Profile
Human Geneticist, Respiratory Disease Researcher and Educator
Dr. Samra Kousar began her career as a Research Officer at CEMB in 2008 after completing her MSc at the Institute of Chemistry, University of the Punjab. Her position was upgraded to Research Officer cum Lecturer in January 2010.
She trained in DNA genetic analysis for fragment analysis and DNA sequencing at CEMB's DNA core facility, assisting researchers across Pakistan with data analysis, SNP analysis and fragment analysis. She earned her PhD from CEMB with a thesis on case-control COPD association studies with SNP variants; during her MPhil she studied hearing impairment loci in the Pakistani population at the Genetic Diseases lab.
During her PhD she received an IRSIP scholarship and served as a six-month Research Fellow at the Department of Health Sciences, University of Leicester, UK, collaborating on the UK Biobank Lung Exome Variant Evaluation (UK BiLEVE) consortium. She was Principal Investigator on the completed HEC NRPU #8460 project on chromosome-14 SNPs and inherited emphysema, and has served as Joint Secretary of the Congress of Molecular Biology.
Selected contributions
Science translated into capability
COPD genetics research
PhD thesis examined SNP variant associations with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in the Pakistani population.
University of Leicester fellowship
Six-month IRSIP-funded Research Fellowship collaborating on the UK Biobank Lung Exome Variant Evaluation consortium.
Principal Investigator
Led the completed HEC NRPU #8460 project on chromosome-14 SNPs and inherited emphysema.
Professional service
Served as Joint Secretary of the Congress of Molecular Biology.