INSTITUTION AND LOCATION | DEGREE/TRAINING | START DATE
| END DATE | FIELD OF STUDY/ RESEARCH |
University of Agricultural Faisalabad, Pakistan | DVM | 07/1997 | 11/2001 | Doctor of Veterinary Medicine |
University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences Lahore, Pakistan | MSC | 02/2002 | 03/2004 | Microbiology |
Clinical/Research Training | House Job | 04/2004 | 05/2005 | Veterinary Research Centre, Okara/Veterinary Research Institute, Lahore |
Wuhan University, China | PhD | 06/2005 | 10/2008 | Microbiology & Molecular Biology |
University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA | Postdoc Fellow | 11/2008 | 02/2011 | Systems Biology & Immunology |
University of Lahore, Pakistan | Assistant Professor | 03/2011 | 06/2011 | Molecular Biology and Biotechnology |
Stockholm University, Sweden | Postdoc Fellow | 07/2011 | 02/2012 | Developmental Biology |
Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Sydney, Australia | Scientist | 03/2012 | 03/2015 | Cancer Biology/Plasma Physics/Nanomedicine |
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Australia | Scientist | 04/2015 | 06/2016 | Tumor Angiogenesis |
St Vincent Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne/University of Melbourne, Australia | Senior Scientist | 09/2016 | 12/2023 | Metabolic & Fat Disorders/Regenerative Medicine |
MRB NextGenTech Pty Ltd, Melbourne, Australia | Senior Consultant | 01/2017 | Present | Biotech Research& Development/Molecular Diagnostics Lab Development/Biomedical Research Training |
My academic training and research experience have provided me with an excellent background in multidisciplinary biomedical and engineering fields, including microbiology (human viruses & oncolytic viruses), immunology (host-pathogen interaction), systems biology (single-cell sequencing, transcriptomics, proteomics, genomics, metabolomics, lipidomics, microRNA-seq, ChiP-seq, DNA-sequencing & bioinformatics skills), developmental biology (recombinant-DNA technology, epigenetics & transgenic animals), cancer cell biology (tumor angiogenesis and development of anti-cancer treatments), obesity and adipose tissue-associated metabolic disorders, stem cells biology, regenerative medicine, nano-materials, plasma physic and radiations biology (radiotherapy). I conducted PhD research at Wuhan University, China, on the mechanisms of RNA helicases for HIV transcription and replication. As a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Madiosn, USA, I established in-vitro immune deficient/intact cell culture models to understand virus-host interaction using systems biology approaches and mathematical modeling. During my postdoctoral training at Stockholm University, Sweden, I established transgenic animals (Drosophila) to understand the role of transcription factors (breakless & atropine) involved in diabetes during the early stages of development. This experience allowed me to learn recombinant DNA technology and its application to animal models. I joined CSIRO, Australia, to test atmospheric gas plasma-generated radiations (reactive oxygen/nitrogen species) for cancer treatment. I developed the protocol for treating drug-resistance tumors using atmospheric plasma-generated reactive species (H2O2, OH, O3). I worked at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Australia, to discover the role of microRNAs in VEGF-induced tumor angiogenesis. I found one microRNA132 which induces cancer cell proliferation by regulating VEGF-C/D secretion. At St Vincent Institute of Medical Research/University of Melbourne, Australia, I used systems biology approaches, omics technology, and computational tools to find new targets that can be used to develop diagnostic tests and treatments for metabolic & fat disorders, including obesity, diabetes, and lipedema. During my graduate and research training careers, I received several academic awards. I have published more than 25 peer-reviewed research papers. I have presented my research at more than 15 international conferences. I am an associate editor and reviewer for more than five peer-reviewed journals. I have taught several advanced courses in the biomedical field for graduate students.
Positions and Scientific Appointments
2022-present Committee member, Lipedema World Alliance, Italy
2021-present Research fellow, University of Melbourne
2012-present Member, Australian Society for Microbiology
2012-present Member, International Society for Systems Biology
2012 – 2013 Research trainee, University of Greifswald, Germany
2010 – 2011 Assistant Professor, University of Lahore, Pakistan
2009 – 2016 Member, American Society for Cancer Research
2005 – 2008 Teaching assistant, Wuhan University, China
2004 – 2005 House job training, Veterinary Research Institute Lahore, Pakistan
2002 – 2003 Research Assistant, University of Veterinary Sciences Lahore, Pakistan
Honors & Awards
2008 Wuhan University Best Graduate Student and Young Researcher Award
2011 – 2012 Research Fellowship, UW-Madison USA – Swedish Ministry of Science
2012 – 2015 OCE Fellowship, CSIRO Australia
2016-2023 Lipedema Foundation Australia, Research Grant Fellowship
Musarat Ishaq, Adipose tissue associated disorders – systems biology as a tool to discover new knowledge. Obesity and Metabolic Diseases (virtual) June 28-29, 2022, Amsterdam, Netherlands.