Department of Life Sciences

Research Group Title

INDUSTRIAL AND ANTIMICROBIAL

Area of Research

Microbiology & Biotechnology

Theme of Research / Goals

Industrial Microbiology, Health Biotechnology, Nanobiotechnology and Biotechnology

Faculty Members

Dr. Yasir Rehman, Dr. Iftikhar Ali, Dr. Muhammad Akram, Dr. Quratulain Hanif, Miss Mehreen Fatima, Miss Anam Amir

Collaborating UMT Departments

Department of Physics, Department of Mathematics, School of Food and Agricultural Sciences

Collaborating National Institutes

Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi; National University of Medical Sciences, Islamabad; Institute of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of the Punjab, Lahore; University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore; Garrison University, Lahore, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Lahore, Bajwa Hospital Lahore

Collaborating International Institutes

Queen’s University, Canada; China Agricultural University Beijing.

Names of Active Senior Students

Naseem Parwash, Yumna Hidayat, Maria Bukhari, Rahima Rana

Alumni Associated

Miss Aqsa Khalid, Miss Hifza Iqbal, Miss Iqra Arshad

Short Description of the Research Theme

Biocatalysts are enzymes found in different living organisms that catalyze different important reactions under normal conditions, which would otherwise require high energy input to be completed. These find various applications in different sectors such as industry and health. Production of biotechnologically important enzymes, such as amylase, lipase, protease, etc., through microorganisms can help meet the requirements of the local industry. Antimicrobials are naturally occurring molecules, often produced by microorganisms, that help prevent infection and sepsis. However, microbial biofilms—surface-attached communities encased in an extracellular polymeric matrix—play a critical role in antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

SDGs Covered

3: Good Health and Well-being; SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure; SDG 12:  Responsible consumption and production; SDG 13: Climate action

List of 5 Relevant Publications

Adham Mahmoud Mohamed Alkhadrawi; XueHaijia, Nadeem Ahmad; Muhammed Akram; Ying Wang, Chun Li. 2022. Molecular study on the role of vacuolar transporters in glycyrrhetinic acid production in engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Biochimica et alBiophysicaActa – Biomembranes. 1864(6): 183890.

Muhammad Akram, AamirRasool, Ting an, Xudong Feng*, Chun Li*. 2020. Metabolic engineering of Yarrowialipolytica for liquiritigenin production. Chemical Engineering Science. 230, 116177.

Hanif, Quratulain, Muhammad Izhar Shafi, Parvez Khan, Zia Ullah, and Tufail Shah. "Enhancing Growth and Yield of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) using Organic and Inorganic Phosphatic Fertilizers: Enhancing Growth and Yield of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)." TSF Journal of Biology 3, no. 1 (2025): 49-62.

Wadood, H. Z., Latif, A., Mukhtar, H., Javed, M., Mukhtar, H. and Rehman, Y. 2021. Planktonic cells of Staphylococcus and Bacillus species capable of faster chromium reduction in short incubation times as compared to their biofilms. Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 14:1797.

Saba, Rehman, Y., Ahmed, M. and Sabri, A. N. 2019. Potential role of bacterial extracellular polymeric substances as biosorbent material for arsenic bioremediation. Bioremediation Journal, 23(2): 72-81.