Profile
Structural Biologist, Vaccine Scientist and Research Leader
Prof. Dr. Moazur Rahman earned an MSc in Chemistry from the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, an MPhil in Biotechnology from NIBGE Faisalabad and Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, and a PhD in Molecular Membrane and Structural Biology from the University of Leeds, UK. He was a Fulbright Fellow at Harvard Medical School, Boston, from 2012 to 2013.
Before becoming Director of CEMB and Professor at the School of Biological Sciences, University of the Punjab, he led structural-biology research at NIBGE, Faisalabad, where he developed a state-of-the-art structural biology laboratory. His research examines the structure and function of membrane and viral proteins as diagnostic antigens and as drug and vaccine targets.
His applied work includes recombinant vaccines and diagnostic tools for infectious bursal disease virus and fowl adenovirus, as well as characterization of the STY4874 multidrug-resistance pump in local Salmonella Typhi isolates. He has secured 3 international and 15 national competitive grants worth more than PKR 312 million and established research collaborations across China, Denmark, Australia, the UK, Italy, the USA and the SESAME facility in Jordan.
Prof. Rahman has organized or co-organized four international workshops on X-ray crystallography, structural biology, modelling and simulation. His honours include a Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellowship, SESAME and IAEA fellowships, the PAEC-NIBGE Gold Medal, Government of Pakistan Research Productivity Awards and the Pakistan Academy of Sciences ZKS Gold Medal in Biotechnology.
His group combines X-ray crystallography, electron microscopy, circular dichroism, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and fluorescence spectroscopy with molecular biology to explain disease-relevant protein function. The programme aims to uncover the molecular basis of pathogen virulence and drug resistance and translate that knowledge into preventive strategies, therapeutics and practical diagnostics.
Selected contributions
Science translated into capability
Recombinant vaccines and diagnostics
Developed vaccine candidates and diagnostic tools for major poultry viruses, including infectious bursal disease virus and fowl adenovirus.
Antimicrobial-resistance research
Identified and characterized the STY4874 multidrug efflux pump in local Salmonella Typhi isolates.
Structural-biology capability
Built advanced structural-biology capacity and applies crystallography, electron microscopy and spectroscopy to disease-relevant proteins.
Protein structure and transport
Studies membrane proteins and multidrug efflux transporters, including solute transport through styMdtM in Salmonella Typhi, to clarify molecular mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance.
Modern vaccine platforms
Develops viral-vector, virus-like-particle, subunit and live-attenuated vaccine approaches through epitope prediction, protein engineering, recombinant production and experimental validation.
Disease-focused diagnostics
Advances rapid and on-site diagnostics for infectious bursal disease virus, fowl adenovirus, Newcastle disease virus and other pathogens relevant to animal and human health.
Antiviral enzyme inhibition
Investigates inhibitors of disease-relevant proteases, including HCV and dengue viral proteases, as starting points for therapeutic development.
International research leadership
Secured national and international grants and established collaborations across six countries and the SESAME synchrotron facility.