Dr. Ambreen Alamdar

Post-doctorate in Environmental Health (2023)

Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public Health, USA

Focus: Environmental toxicants, epigenetics, and nuclear architecture’s impact on gene expression.

D. Environmental Health & Toxicology (2017)

Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China

Dissertation: “Study on the Mechanisms of Arsenic-Induced Male Reproductive Toxicity”

Phil. in Environmental Biology (2013)

Quaid-i-Azam University, Pakistan

Master’s Degree in Biosciences (2009)

Assistant Professor (2023-Present)

Department of Environmental Health Sciences & Management

Health Services Academy (HSA), Islamabad

Research: Impact of climate change on public health. Developed and taught courses on environmental risk assessments, emphasizing disease body burdens linked to environmental exposures. 

Postdoctoral Researcher (Full Bright Scholar Program) (2021-2023)

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, United States 

Research:  Conducted cutting-edge research utilizing Hi-C technology to explore the consequences of environmental toxicants. This research included a pioneering study on the impact of climate change on the dispersion and toxicity of environmental contaminants.

• Assistant Professor (Visiting Faculty) (2019 – 2020)

  (2019-2020) Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan

Assistant Professor (2018-2019)              

COMSATS University Islamabad, Pakistan

Research Assistant (2013-2016)             

Institute of Urban Environment, CAS, China  

Trainings, Workshops and Conferences 

• Participation in eMHVRA & Spatial Planning for Urban Resilience at National Disaster Risk Managment (NIDM) 2024
• Presentation as a speaker on “Scientific and Sustainable Application of Groundwater Treatment Technology for Safe Drinking Water Supply in Punjab, Pakistan” at Forman Christian College (FCCU) Lahore in 2023.
• Training course on Responsible Conduct of Research at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, USA 2022
• Training on Laboratory Biosafety & General Laboratory Safety at Harvard University, USA 2022
• Workshop on DAAD International Summer School on Spatial Ecotoxicology,KOBLENZ University, PfLAZ, LANDAU, Germany 2013

 Workshops & Seminars Organized 

• Water Quality Training on Young Guardians of Clean Water, fluoride Awareness & Healthy Smiles supported by U.S. Mission Pakistan at Health Services Academy (HSA), Islamabad 2024.
• Community awareness seminars on Young Guardians of Clean water, fluoride awareness & Healthy Smiles supported by U.S. Mission Pakistan at Islamabad 2024.
• Seminar on “Promoting Ethical and Reasonable Research Practices in South Asia: A Path to Excellence” by Harvard University at Health Services Academy Islamabad 2023.

 Projects

Principal Investigator

• ASG Grants supported by U.S. Mission in Pakistan (0.5 M PKR) (2023-2024)             Project: “Young Guardians of Clean water, Fluoride awareness & Healthy smiles”
• HEC (Higher Education commission) Startup Research grant (0.5 M PKR) (2018-2019)             Project Title: “Association of arsenic methylation profile of Pakistani population inhabiting in arsenicrich environment”.

Academic Awards and memberships                                                                                                            

• Awarded the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences overseas scholarship for Ph.D study in China (2013).
• Awarded the Fulbright Post-doctoral Fellowship for research in USA (2021)
• Member Pakistan US-Alumni Network (PUAN) (since 2023).

Alumni DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst).

Publications  Total= 26  h-index 20, Total Citations 1515

• • qani SAMAS, Alamdar A, Nawaz I, Shah SSA, Khanam T, Hayder QUA, Sohail M, Katsoyiannis IA, Shen H. Human biomonitoring of trace metals from different altitudinal settings of Pakistan. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2024 Mar 12. doi: 10.1007/s11356-024-32766-4. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38472570.
  • Sohail M, Ali Musstjab Akber Shah Eqani S, Bokhari H, Zaffar Hashmi M, Ali N, Alamdar A, Podgorski JE, Adelman D, Lohmann R.2022. Freely dissolved organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) along the Indus River Pakistan: spatial pattern and risk assessment. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int..29(43):65670-65683
  • Nabgha-E-Amen, Eqani SAMAS, Khuram F, Alamdar A, Tahir A, Shah STA, Nasir A, Javed S, Bibi N, Hussain A, Rasheed H, Shen H.2020. Environmental exposure pathway analysis of trace elements and autism risk in Pakistani children population. Sci Total Environ. 10;712:136471.
  • Ullah R, Asghar R, Baqar M, Mahmood A, Alamdar A, Qadir A, Sohail M, Schäfer RB, Musstjab Akber Shah Eqani SA.2020. Assessment of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the Himalayan Riverine Network of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Chemosphere. 240:124762.
  • Alamdar A, Tian M, Huang Q, Du X, Zhang J, Liu L, Shah STA, Shen H. 2019.Enhanced histone H3K9 tri-methylation suppresses steroidogenesis in rat testis chronically exposed to arsenic. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf.170:513-520.
  • Alamdar A, Xi G, Huang Q, Tian M, Eqani SAMAS, Shen H. 2017.Arsenic activates the expression of 3β-HSD in mouse Leydig cells through repression of histone H3K9 methylation. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol.1;326:7-14.
  • Alamdar A, Eqani SAMAS, Hanif N, Ali SM, Fasola M, Bokhari H, Katsoyiannis IA, Shen H. 2017.Human exposure to trace metals and arsenic via consumption of fish from river Chenab, Pakistan and associated health risks. 168:1004-1012.
  • Huang Q, Xi G, Alamdar A, Zhang J, Shen H. 2017.Comparative proteomic analysis reveals heart toxicity induced by chronic arsenic exposure in rats. Environ Pollut. 229:210-218.
  • Alamdar A, Ali Musstjab Akber Shah Eqani S, Waqar Ali S, Sohail M, Bhowmik AK, Cincinelli

  A, Subhani M, Ghaffar B, Ullah R, Huang Q, Shen H. 2016.Human Arsenic exposure via dust across the different ecological zones of Pakistan. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf.126:219-227.

  • Huang Q, Luo L, Alamdar A, Zhang J, Liu L, Tian M, Eqani SA, Shen H. 2016.Integrated proteomics and metabolomics analysis of rat testis: Mechanism of arsenic-induced male reproductive toxicity. Sci Rep. 2;6:32518.
  • Eqani SAMAS, Kanwal A, Bhowmik AK, Sohail M, Ullah R, Ali SM, Alamdar A, Ali N, Fasola M, Shen H. 2016.Spatial distribution of dust-bound trace elements in Pakistan and their implications for human exposure. Environ Pollut.213:213-222.
  • Bhowmik AK, Alamdar A, Katsoyiannis I, Shen H, Ali N, Ali SM, Bokhari H, Schäfer RB, Eqani SA. 2015.Mapping human health risks from exposure to trace metal contamination of drinking water sources in Pakistan. Sci Total Environ.15;538:306-16.
  • Huang Q, Zhang J, Luo L, Wang X, Wang X, Alamdar A, Peng, S,Liu, L,Tian, M, Shen, H. Metabolomics reveals disturbed metabolic pathways in human lung epithelial cells exposed to airborne fine particulate matter. Toxicol Res,4, 939-947. Impact factor2.161.
  • Peng S, Zhang J, Liu L, Zhang X, Huang Q, Alamdar A, Tian M, Shen H. 2015.Newborn meconium and urinary metabolome response to maternal gestational diabetes mellitus: a preliminary casecontrol study. J Proteome Res.14(4):1799-809.
  • Wang X, Mu X, Zhang J, Huang Q, Alamdar A, Tian M, Liu L, Shen H. 2015.Serum metabolomics reveals that arsenic exposure disrupted lipid and amino acid metabolism in rats: a step forward in understanding chronic arsenic toxicity. 7(3).
  • Mohmand J, Eqani SA, Fasola M, Alamdar A, Mustafa I, Ali N, Liu L, Peng S, Shen H. 2015.Human exposure to toxic metals via contaminated dust: Bio-accumulation trends and their potential risk estimation. Chemosphere.132:142-51.
  • Subhani M, Mustafa I, Alamdar A, Katsoyiannis IA, Ali N, Huang Q, Peng S, Shen H, Eqani SA. 2015.Arsenic levels from different land-use settings in Pakistan: Bio-accumulation and estimation of potential human health risk via dust exposure. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf.115:187-94.
  • Abdullah M, Fasola M, Muhammad A, Malik SA, Bostan N, Bokhari H, Kamran MA, Shafqat MN, Alamdar A, Khan M, Ali N, Eqani SAMAS. 2015.Avian feathers as a non-destructive biomonitoring tool of trace metals signatures: a case study from severely contaminated areas. Chemosphere.119:553-561.
  • Wang X, Zhang J, Huang Q, Alamdar A, Tian M, Liu L, Shen H. 2014.Serum metabolomics analysis reveals impaired lipid metabolism in rats after oral exposure to benzo(a)pyrene. Mol Biosyst.11(3):753-9.
  • Zhang J, Mu X, Xu W, Martin FL, Alamdar A, Liu L, Tian M, Huang Q, Shen H. 2014.Exposure to arsenic via drinking water induces 5-hydroxymethylcytosine alteration in rat. Sci Total Environ.1;497-498:618-625.
  • Liu L, Xia T, Zhang X, Barr DB, Alamdar A, Zhang J, Tian M, Huang Q, Shen H. 2014.Biomonitoring of infant exposure to phenolic endocrine disruptors using urine expressed from disposable gel diapers. Anal Bioanal Chem.406(20):5049-54.
  • Shen H, Xu W, Peng S, Scherb H, She J, Voigt K, Alamdar A, Schramm KW.2014. Pooling samples for “top-down” molecular exposomics research: the methodology.Environ Health.13;13(1):8.
  • Zafar A, Eqani SA, Bostan N, Cincinelli A, Tahir F, Shah ST, Hussain A, Alamdar A, Huang Q, Peng S, Shen H. 2014.Toxic metals signature in the human seminal plasma of Pakistani population and their potential role in male infertility. Environ Geochem Health. 37(3):515-27.
  • Syed JH, Alamdar A, Mohammad A, Ahad K, Shabir Z, Ahmed H, Ali SM, Sani SG, Bokhari H, Gallagher KD, Ahmad I, Eqani SA.2014. Pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables from Pakistan: a review of the occurrence and associated human health risks. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 21(23):13367-93.
  • Alamdar A, Syed JH, Malik RN, Katsoyiannis A, Liu J, Li J, Zhang G, Jones KC. 2014.Organochlorine pesticides in surface soils from obsolete pesticide dumping ground in Hyderabad City, Pakistan: contamination levels and their potential for air-soil exchange. Sci Total Environ.1;470-471.

  Eqani SAMAS, Malik RN, Alamdar A, Faheem H.2012. Status of organochlorine contaminants in the different environmental compartments of Pakistan: a review on occurrence and levels. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol.88(3):303-10.

Conference Papers & Poster Presentations

• Alamdar A. Exposure risks and its implications for human health due to POPs emission from the pesticide’s burial grounds; a case study from the urban area of Pakistan. Dioxin, 2016, Firenze, Italy.
• K. Bhowmik,Alamdar A, Katsoyiannis A, , Shen H, Ali N, Bokhari H, Shafer RB, Eqani SAMAS.Mapping human risk from contamination of drinking water sources in developing countries”, reference number: O2.24, abstract sequel: SPAT2015_0024.Spatial Statistics: Emerging Patterns, Avignon, France, 2015.
• SAMAS Eqani, RN Malik, N Ali, A Katsoyiannis, G Zhang, H Bokhari, N Hanif, M Sohail, Alamdar A.Organochlorine Residues in the Riverine Ecosystem of Pakistan: Distribution and Risk Assessment. Dioxin 2015, Madrid, Spain.