Dr. Nadia Batool Zahra

Associate Professor Biotechnology & In-charge QEC

Ph. D (Biotechnology), Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad & University of Florida, 2017
Phil (Plant Sciences), Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, 2011
Sc (Biology), PMAS Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, 2007

Dr. Nadia Zahra is an Associate Professor of Biotechnology at Qarshi University, Lahore, Pakistan, with over six years of post-PhD experience in teaching, research, and administration. She was the Founding Head of the Department of Biotechnology and currently holds the additional role of Director of Quality. Previously, she served as visiting faculty at Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. She has also attended Ohio University, US and University of Florida, as a visiting researcher.

Her research interests include Global Health, Biosafety & Biosecurity, Bioethics & DURC, Bioengineering, Plant DNA Barcoding and Bioinformatics. Dr. Zahra has worked on foresight studies in global public health and bioengineering in collaboration with WHO and the University of Cambridge, respectively. She has presented her work at various international conferences. Dr. Zahra has received rigorous training in biosafety and biosecurity from NIH Fogarty International (US), Health Security Partners (US), and the Pakistan Biological Safety Association (PBSA). She also serves on various statutory bodies and committees at the university. In addition to her work in biotechnology, her recent focus includes quality enhancement in higher education by undertaking quality assurance for institutional effectiveness.

Work Experience (Summary)

Duration	Job Title/ Organization
2023-present	Associate Professor & In-charge QEC, Qarshi University, Lahore.
2019- 2022	Founding HoD Biotechnology, Qarshi University, Lahore
2018- 2022	Assistant Professor & Manager ORIC, Qarshi University, Lahore
2016-2017	Visiting Faculty Biotechnology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad
2012-2013	Research Associate Biotechnology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad

Publications

Publications (Research Articles)	Shinwari, Z. K., Jamil, K., & Zahra, N. B. (2014). Molecular systematics of selected genera of family Fabaceae. Pak. J. Bot., 46(2), 591-598.
	Zahra, N. B., Ahmad, M., Shinwari, Z. K., Zafar, M., & Sultana, S. (2014). Systematic significance of anatomical characterization in some euphorbiaceous species. Pak. J. Bot., 46(5), 1653-1661.
	Ikram, A., Zahra, N. B., Shinwari, Z. K., & Qaisar, M. (2015). Ethnomedicinal review of folklore medicinal plants belonging to family Apiaceae of Pakistan. Pak. J. Bot., 47(3), 1007-1014.
	Xiang, C.-L., Dong, H.-J., Hu, G.-X., Zahra, N. B., & Funamoto, T. (2015). Cytology of Dicranostigma and Glaucium (Papaveraceae) from China. Plant Diversity, 37(6), 721-726.
	Safdar, W., Ahmed, H., Bostan, N., Zahra, N. B., Sharif, H. R., Haider, J., & Abbas, S. (2016). Comparative analysis of nine different small heat shock protein gene promoters in Oryza sativa L. subsp. Indica. Plant Systematics and Evolution. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-016-1325-3
	Zahra, N. B., Shinwari, Z. K., & Qaiser, M. (2016). DNA barcoding: A tool for standardization of herbal medicinal products (HMPs) of Lamiaceae from Pakistan. Pak. J. Bot., 48(5), 2167-2174.
	Zahra, N. B., & Shinwari, Z. K. (2016). What is done and what has to be done in Lamiaceae, a review of phylogenetics. PeerJ Preprints, 4, e2277v1. https://doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.2277v1
	Shinwari, Z. K., Jan, S. A., Khalil, A. T., Khan, A., Ali, M., Qaiser, M., & Zahra, N. B. (2018). Identification and phylogenetic analysis of selected medicinal plant species from Pakistan: DNA barcoding approach. Pak. J. Bot., 50(2), 553-560.
	Zahra, N. B. (2019). DNA barcoding of herbal medicinal products, a challenging task. Proceedings of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences: Pakistan Academy of Sciences B. Life and Environmental Sciences, 56(3), 11–15.
	Khan, I., Shinwari, Z. K., Zahra, N. B., Jan, S. A., Shinwari, S., & Najeebullah, S. (2020). DNA barcoding and molecular systematics of selected species of family Acanthaceae. Pak. J. Bot., 52(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.30848/PJB2020-1(27).
	Kemp, L., Adam, L., Boehm, C. R., Breitling, R., Casagrande, R., Dando, M., Djikeng, A., Evans, N. G., Hammond, R., Hills, K., Holt, L. A., Kuiken, T., Markotić, A., Millett, P., Napier, J. A., Nelson, C., ÓhÉigeartaigh, S. S., Osbourn, A., Palmer, M. J., Patron, N. J., Perello, E., Piyawattanametha, W., Restrepo-Schild, V., Rios-Rojas, C., Rhodes, C., Roessing, A., Scott, D., Shapira, P., Simuntala, C., Smith, R. D. J., Sundaram, L. S., Takano, E., Uttmark, G., Wintle, B. C., Zahra, N. B., & Sutherland, W. J. (2020). Bioengineering horizon scan 2020. eLife, 9, e54489. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.54489
	Munawar, A., Khalid, A. M., Zahra, N. B., Shad, N. A., Shafeeq, A., & Razaq, A. (2022). Tetracycline biomimetic imprinted beads cast as a label-free sensing constituent in different transduction systems. Applied Nanoscience. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13204-021-02266-9
Book Chapters	Khan, A., Ali, J., Jamil, S. U. U., Zahra, N., Tayaba, T. B., Iqbal, M. J., & Waseem, H. (2022). Removal of micropollutants. In M. Z. Hashmi, S. Wang, & Z. Ahmed (Eds.), Advances in Pollution Research, Environmental Micropollutants (pp. 443-461). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-90555-8.00012-X
International Reports	World Health Organization. (2022). Emerging trends and technologies: A horizon scan for global public health. World Health Organization. https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/352385
	World Health Organization. (2023). 2023 emerging technologies and scientific innovations: A global public health perspective. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240073876

Achievements / Certificates

Engagement with International Organizations: Zahra has volunteeredwith prominent international organizations, including the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP), the European Union Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear Risk Mitigation Centres of Excellence Initiative (EU CBRN CoE), and Landau Network Centro Volta in Italy (LNCV).
Training by Foreign Experts:She has undergone specialized training programs conducted by renowned institutions such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Fogarty International Center, as well as Health Security Partners in the United States.
Master Trainer Credentials: Zahra serves as a Master Trainer for the Pakistan Biological Safety Association (PBSA) and Health Security Partners (HSP), leveraging her expertise to train professionals in biosafety and health security.
International Presentations:She has delivered presentations on cutting-edge topics at prestigious international conferences, including the Regional Conference to Promote Safe & Secure Science in the Middle East, South & Southeast Asia held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, jointly organized by the US National Academy of Sciences Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) and the Academy of Sciences Malaysia.
Collaboration with University of Cambridge: Zahra has collaborated with the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (CSER) at the University of Cambridge, UK, on a project focusing on “New and Emerging Issues in Bioengineering.”
Industry-Academia Partnership:She has provided intellectual support and research expertise to Qarshi Industries, contributing to the development of the Qarshi Pharmacopeia.
International Collaborations with WHO: Zahra has served as an expert on global public health for the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva and Portugal.
Publications and Academic Achievements:With numerous peer-reviewed research articles, book chapters, and international reports to her credit, Dr. Zahra’s contributions extend to reporting 115 gene sequences from various plants in the NCBI database. She has also actively participated in over 60 international and national conferences, workshops, and trainings, and holds certifications from 25 international webinars.
Other Contributions: Zahra played a pivotal role in developing Qarshi University’s Quality Assurance Framework (QU-QAF), ensuring academic excellence and institutional effectiveness.