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Bushra Rashid

Bushra Rashid (Coordinator, Team Mentorship & Team Communications)

Bushra Rashid hails from Baramulla, a scenic district in Jammu & Kashmir, where she completed her early education and earned her undergraduate degree from Degree Women’s College, Baramulla. Driven by a deep interest in the sciences, she pursued her Master’s in Chemistry at the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Srinagar. It was during this time that her passion for research flourished, and she joined a research center in NIT Srinagar Interdisciplinary Division for Renewable Energy & Advanced Materials (iDream), where she undertook her research project focused on material design for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) applications. Her academic excellence and research potential earned her the prestigious KINGS Scholarship, enabling her to pursue a Ph.D. at Kyungpook National University, Daegu, South Korea. Currently, she is engaged in cutting-edge research on polymer binders for advanced battery applications, with broader interests in electrochemistry and polymer science. In 2024, Bushra joined JKScientists as the Coordinator for the SPROUT Mentorship Program, where she plays a pivotal role in guiding young scientific minds. She also contributes as a coordinator in the Communications Team. She can be reached at bushrarashid368@gmail.com  

  In her free time, Bushra enjoys mountain hikes, exploring new places, and poetry.

Sarvar Hussain Nengroo

Sarvar Hussain Nengroo is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Republic of Korea. He hails from Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir, India. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University, Rajouri, and earned his Master’s degree from Pusan National University, Republic of Korea, where he focused on microgrids and energy storage systems. He completed his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at KAIST and was also awarded a prestigious fellowship to conduct part of his research at Denmark Technical University, Denmark. His research interests include renewable energy integration, microgrid systems, electric vehicles, power electronics, and smart grid technologies. His current work focuses on developing advanced control and optimization strategies for next-generation energy storage systems. Dr. Sarvar serves as the coordinator for SPROUT (mentorship) at JKScientists. Reach him at sarvar@kaist.ac.kr.

Romisa Rizvi

Romisa is from Lal Bazar, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir. She completed her B.Sc. from Women’s College, M.A. Road, Srinagar. To fulfil the dream of higher studies, Romisa moved to Delhi and pursued Master’s in Biotechnology at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi. She also worked as a Junior Research Fellow (JRF) at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in biotechnology at Kashmir University, with her research focused on fragile X syndrome.

 Like many of us, Romisa wants to give back to society and has a passion for helping students back home. She joined as  a coordinator for the Sprout Mentorship program at JKScientists, and can be reached at romisa.razvi6@aiims.edu

Sadiya Tanga

Sadiya Tanga hails from Baramulla, Jammu & Kashmir. She completed her B.Sc. from Women’s College, Baramulla, and earned her Master’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Kashmir. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Chemistry at Ashoka University, with her research based in the Department of Biological Sciences at the Bose Institute, Kolkata, under the mentorship of Dr. Basudeb Maji. Her work focuses on the design and synthesis of next-generation bifunctional small molecules, including PROTACs, molecular glues, and nucleic acid-targeting chimeras (NA-TACs), which selectively degrade nucleic acid-binding and membrane-associated proteins.

Sadiya has expertise in organic synthesis, molecular glue and PROTAC design, molecular docking, protein biochemistry, and biophysical characterization. She also has hands-on experience in in vitro and in vivo bacterial studies relevant to targeted protein degradation research.

In 2024, she joined JKScientists as the Coordinator for Outreach, working to expand access to scientific opportunities for students and researchers from Jammu and Kashmir.

Zulkifl Hussain Rabbani

Pursuing PhD in Physics, The University of Toledo, Ohio, US.

Zulkifl was born and raised in Srinagar. She attended Army Public School, Srinagar, until her higher secondary. Her undergraduate studies have been in  Metallurgical and Materials Engineering from NIT Srinagar, after completing which she went to Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy for a Master of Science in Materials Engineering and Nanotechnology. Having found her calling in Physics, she decided to make a slight shift in academic direction and was able to get into the PhD Physics program at The University of Toledo, Ohio, USA, which she is currently pursuing. Zulkifl has been actively working as a researcher during her studies, starting as a volunteer at Kashmir University, then as a Junior Research Assistant at ARCI Hyderabad, both during her B.Tech. She furthered her research during and after her MS at the Fraunhofer Institute of Solar Energy Systems, Freiburg, Germany, until the beginning of her PhD. In her PhD research (in Condensed Matter Physics), she is working in the field of Photovoltaics, with Dr Michael J Heben. 

Other than researching Physics and Materials Science, she enjoys writing, reading, travelling, music, thinking about Kashmir, and a lot of tea.

Zulkifl joined JKS in 2025. You can get in touch with her through

LinkedIn, here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zulkiflhussain/

Noman Bakshi

Noman Bakshi hails from Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. He completed his schooling from Burn Hall higher secondary school after which he enrolled in a Bachelor’s in Pharmacy program at the University of Kashmir. After his graduation, Noman joined a  Master’s by research in Biotherapeutics at the Manipal Center for Biotherapeutics Research. In 2024, he joined The Ohio State University as a Visiting scholar. Currently, Noman is enrolled as a PhD student in biomedical sciences at Ohio State University, working in the department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science under the mentorship of Dr Nagaraj Kerur. His work revolves around understanding the role of innate immune signalling pathways in age-related macular degeneration, aging, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Noman holds expertise in phenotypical characterization of macular degeneration in mice using Advanced imaging techniques like funduscopy, OCT, etc. He is well-versed in immunofluorescence-based characterization of mouse brain sections to study the subcellular and intracellular innate immune pathways. He is also experienced in flow cytometry-based characterization of immune cells in mice’s blood and in investigating patterns of immune cell infiltration in peripheral organs.

Noman joined JK scientists as a coordinator in the Outreach program, where he is closely working to help young aspirants to explore career opportunities and secure positions in graduate programs abroad.

Teams: Outreach and Spectrum

Dr. Summya Rashid

Dr. Summya Rashid hails from Sopore, Jammu and Kashmir, and is currently working as an Assistant Professor at, the Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al Kharj, Saudi Arabia. She did her master’s and Ph.D. in Toxicology from the School of Life Sciences, Hamdard University, New Delhi, India. She also did her post-doctoral training at Cleveland Clinic, Ohio, USA. Her research interest lies in the radio genomic profiling of bladder and prostate cancer cell lines, modulation of methyl DNA binding proteins by CRISPR Cas-9 gene editing, and validation of mutations through liquid biopsies. She has also worked on the modulation of renal cell carcinoma and anti-cancer drug toxicity by natural compounds targeting inflammatory, apoptotic, cell cycle, and hyperproliferation signaling pathways at the preclinical stage. At JK Scientists she is a lead coordinator for the Outreach and Mentorship programs.

Dr. Amreen Naqash

Amreen Naqash, PhD (Board member, Chair: Spectrum, Coordinator: Team Mentorship)

Born and raised in Srinagar, Amreen did her Bachelor of Pharmacy and a Master of Pharmacy in Pharmacology from the University of Kashmir. She was awarded Doctoral Fellowship to pursue her Doctoral degree in Pharmacology at the University of Otago, New Zealand, where her research was focused on the structure-activity relationship analysis of viral variants of interleukin 10. Her PhD thesis was acknowledged by the Division of Health Sciences as outstanding, placing it among the top 10% of examined theses. 

Amreen believes that curiosity and the willingness to challenge assumptions are fundamental to scientific progress. Her Kashmiri roots give her firsthand insight into the daily challenges faced by students and communities, fueling her commitment to creating opportunities for undergraduates and aspiring scientists who are eager to pursue science with purpose. Through JKScientists, she remains connected to her homeland while mentoring the next generation of scientists and health leaders.

Today, Amreen applies her research expertise to health education and community outreach through partnerships and mentorship programs, empowering young people in Kashmir and beyond to engage with science as a tool for positive change.

 

Umaiya Muzaffar

Umaiya Muzaffar is from Srinagar, J&K. She did her schooling at Mallinson School, Srinagar, and completed her bachelor’s from the Government. Women’s College, M. A. Road, Srinagar. It was this very institute where her research journey began and she got interested in Biotechnology. To fulfil the dream of pursuing research in the field of Biotechnology, Umaiya moved to Delhi and joined the University of Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi, and did Master’s in Biotechnology. After completing her Master’s degree, Umaiya joined Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia, where she is currently pursuing her Ph.D. Her research focuses on the therapeutic potential of engineered mesenchymal stem cells in treating COVID-19-associated cytokine storm. Umaiya joined JKscientist as an outreach member as well as is part of the JKScientists communications team. She can be reached at umaiyasufi@gmail.com

Iqball Faheem

Iqball Faheem is born in Central Kashmir’s district Budgam. Iqball begun his schooling at a local school and subsequently graduated from the University of Kashmir with a Master’s degree in Biotechnology. He was passionate about scientific research, and he was fortunate to find the field of Biotechnology as a steppingstone to pursue his scientific career. Presently, Iqball Faheem is a Ph.D. student at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc.), Bangalore, working under the supervision of Prof. V. Nagaraja. His research work focuses on Topology Transcription Connection in Mycobacteria. Iqball was impressed by the ideas and efforts of the JKScientist to mentor the youngsters and he believes working with JKScientist is a fantastic opportunity to give back to the society. At JKScientist, Iqball is a lead coordinator and is leading a Spectrum group “Solution Squad” He is also associated with other mentoring programes. He can be contacted at miqballfaheem@gmail.com.

Tanzeela Wazir

Tanzeela Wazir is a psychology student aiming to pursue a career in Clinical Psychology. Currently she is pursuing bachelor’s in psychology and Education from Amar Singh College, Srinagar. Since she was a kid, she has always been curious about the mysteries of human emotions and behaviors, and she has always wanted to understand how actually humans function in this regard. Tanzeela believes that Psychology is the field that allowed her to understand the mechanisms behind these mysteries. Tanzeela is a lead coordinator at JKScientists. Tanzeela leads Psychology Journal Club (PsychNook) at JK Spectrum.

Syed Abrar Hussain Quadri

Syed Abrar Hussain Quadri comes from Aishmuqam, District Anantnag, Jammu and Kashmir and did his B.Sc. from Govt Degree College Boys, Anantnag and M.Sc. from the Department of Biochemistry, University of Kashmir. Syed Abrar is pursuing his Ph.D. from the School of Life Science, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad. Abrar is working in the laboratory for investigative nephrology. Our laboratory’s extensive research programs investigate the biology of glomerular cells in health and clinical conditions such as diabetes and obesity research areas. He is trying to understand and investigate the structural insights of the slit diaphragm protein CD2AP and its partners PODOCIN and NEPHRIN and how these proteins interact and form the macromolecular complex called the Slit diaphragm (SD). This (SD) plays a crucial role in the filtration of blood and the formation of urine. Abrar was mentored by JKScientists and he is now giving back to the society by volunteering for the mentorship programs.

Romisa Razvi

Romisa is from Srinagar, J&K. She did her schooling at little Angels High School, Srinagar. Later she joined Govt. Women’s College, M. A. Road, Srinagar to pursue Bachelor’s in Science. To fulfil the dream of higher studies, Romisa moved to Delhi and pursued Masters in Biotechnology at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi. Currently, she is working as Junior Research Fellow (JRF) at Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru India. Like many of us, Romisa wants to give back to society and has a passion for helping students back home. She is a coordinator for Sprout Mentorship program at JKScientists, and can be reached at romisa.razvi6@aiims.edu

Safiya Mehraj

Safiya Mehraj is a passionate researcher from the picturesque region of Jammu and Kashmir, Srinagar. Her academic journey began at Babur Reyan Public School, followed by Hussaini Public High School. She graduated with a B. Sc. degree from Govt. Degree College Bemina, Srinagar and then pursued her Master’s in Clinical Biochemistry from the University of Kashmir, Srinagar.

Safiya is pursuing my PhD at the CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Srinagar, in the area of Clinical Microbiology. She aims to contribute to the development of effective therapeutic strategies and enhance our understanding of microbial resistance mechanisms.

Safiya actively participates in various academic and professional forums, contributing to the dissemination of knowledge and fostering collaborations with fellow researchers. She wants to give back to society through mentorship and outreach by sharing her knowledge, experience, and skills to empower others, creating a positive impact that can have a ripple effect and inspire future generations. With this aim, she joined as a coordinator at JKScientists and can be reached at safiya@jkscientists.org