We’re always open to exciting collaborations in microbial genomics research.
If you’d like to collaborate, get in touch — let’s make science happen together!
🌱 My Research Journey
I began my research career in 2017, while still a second-year undergraduate student. The spark came from something simple yet profound, a glass window in my dorm room. On it were two words: PLOS ONE. That window belonged to my flatmate, a senior from the department and a brilliant student-researcher. He was not only the President of the SUST Science Arena but also had an exceptional academic record in Computer Science and Engineering, thanks to the 2nd Major system at SUST.
He didn’t just inspire me with his achievements, he changed the way I thought about growth. He taught me how to think five years ahead, and more importantly, how to track personal progress every year! That advice stayed with me.
In 2019, I published my first research article, followed by another in 2020, and continued thereafter. Since then, I’ve set a personal goal: to publish at least one original research article every year, either as first author or co-author.
📚 Current Focus & Projects
In this section, I’ll be sharing updates on my latest research articles and ongoing projects, including work on:
- Microbial genomics
- Pathogen surveillance
- Whole genome sequencing and AMR analysis
- Collaborations with global consortia and public health networks
Stay tuned for detailed insights and publications!
Ongoing Projects
- Evolution of clinical Aeromonas spp. in Bangladesh
Aeromonas spp. (within the Aeromonadaceae family) are Gram-negative facultatively anaerobic bacteria with oxidase and catalase activity. Aeromonas spp. are abundant in aquatic habitats, with over 30 species identified. At least 19 of these species are linked to human infections and are capable of causing significant diarrheal outbreaks. Aeromonas infections are common in children under 5 years old, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where there is inadequate access to water and sanitation, resulting in high environmental exposure1. In our study, we are sequencing isolates dating back to 1975, isolates archived at icddr,b biorepository unit. [stay tuned for more information]
- Global genomic survey of Group B Streptococcus: JUNO2- icddr,b
[_to be continued]
Research Articles
- Emergence of the novel sixth Candida auris clade VI in Bangladesh2.
Here we investigated the archived Candida auris isolates collected from ICU and NICU settings from two tertiary hospitals in Dhaka, Bangaldesh. Candida auris is an emerging multidrug-resistant pathogen, imposes a serious threat to global public health owing to its high virulence and transmissibility in hospital settings. Since its emergence in 2009, this multidrug-resistant fungus has become one of the five urgent antimicrobial threats by 2019. To date, whole-genome sequencing (WGS) has identified five unique clades of C. auris, with some strains displaying resistance to all primary antifungal drug classes. In this study, we presented the first WGS analysis of C. auris from Bangladesh, describing its origins, transmission dynamics, and antifungal susceptibility testing (AFST) profile. We discovered the emergence of a novel clade; which we termed as Clade VI. Though Clade VI is closer to Clade IV (South American clade), yet has more than 40,000 snp distances,underscoring its divergence from ancestral clades. Interestingly, this clade was also detected in Singapore and I suspect it will be detected in other countries due to global economic growth.
Currently we are involved in follow-up studies of C. auris in collaboration with the US CDC.