CURRICULUM VITAE
DR. MUHAMMAD AJMAL
Personal Data:
Father’s Name:
Date and Place of Birth:
Nationality:
Home Address:
Mobile:
Email:
Chaudhry Muhammad Ashraf
31st Dec 1975, Gujrat, Pakistan
Pakistani
Ch. M. Hanif Street No. 1, Nai Abadi,
Dhoke Gujran, Near Iqbal Masjid, Chakra Road,
Rawalpindi
+92 300 5347366
chmajmal@gmail.com, muhammad.ajmal@comsats.edu.pk
Present Position:
Senior Scientific Officer, Department of Bio Sciences, COMSATS Institute of Information
Technology, Park Road, Chak Shahzad, Islamabad, Pakistan, since 27th June 2013.
Previous Experience:
Administrator PCR Laboratories, Shifa College of Medicine, Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University,
Sector H-8/4, Islamabad, From 14th February 2005 to 15th August 2013 (8½ Years).
Academic Record:
Ph.D. (Molecular Genetics),
2013
M.Phil. (Molecular Biology/Biochemistry), 2005
M.Sc. (Biochemistry),
B.Ed. (Biology, chemistry),
B.Sc. (Botany, Zoology and Chemistry),
F.Sc. (Pre-Medical),
Matric (Science),
2001
1998
1995
1994
1991
Netherlands
Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan
PhD Thesis: “Genetic Basis of Inherited Eye Diseases”. Online link to access PhD thesis:
(http://repository.ubn.ru.nl/bitstream/2066/106926/1/106926.pdf)
M. Phil Thesis: “Genetic Mapping of The Candidates of Hereditary Deafness Genes”.
M.Sc. Research Report: “Correlation of Serum Cholesterol and Sugar with Age and Gender”.
Conferences and courses attended:
Real Time PCR Workshop held on 12th Aug 2005 at Shifa College of Medicine, Islamabad
Pakistan, conducted by BioFlux Corporation, Tokyo, Japan.
BICMAPE Conference held from 28th Jul 2009 to 29th Jul 2009 at COMSATS Institute of
Information Technology, Abbottabad, Pakistan.
Eye Genetics Course: (Bologna, Italy) (28th Sep 2011 to 1st Oct 2011).
NGS Course: Genomic resequencing: variant detection and interpretation in a diagnostic
context (Nijmegen, Netherlands) (4th Apr 2012 to 5th Apr 2012).
Dutch Ophthalmology PhD Students (DOPS) conference: (Nijmegen, Netherlands) (13th Apr
2012 to 14th Apr 2012).
Technical Expertise
Next Generation Sequencing, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), Real-Time PCR, Sanger
Sequencing, Diagnostic Virology, Homozygosity Mapping, Disease Gene Identification, Poly
Acrylamide Gel Electrophoresis (PAGE), Agarose Gel electrophoresis, RFLP and ARMS
techniques, Molecular Cloning, Extraction of Plasmid and Genomic DNA from Prokaryotes,
Extraction of Genomic DNA from Eukaryotes etc.
Bioinformatic Tools: Easylinkage for linkage studies, VectorNTI and BioEdit for Sanger
Sequencing Data Analysis, IGV for Exome Sequencing Data Analysis, Alamut mutation
detection software, Online Tools; Homozygosity Mapper, Mutation Taster, Mutalyzer, Primer3,
NEB Cutter, NetGene2, UCSC genome browser, Ensembl genome browser, Galaxy project etc.
Statistical Data Analysis: SPSS, MS Excel, R packages.
Computer Application: MS Office Package, Corel Draw, End Note, Reference Manager,
Adobe photoshop etc.
Administrative Skills
Problem Solving related to the diagnostics and research, handling of critical issues,
communication, staff management, organization, job prioritization, information handling etc.
Publications:
1. Shafique S, Siddiqi S, Schraders M, Oostrik J, Ayub H, Bilal A, Ajmal M, Seco CZ, Strom
TM, Mansoor A, Mazhar M, Shah STA, Hussain A, Azam M, Kremer H, Qamar R. Genetic
Spectrum of Autosomal Recessive Non-Syndromic Hearing Loss in Pakistani Families.
(Under revision).
2. Ajmal M, Khan MI, Neveling K, Khan YM, Azam M, Waheed NK, Hamel C, Ben-Yosef
T, De Baere E, Koenekoop RK, Collin RWJ, Qamar R, Cremers FPM. A missense mutation
in the splicing factor gene DHX38 is associated with early-onset retinitis pigmentosa with
macular coloboma. J Med Genet 2014; (doi: 10.1136/jmedgenet-2014-102316.). Impact
Factor = 5.703
3. Khan MI, Azam M, Ajmal M, Collin RWJ, den Hollander AI, Cremers FPM, Qamar R. The
molecular basis of retinal dystrophies in Pakistan. Genes 2014; 176-195. Impact Factor =
0.000
4. Cremers FPM, den Dunnen JT, Ajmal M, Hussain A, Preising MN, Daiger SP, Qamar R.
Comprehensive Registration of DNA Sequence Variants Associated with Inherited Retinal
Diseases in Leiden Open Variation Databases. Hum Mutat. 2014; 35:147-148. Impact
Factor = 5.213
5. Ajmal M, Khan MI, Neveling K, Tayyab A, Jaffar S, Sadeque A, Ayub H, Abbasi NM,
Riaz M, Micheal S, Gilissen C, Ali SHB, Azam M, Collin RWJ, Cremers FPM, Qamar R.
Exome sequencing identifies a novel and a recurrent BBS1 mutation in Pakistani families
with Bardet-Biedl syndrome. Mol Vis 2013; 19:644-653. Impact Factor = 1.987
6. Ahmad W, Whittal RA, Riaz M, Putt W, Ajmal M, Sadeque A, Ayub H, Qamar R,
Humphries SE. The genetic spectrum of familial hypercholesterolemia in Pakistan. Clinica
Chimica Acta 2013; 421:219-225. Impact Factor = 2.850
7. Khan MI, Ajmal M, Micheal S, Azam M, Hussain A, Shehzad A, Venselaar H, Bokhari H,
de Wijs IJ, Hoefsloot LH, Gill M, Waheed NK, Collin RWJ, den Hollander AI, Qamar
R, Cremers FPM. Homozygosity mapping identifies genetic defects in four consanguineous
families with retinal dystrophy from Pakistan. Clin Genet 2013; 84 (3):290-293. Impact
Factor = 4.247
8. Ajmal M, Khan MI, Neveling K, Khan YM, Ali SHB, Ahmed W, Iqbal MS, den Hollander
AI, Collin RWJ, Qamar R, Cremers FPM. Novel mutations in RDH5 cause fundus
albipunctatus in two consanguineous Pakistani families. Mol Vis 2012; 18:15581571. Impact Factor = 1.987
9. Ajmal M, Khan MI, Micheal S, Ahmed W, Shah A, Venselaar H, Bokhari H, Azam A,
Waheed NK, Collin RWJ, den Hollander AI, Qamar R, Cremers FPM. Identification of
recurrent and novel mutations in TULP1 in Pakistani families with early onset retinitis
pigmentosa. Mol Vis 2012; 18:1226-1237. Impact Factor = 1.987
10. Ahmed W, Ajmal M, Sadeque A, Whittall RA, Rafiq S, Putt W, Khawaja A, Imtiaz F,
Ahmed N, Azam M, Humphries SE, Qamar R. Novel and recurrent LDLR gene mutations in
Pakistani hypercholesterolemia patients. Mol Biol Rep 2012; 39(7):7365-7372. Impact
Factor = 2.506
11. Satti R, Mustafa F, Khan MI, Haq TS, Khan ZU, Zubair M, Rasool STU, Azam M, Ajmal
M, Qamar R. Prevalence of Hepatitis C Virus in Urban Ghettos of Twin Cities. Pakistan J
Zool 2012; 44(4):937-943. Impact Factor = 0.309
12. Ajmal M, Ahmed W, Akhtar N, Sadeque A, Khalid A, Ali SHB, Ahmed N, Azam M,
Qamar R. First report of a nonsense triple nucleotide polymorphism (TNP) in the low
density lipoprotein receptor gene in familial hypercholesterolemia. Genet Test Mol
Biomarkers 2011; 15(9):601-606. Impact Factor = 1.444
13. Azam M, Collin RWJ, Malik A, Khan MI, Sadeque A, Shah STA, Shah AA, Hussain
A, Ajmal M, Arimadyo K, Cremers FPM, Qamar R, den Hollander AI. The genetic basis of
retinitis pigmentosa in Pakistan. Archiv Opthalmol 2011; 129(10):1377-1378. Impact
Factor = 3.826
14. Ahmed W, Malik M, Khan AA, Saeed I, Sadeque A, Kaleem U, Ajmal M, Azam M, Qamar
R. Role of tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) and plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1)
polymorphism in Myocardial Infarction. Mol Biol Rep (2011): 38(4):2541-2548. Impact
Factor = 2.506
15. Ajmal M, Ahmed W, Sadeque A, Ali SHB, Bokhari SH, Ahmed N, Qamar R. Identification
of a recurrent insertion mutation in the LDLR gene in a Pakistani family with autosomal
dominant hypercholesterolemia. Mol Biol Rep (2010).37(8): 3869-3875. Impact Factor =
2.506
16. Ayub H, Khan MI, Micheal S, Akhtar F, Ajmal M, Shafique S, Ali SHB, den Hollander AI,
Ahmed A, Qamar R. Association of eNOS and HSP70gene polymorphisms with glaucoma
in Pakistani cohorts. Mol Vis (2010);16:18-25. Impact Factor = 1.987
17. Azam M, Collin RWJ, Khan MI, Shah STA, Qureshi N, Ajmal M, den Hollander AI,
Qamar R, Cremers FPM. A novel mutation in GRK1 causes Oguchi disease in a
consanguineous Pakistani family. Mol Vis 2009; 15:1788-1793. Impact Factor = 1.987
Total Impact Factor of 16 research papers = 41.045