Clinical Biochemistry

School of Biological Sciences

Research Area \ Research Statement \ Research Group Info

Research Interest

My lab is interested in studying the molecular, biochemical, genetic, epigenetic, and clinical mechanisms underlying polycystic ovarian syndrome, metabolic syndrome, thromboinflammation, vascular dysfunction, coagulation abnormalities, and high-altitude hypoxia-associated adaptations and maladaptation. The major focus of our work is to understand how metabolic, inflammatory, oxidative, hormonal, endothelial, and coagulation pathways interact in complex human diseases and population-specific physiological conditions.

One major area of our laboratory is focused on polycystic ovarian syndrome, one of the most common endocrine and metabolic disorders affecting women of reproductive age. PCOS negatively affects quality of life and psychological wellbeing and is associated with hyperandrogenism, chronic anovulation, polycystic ovarian morphology, insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia, dyslipidemia, obesity, endothelial dysfunction, inflammation, oxidative stress, cardiovascular risk, infertility, pre-eclampsia, and recurrent pregnancy loss. Although significant progress has been made in the diagnosis and management of PCOS, the precise molecular mechanisms contributing to its pathogenesis remain incompletely understood. Therefore, our lab has been actively investigating the role of insulin resistance, oxidative stress, inflammatory mediators, endothelial dysfunction, coagulation markers, miRNAs, and genetic variants in PCOS and related metabolic disorders.

An equally important emerging research direction of our laboratory is focused on high-altitude hypoxia, vascular remodeling, coagulation profiling, and thromboinflammatory adaptations in various populations of Jammu and Kashmir. 

Our high-altitude research aims to evaluate how chronic and seasonal hypoxic exposure influences procoagulant and anticoagulant balance, endothelial function, inflammatory activation, cardiovascular risk markers, and genetic or epigenetic regulation This work is particularly important because most high-altitude studies have focused on permanent high-altitude populations such as Tibetans, Andeans, or Ethiopian highlanders, whereas Himalayan transhumant groups remain comparatively underexplored. By studying our population, our lab aims to generate region-specific biological evidence on hypoxia-induced vascular and coagulation responses, with potential implications for early risk prediction, biomarker discovery, and targeted therapeutic strategies.

The work of my lab is summarized here.

1. Dr. Syed Douhath Yousuf studied the molecular mechanisms of inflammatory and procoagulant markers in the pathogenesis of PCOS. Markers including ICAM-1, TNF-α, MCP-1, PAI-1, and Factor VIII were evaluated at gene, protein, and mRNA expression levels. Her work also assessed the effect of oral contraceptive pills on inflammatory and coagulation-related markers in women with PCOS.
2. Dr. Humira Jeelani investigated the role of oxidative stress, antioxidant defense, and procoagulatory mechanisms in PCOS. Markers including MDA, protein carbonyl, SOD, catalase, total antioxidant capacity, PON1, and tissue factor were studied mainly at the protein level. She also evaluated PON1 gene polymorphisms and their relationship with oxidative stress, lipid profile, and cardiometabolic risk in women with PCOS.
3. Dr. Saika Manzoor studied insulin resistance, hyperandrogenism, inflammatory markers, coagulation indices, cardiovascular risk markers, and anti-inflammatory mediators in PCOS. Markers including insulin, PT, APTT, Factor V, tissue factor, D-dimer, adiponectin, IL-1β, resistin, visfatin, TAT-III, and tPA were evaluated at the protein level. She also investigated the effect of oral contraceptive pill treatment on coagulation, hormonal, biochemical, and cardiometabolic parameters in women with PCOS.
4. Dr. Iram Ashaq studied the role of the endocrine-disrupting chemical bisphenol A in PCOS pathogenesis. Her work focused on the hormonal, metabolic, and biochemical impact of BPA exposure in women with PCOS. She also worked on the diagnostic and prognostic evaluation of miRNA-93 and miRNA-223 in women with PCOS.
5. Dr. Qudsia Fatima investigated oxidative stress and antioxidant defense mechanisms in PCOS. Markers including glutathione, glutathione peroxidase, glutathionereductase, glutathione transferase, and nitric oxide were studied at the protein level. She also evaluated the quantitative expression of the insulin-sensitizing transcription factor PPAR-γ in women with PCOS at both gene and protein levels.
6. Miss Faiziana Ali is working to decipher the role of the insulin metabolism gene Akt and the inflammatory gene Galectin-3 in infertility, PCOS pathophysiology, and pregnancy complications.
7. Dr. Sumaira Wazir worked on biochemical markers, hematological parameters, and the insulin-sensitizing hormone adiponectin in patients with metabolic syndrome. She also studied ApoE isoforms, including ApoE1, ApoE2, and ApoE3, at the gene level in patients with metabolic syndrome. Her findings indicated a higher burden of metabolic syndrome among females as evaluated by IDF criteria.
8. Zainab Manzoor is working on the genetic and physiological evaluation of hypoxic adaptation and procoagulant response in the transhumant pastoralist tribes of Jammu and Kashmir.
9. Tahir Ahmad Khan is working on hypoxia-driven proinflammatory and cardiovascular adaptations or maladaptations in the Himalayan transhumant population of Jammu and Kashmir.
10. Beenish Shakeel is working on high-altitude hypoxia-induced vascular remodeling and coagulation profiling in the transhumant population of Jammu and Kashmir.
11. Rafia Farooq is working on hypoxia models.
12. Muneer A Mir is also working on Hypoxia models.
13. Aquid Hassan is working on Hepatitis and nutrition.
14. Baseerat Ali is working on Hepatitis and nutrition.
15. The laboratory is also pursuing projects on the genetic and epigenetic landscape of sickle cell anemia, cardioprotective adaptations or maladaptations, hepatitis burden, nutritional deficiency, anemia, liver disease risk, and high-altitude-induced thrombosis in the transhumant population of Jammu and Kashmir.

The research findings from our group have been published in reputed national and international journals, including Scientific Reports, BMC Women’s Health, Indian Journal of Medical Research, Gene Reports, Meta Gene, Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research and Reviews, Molecular Biology Reports, Pathology & Oncology Research, Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention, Indian Journal of Clinical Biochemistry, and Gynecological Endocrinology.

The lab has been funded by various agencies like JKST&IC, UGC, DST, DHR/ICMR, ANRF AND DBT.

Techniques routinely used in the laboratory include DNA extraction by phenol-chloroform method, kit-based DNA extraction, RNA extraction by TRIzol and kit methods, PCR, PCR-RFLP, reverse transcription PCR, real-time PCR, ELISA, immunological assays, spectrophotometric quantification of proteins, electrophoresis, gel documentation, clinical biochemical assays, enzyme assays, Western blotting, Cell Culture, Chromatography, HPLC, UV-visible spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, circular dichroism spectroscopy, Tendem Mass Spectroscopy and statistical analysis.

Our major collaborators include Dr. M. Ashraf Ganie, Professor, Department of Endocrinology, SKIMS Soura; Dr. Shajrul Amin, Department of Biochemistry, University of Kashmir; and Dr. Sabiya Majid, Department Of Biochemistry, Government Medical College Srinagar; Dr. Amir Kuchey: Biotechnology Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University, Rajouri, J&K; Dr. Inaamul Haq, Community Medicine Govt., Medical College, Srinagr; Dr. Mohd Iqbal Bhat – Dept. of Social Work, Central University of Jammu, Prof. Shazia Manzoor, Dept. of Social Work, University of Kashmir, Prof. Imran Khan: Dept. of Statistics SKUAST - K, Shalimar Campus, Srinagar; Prof. Syed Mudasir Andrabi - Dept. of Veterinary Sciences and AH, SKUAST, Dr. Anita Sharma - Dept. of Sociology, Shiv NadarUniversity, Delhi, Mr. Irfan Bajran- Dept. of Education, Govt. Degree College, Bemina, Sgr., Dr. Shahid I. Tak - Consultant Department of Cardiology JLNM Hospital, Rainawari, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India. The laboratory continues to work on different aspects of PCOS, metabolic syndrome, diabetes mellitus, cancer biology, high-altitude hypoxia, coagulation, vascular remodeling, endothelial dysfunction, thromboinflammation, and translational clinical biochemistry.