Dr. Syed Mubarak Hussain is the Founder and Director of JK Scientists. Syed hails from village Wahabpora of District Budgam, Jammu, and Kashmir. After earning his Ph.D. from the University of Muenster/Max-Planck Germany, Syed did a postdoc with Prof. Chris Doe at the University of Oregon, USA. Currently, Syed is working as an Assistant Professor of Biology at the University of New Mexico, USA, where his research group is exploring the mysteries of a tiny fruit fly brain. Other than research and education, Syed is deeply passionate about making a positive impact on people’s lives through mentorship, guidance, and science outreach. He considers himself lucky for getting an opportunity to give back to his community through JK Scientists. Syed gets excited about Science, Science advocacy, diversity, and open access. He also loves running, hiking exploring new places, and is a huge cricket fan.

Dr. Syed can be reached at syed@jkscientists.org

Dr. Zahida Qamri comes from the beautiful valley of Jammu and Kashmir. She did her schooling in Kashmir and then moved to mainland India for her higher studies. Zahida did her Ph.D. from Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi, India, and later moved to the prestigious Harvard University for her postdoctoral training. Currently, Zahida is working as a regulatory and quality assurance officer at Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland, USA. Zahida believes in diversity and women empowerment through education and training the underprivileged students of the community. Using the JKScientits platform as a base, she conducts annual outreach programs that allow the members to interact directly with the students of the valley. Zahida is involved in various programs of JK Scientists that directly impact students and researchers of Jammu & Kashmir. She also organizes informative programs to educate the masses about current health and societal issues faced by the community in general and Kashmiri youth, in particular. She also holds interactive programs with high school students and makes them aware of various career options in their future. Through these programs, she fulfills her desire to give back to society and uplift education standards in the valley. She loves camping, being in nature to appreciate the wonders and diversity of the world.

Dr. Zahida can be reached at zahidaqamri@jkscientists.org

Anha Bhat comes from Srinagar’s Haft Chinar area which is famous for its 7 massive Chinars. Anha graduated with a B.E (Bachelor of Engineering) in Biotechnology with majors in Genetic Engineering. The degree allowed her to spend considerable time with reactor designing and unit operations at VMU-Chennai. She went on to study Nanomedicine and earned a Master of Science degree in it. A linear dependence of nanomedicine on sensors for diagnostics ignited an old flame with machines yet again and motivated her to pursue a Master’s in Engineering in Nanoengineering with a specialization in semiconductor devices at University Autonoma Barcelona. Currently, Anha is pursuing her Ph.D. degree at the Research School of Physics and Engineering at Australian National University. Anha works on device fabrication of quantum confined systems. She grows semiconductor material systems with techniques like MOCVD, includes variations in them permitted within the condensed matter physics boundaries, and makes them into industry-oriented devices like Quantum Well Nanowire photodetectors and lasers. The device engineering labs at Intel, IBM, and JPL-NASA are the major beneficiaries of this research which explains my interest in tech- entrepreneurship.

In her leisure, Anha likes to read, play tennis, hike, and occasionally skydive! She strongly believes that the knowledge economy is one of the best contributions one can afford for nation-building which explains it as my passion and long association with JKScientists.

Dr. Anha can be reached at anha@jkscientists.org

Dr. Riyaz Ahmad Shah hails from a small village Haji Bagh situated on the banks of Hokersar Lake in District Budgam, Jammu and Kashmir. He did his Ph.D. from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore with Prof Umesh Varshney and was awarded the best Ph.D. thesis award for his studies on the mechanism of protein synthesis in bacteria. After finishing his Ph.D., Riyaz moved on to do a brief Postdoc at Scripps Research Institute in Florida, USA before moving to the University of Copenhagen, Denmark where he is currently working as a Postdoc with Prof Jepser Svejstrup. His current research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms of transcription in humans, and how this essential cellular process interfaces with other DNA-related processes, such a DNA replication, and repair. Riyaz has been an active member of JK Scientist since 2013 and believes in knowledge sharing. Riyaz loves playing and watching cricket besides science.

Dr. Riyaz can be reached at riyazshah@jkscientists.org

Dr. Khalid Gul hails from Nowgam, Anantnag, Jammu and Kashmir. He did his Ph.D. in Processing and Food Engineering from Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India and started his career as an Assistant Professor on a tenure basis at the Islamic University in Avantipore, Kashmir. Later he moved to South Korea and China for his postdoctoral studies and later joined Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai as a Senior Researcher. Khalid is currently working as an Assistant Professor at the National Institute of Technology, Rourkela. Khalid is particularly fascinated with the outreach and mentorship programs and advises/mentors’ students particularly those interested in moving to South East Asia for higher education. In his leisure, he listens to music, reads, and spends time with friends. At JK Scientists, Khalid is Chair of the Outreach programs and is the Lead Coordinator for communications.

Dr. Khalid can be reached at gulkhalid@jkscientists.org

Dr. Asif Bakshi hails from Kehribal, a picturesque village of District Anantnag in Kashmir Valley. He did his Masters from Dept. of Biochemistry, University of Kashmir, and also worked as a Research Fellow in JNCASR Bangalore. Asif did his Ph.D. from the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD), Hyderabad, where he studied the Central Nervous System development in fruit flies. He has been associated with JK Scientists since 2017 and believes in empowering youth through quality education can uplift our nation. His interests are photography, cycling, traveling, and exploring new places.

Dr. Asif can be reached at baskshiasif@jkscientists.org

Dr. Saima Beigh is born and brought up in Srinagar, Jammu, and Kashmir. With the degrees of M.Phil. and Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Kashmir, she is presently working in Higher Education Department. Saima has been a Subject Matter Expert for UGC-MHRD and a JRF for Indian Council for Social Sciences (ICSSR). Saima was awarded as the Global youth leader (2020) by the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) and Islamic Cooperation Youth Forum (ICYF), Istanbul, wherein she was trained by the United Nations and the University of Cambridge. She has also worked with National Commission for Women, the Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Kashmir (IMHANS-K), SOS Children’s Village, and many more. Saima is deeply passionate about making a positive impact in people’s lives through her work and is excited to drive this through capacity building at JK Scientists. In her spare time, you can find her cooking new recipes and reading.

Dr. Saima can be reached at saimabeigh@jkscientists.org

Dr. Peer Abdul Haseeb Shah pursued M.Sc. – Biotechnology from the University of Kashmir, Srinagar. He subsequently did Ph.D. at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and worked as Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in the same institute. During his Ph.D. and Post-doctorate, he had been focusing on different aspects of pathogenicity caused by human fungal pathogens. Peer Haseeb currently serves as DST-INSPIRE Faculty at the University of Kashmir, Srinagar, where he started an independent research group under a couple of ongoing national-level research projects. His research interests are focused mainly on understanding the mechanism of drug resistance by membrane drug transporters and the determination of basic metabolic changes in drug-resistant vs drug-susceptible human pathogenic fungi. Besides research, Dr. Shah regularly teaches different Microbiology, Cell Biology, and a few other courses to Master’s level students at the University. In addition, Peer currently also serves as the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) International Young Ambassador to India.
In addition to research and teaching, Peer is actively involved in various science outreach and mentorship programs. That is revealed by his active role as one of the core members of the JK Scientists.

Dr. Haseeb can be reached at abdulhaseeb@jkscientists.org