The Department of Biology at the Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering (SBASSE) conducts a seminar on
Genetic Determinants of Neurodevelopmental Risk for Psychopathology: The Role of Early Life Stress
Guest Speaker: Dr. Haroon Iqbal Sheikh
Date: Monday, October 15, 2018
Time: 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Venue: SSE Dean’s Smart Lab, 4th floor
Host: Dr. Amir Faisal
Abstract
Exposure to stress during early childhood induces long-lasting neurological changes conferring an increased risk for stress-related mental disorders. The talk will give an overview of results from an ongoing decade-long longitudinal study into identifying genetic (and epigenetic) determinants of neurodevelopmental risk psychopathologies, such as depression and anxiety. The presentation will specifically include, research data on links between gene-environment (GxE) interactions and endophenotypes of depression and anxiety.
Biography
Dr. Iqbal received his undergraduate and graduate training in molecular genetics at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada. His PhD work focused on molecular genetic determinants, and early childhood physiological stress reactivity. After his PhD, Dr. Iqbal continued his postdoctoral training in molecular psychiatry at the Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa and Johns Hopkins University. His postdoctoral training focused on bioinformatics, specifically the development of analysis pipelines for next generation sequencing data. Earlier this year, Dr. Iqbal decided to move to Pakistan, so that he could contribute towards training and mentoring the next generation of graduate students.
