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Nashat Akhtar

@nashatakhtar

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PhD life sciences researcher specializing in cancer biology and structural biology.

Poland

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What I'm looking for

I seek translational research roles in academic or industry settings focused on cancer biology, structural approaches, and therapeutic development with collaborative teams and clear growth toward independent research.

I am a dedicated life sciences researcher pursuing a PhD at the International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw, focused on engineering improved therapeutic enzymes for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

My prior work includes investigating sphingolipid signaling and immune invasion in pancreatic cancer at Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, and contributing to published mechanistic studies on genome repair and peptide therapeutics.

I have hands-on expertise in molecular biology, cell culture, CRISPR-Cas9, protein biochemistry, structural modeling and docking, and a range of analysis tools from FlowJo to PyMOL and AutoDock.

I present regularly at conferences, have authored peer-reviewed publications and book chapters, and seek roles where I can apply molecular and structural approaches to translational cancer research.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

PhD Researcher

Current

International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology

Jul 2025 - Present (3 months)

Designing 'stealth asparaginases' to improve therapeutic intervention for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia patients, combining structural biology and protein engineering approaches.

Structural Biology Enzyme Design PyMOL

Project Research Scientist

Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology

Apr 2023 - Mar 2025 (1 year 11 months)

Investigated sphingolipid signaling and lipid-mediated immune invasion in pancreatic cancer and studied roles of sphingosine kinase isoforms in hepatic metastasis.

Sphingolipid Signaling Cell Culture Metastasis Models

Researcher

GenLab Solutions Pvt. Ltd

Aug 2022 - Dec 2022 (4 months)

Authored a book chapter on magnetic nanoparticles for targeted cancer drug delivery, detailing active/passive targeting mechanisms and therapeutic advantages.

Drug Delivery literature review Scientific Writing Springer Publication

Project Assistant

University of Hyderabad

Oct 2021 - Jul 2022 (9 months)

Characterized histone deacetylases in DNA damage sensitivity by generating S. cerevisiae knockout strains and comparative assays; contributed to a JBC publication on Rad51-mediated genome repair.

Gene Knockout DNA Damage Assays Genome Repair Publications

Graduate Researcher

University of Hyderabad

Jan 2021 - Jun 2021 (5 months)

Analyzed mRNA expression of ubiquitin ligases in triple negative breast cancer under normoxia and hypoxia using RT-PCR, performed viability and HIF-1α inhibition assays and epigenetic analyses.

HIF 1α Assays MEGA X Molecular Biology Primer Design

Researcher

GenLab Solutions Pvt. Ltd

Dec 2020 - Jan 2021 (1 month)

Performed structural and molecular docking-based drug discovery against Marburg virus VP40 using AutoDock, contributing as co-author to an online preprint.

Molecular Docking Viral Proteins UCSF Chimera

Research Intern

Research Bulb

Oct 2020 - Jan 2021 (3 months)

Conducted meta-analysis on therapeutic peptides (oxytocin, teduglutide, pramlintide) and contributed as co-author to a published review on analeptic peptide applications.

Meta Analysis literature review Scientific Writing Peptides Data Synthesis Publishing

Education

Degrees, certifications, and relevant coursework

International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology

Doctor of Philosophy, Molecular and Cell Biology

2025 -

PhD candidate in the Laboratory of Structural Biology working on design of stealth asparaginases for therapeutic intervention in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

GATE (Life Sciences)

Life Sciences

Qualified Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) 2022 in Life Sciences.

CSIR-NET (Life Sciences)

Life Sciences

Qualified CSIR-NET (Life Sciences) examination in June 2022.

University of Hyderabad

Master of Science, Biochemistry

2019 - 2021

Grade: CGPA: 9.28/10

Completed MSc in Biochemistry with research on histone deacetylases and DNA damage sensitivity, including generation of knockout S. cerevisiae strains.