenic zebrafish embryos and monitoring the reporter gene expression (GFP) under the cis-regulation of human developmental enhancers. My research endeavors have yielded numerous publications in prestigious international journals (the majority as corresponding author) and have successfully supervised both Ph.D. and M.Phil. students. Furthermore, I have secured multiple National and International research grants and established collaborations with various esteemed research groups such as Prof. Axel Visel from DOE Joint Genome Institute; Prof. Neil H. Shubin from the University of Chicago; Prof. Yasuhiko Kawakami from the University of Minnesota, Prof. Yiming Bao from the Beijing Institute of Genomics, and Dr. Muhammad Ali Nawaz from Qatar University.