Ariful Islam, MD

Dr. Islam is a Bangladeshi registered pharmacist who graduated from the University of Dhaka and worked in leading pharmaceutical companies in different positions. He received his PhD in neuroscience under the supervision of Professor Il Soo Moon at Dongguk University College of Medicine, South Korea where he studied the non-canonical role of N-acetyl glucosamine kinase in regulating dynein motor activity during neuronal migration and axo-dendritic growth. Later, he completed postdoctoral training at Professor Emeritus Bong Kiun Kaang’s lab at Seoul National University (www.kaanglab.org). There, he investigated the role of DSCAM mutation in a human iPSCs induced neuronal model for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) utilizing techniques like molecular cloning, viral gene delivery, transcriptomics, immunostaining, confocal laser scanning microscopy and analysis software like Imaris. In addition, he applied elisa, western blotting, co-immunoprecipitation and proximity ligation assay to study DSCAM expression and protein-protein interactions in neurons. Recently, he served as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh where he studied neuroprotective properties of natural plant extracts in scopolamine-induced Alzheimer’s disease model in mice.

As a pharmacist he is passionate about the application of novel therapeutic molecules to enhance human well-being. Moreover, he has gained profound understanding of the pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s disease over the course of his research. Henceforth, under the guidance of Professor P. Hemachandra Reddy here at Texas Tech University Health Science Center, he intends to apply his expertise to study the therapeutic application of microRNAs to combat neurodegenerative brain decay in both Alzheimer’s patients and mice model.