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Prof. Rafat Siddiqui

Associate Professor
Virginia State University
Director, Food and Nutrition Science Research, Agriculture Research Station
 

Brief Biography:


I have earned my B.Sc. (1978), M.Sc. (1980) degrees in Biochemistry with First Class first Position from the University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan. I obtained my PhD in 1988 from the Australian National University, Canberra, Australia. During my PhD I investigated the metabolic basis of cancer cachexia under the supervision of Professor John F. Williams, who is famous for his research on the pentose phosphate pathway. I served as a postdoctoral fellow (1987-1989) in Dr. Stuart McCutcheons (Currently Vice Chancellor Auckland University, New Zealand) laboratory at Massey University, Palmerton North, New Zealand.   I immigrated to America in 1989 on an invitation from Dr. John Exton on a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) fellowship at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville.  I started my research work in the Bone Marrow Transplant Research Laboratory at Methodist Hospital in 1993 where I established my independent research laboratory in 1999.  At present I am a Senior Investigator and Director of the Cellular Biochemistry Research Laboratory at the Methodist Research Institute.  I also have an adjunct Professor appointment in the Department of Biology, Indiana University-Purdue University, and Department of Medicine, Indiana University Medical School, Indianapolis.

 I have mentored and supervised many students for their thesis or summer scholarship program. I have been a principal investigator in voluminous research projects and have been a member of many prestigious professional organizations including International Society for the Study of Fatty acids and Lipids (ISSFAL), American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB), American Heart Association (AHA), American Association for Cancer Research (AACR),  American Society of Cell Biology (ASCB), Indiana Center of Vascular Biology and Medicine (ICVBM), Indiana Chapter of Susan G. Koman Breast Cancer Foundation.  I have also served as manuscript reviewer for at least 10 top national or international journals (Current Medicinal Chemistry, the Netherlands, IUBMB-Life, USA; Biochemical Pharmacology, USA; Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Canada; Lipids, USA; Life Science, USA; Journal of Lipid Research, USA; Cancer Letters, USA; J. Clinical Immunology, USA; International J. Cancer, Germany; Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry, Japan; BMC-Cancer, UK; British Journal of Nutrition, UK; Journal of Nutrition Biochemistry, USA; Journal of Nutrition, USA; Nutrition in Clinical Practice, USA; Experimental Brain Research, USA; Prostaglandin, Leukotrienes & Essential fatty acids, UK), grant reviewer for at least five grant foundations (Medical Research Council, UK; American Heart Association, Indianapolis, USA; Showalter Cardiovascular Research Trust, Indianapolis, USA; Cardiovascular Research Fund, Indianapolis, USA; Scottish Hospital Endowments Research Trust, Aberdeen, UK; Third World Academy of Sciences, Ankara, Turkey; Susan G. Koman Cancer Research Foundation-National, Texas, USA; Susan G. Koman for the Cure,-Indianapolis, USA), member of editorial board for at least six journals (Journal of Molecular and Genetic Medicine, Library Publishing Media, University of Oxford, Oxford OX13QU, England; Research Journal of Cardiology, ANSI, Academic Journals, New York, USA; Biotechnology, ANSI, Academic Journals, New York, USA;  Asian Journal Biochemistry, ANSI, Academic Journals, New York, USA;  Asian J Cell Biology, ANSI, Academic Journals, New York, USA; Journal of International Dental and Medical Research, Ektodermal Displazi, Gurubu, Turkey), and member of at least five Ph.D./Master thesis examination committees.

During the course of my scientific career I have developed broad expertise in life science research area; however, my research is primarily focused to investigate how dietary fats impact diseases particular cancer.  I have developed a very successful research program at the Methodist Research Institute in the area of molecular nutrition.  My notable contribution in cancer area is the development of fatty acids-polyphenol conjugates with anti-cancer properties.  This work has also received a world-wide attention. 

 
 

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