Dr. Muhammad Tariq, Associate Professor, Department of Biology at Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering (SBASSE), Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) presented his research titled, “From Arabidopsis to Flies: Quest for novel regulators of trxG,” in a symposium, “The Fascination of Plant Genome Dynamics” organised on August 17, 2018 at the St. John’s College, University of Cambridge.
Dr. Tariq talked about interplay between DNA methylation and histone methylation in Arabidopsis, a novel interaction, he discovered together with Prof. Paszkowksi as his graduate student when they were together at FMI, Switzerland. Prof. The symposium was organised to honor Prof. Dr. Jerzy Paszkowski who retired at Sainsbury Laboratory. Paszkowski is known for his groundbreaking discoveries in the field of DNA repair and gene targeting in plants, gene silencing and transgenerational epigenetic inheritance in plants and, more recently, also for the epigenetic, developmental and environmental control of retrotransposition. Scientists from around the world who were mentored by Prof. Paszkowski as graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in his lifetime as well as faculty of Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge participated in this symposium.
Dr. Tariq also presented his latest research work and shared findings of a reverse genetics screen in fruit flies in which Tariq Lab at LUMS has identified novel factors involved in maintenance of cell fates. These factors facilitate key developmental regulators involved in maintaining transcriptional cell memory and consequent cell fates.
Moreover, Dr. Tariq introduced his work done together with clinicians about cure of patients by listening to Surah AlRehman in Qari Abdul Basit’s voice supplementing normal medical treatment. He specifically highlighted cure of patients suffering from ALUMINUM PHOSPHIDE POISONING or CHRONIC DEPRESSION besides other diseases with Surah AlRehman. He also shared future directions of Tariq Lab in which he is interested in finding cell and molecular basis of cure by Surah AlRehman and how music and natural environmental sounds in general may positively impact human health.
