BILAL AHMAD

I am a dedicated graduate student with seven years of experience in plant molecular biology, genetics/genomics, and bioinformatics. My academic background includes an ongoing PhD in plant molecular biology, an M.S. in plant biotechnology, and a bachelor’s in bioinformatics & biotechnology. I have a strong track record of conducting advanced research using molecular, genetics, and computational techniques to tackle complex biological questions. I aim to build a rewarding career as a scientist through collaborative partnerships in innovative projects dedicated to the discovery and optimization of beneficial crop traits

PUBLICATIONS ( #Accepted, †Submitted, *In preparation, °Same as the first author) 15. *Bilal Ahmad, Ayianna K. Bailey, Hieu V. Nguyen, Lindy G. Karrer, Kathrin Schrick. Arabidopsis HD-Zip IV transcription factor GLABRA2 (GL2) requires an EAR motif to regulate gene expression of its targets. 14. *Bilal Ahmad, Lauren E. Apprill, Ayianna K. Bailey, Samira R. Laytimi, Kathrin Schrick. Regulation of ATML1 and PDF2 target genes expression and giant cell patterning by GIR1 adaptor protein as a corepressor. 13. *Bilal Ahmad, Samira R. Laytimi, Lauren E. Apprill, Kathrin Schrick. The role of adaptor protein GIR1 in post-translational regulation and function of HDG11 in trichome development. 12.Prakash, Ved, Veerendra Sharma, Ragunathan Devendran, Ramgopal Prajapati, Bilal Ahmad, Ritesh Kumar. A transition from enemies to allies: how viruses improve drought resilience in plants. Stress Biology, (2024): 1-10. 11.Izabela Wojciechowska, Thiya Mukherjee, Patrick Knox-Brown, Xueyun Hu, Aashima Khosla, Bibek Subedi, Bilal Ahmad, Graham L. Mathews, Ashley A. Panagakis, Kyle A. Thompson, Sophie T. Peery, Jagoda Szlachetko, Anja Thalhammer, Dirk K. Hincha, Aleksandra Skirycz, Kathrin Schrick. Arabidopsis PROTODERMAL FACTOR2 binds lysophosphatidylcholines and transcriptionally regulates phospholipid metabolism. New Phytologist, 2024. 10. #Bilal Ahmad, Thiya Mukherjee, Ruben Lerma-Reyes, Hieu V. Nguyen, Audra L. Weber, Waltraud X. Schulze, Jeffrey R. Comer, Kathrin Schrick. Nuclear localization of HD-Zip IV transcription factor GLABRA2 (GL2) is driven by Importin alpha. BioRxiv, doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.11.03.565550 Submitted 2-29- 2024. (Accepted by the Journal of Experimental Botany) 9. Kathrin Schrick, Bilal Ahmad, Hieu V. Nguyen. HD-Zip IV transcription factors: Drivers of epidermal cell fate integrate metabolic signals. Current Opinion in Plant Biology, 2023 Oct 1; 75:102417. 8. Bilal Ahmad, Farrukh Azeem, Muhammad Amjad Ali, Muhammad Amjad Nawaz, Habibullah Nadeem, Amjad Abbas, Riffat Batool, Rana Muhammad Atif, Usman Ijaz, Manuel Nieves-Cordones, Gyuhwa Chung. Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of two component system genes in Cicer arietinum. Genomics, 2020. 112(2): p. 1371-1383. 7. Farrukh Azeem, °Bilal Ahmad, Rana Muhammad Atif, M. A. Ali, Habibullah Nadeem, Sabir Hussain, Sumaira Rasul, Hamid Manzoor, Usama Ahmad, Muhammad Afzal. Drought affects aquaporins gene expression in important pulse legume chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.). Pakistan Journal of Botany, 2019. 51(1): p. 81-88. 6. Farrukh Azeem, °Bilal Ahmad, Rana Muhammad Atif, Muhammad Amjad Ali, Habibullah Nadeem, Sabir Hussain, Hamid Manzoor, Muhammad Azeem, Muhammad Afzal. Genome-wide analysis of potassium transport-related genes in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) and their role in abiotic stress responses. Plant Molecular Biology Reporter, 2018. 36: p.451-468. 5. Bilal Ahmad, Usman Ali Ashfaq, Muhammad Usman Mirza. Medicinal plant phytochemicals and their inhibitory activities against pancreatic lipase: molecular docking combined with molecular dynamics simulation approach. Natural Product Research, 2018. 32(10): p. 1123-1129. 4. Muhammad Qasim, Muhammad Azeem, Muhammad Zubair, Uzma Qaiser, Asad Ali Shah, Habibullah Nadeem, Hamid Manzoor, Sabir Hussain, Bilal Ahmad, Farrukh Azeem. Phylogenetic Analyses of the Trithorax Homologs and Related Proteins in Cicer arietinum. International Journal of Agriculture and Biology, 2018. 20: p. 575-582. 3. Muhammad Tahirul Qamar, Usman Ali Ashfaq, Kishver Tusleem, Arooj Mumtaz, Quratulain Tariq, Alina Goheer, Bilal Ahmad. In-silico identification and evaluation of plant flavonoids as dengue NS2B/NS3 protease inhibitors using molecular docking and simulation approach. Pakistan Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2017. 30(6): p. 2119-2137. 2. Usman Ali Ashfaq, °Bilal Ahmad. De novo structural modeling and conserved epitopes prediction of Zika virus envelope protein for vaccine development. Viral Immunology, 2016. 29(7): p. 436-443. 1. Bilal Ahmad, Usman Ali Ashfaq, Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qamar, Matloob Ahmad. Anti-cancer potential of phytochemicals against breast cancer: Molecular docking and simulation approach. Bangladesh Journal of Pharmacology, 2014. 9(4): p. 545-550.