Dr. Naushaba Hasin

    Postdoctoral scientist
    Biology
    Postdoctoral scientist at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA; PhD, Biology Department, Maynooth University (2012)
    2012

    Brought up amidst the tea gardens of Assam, the land of red rivers and blue hills blessed with myriads of scenic beauty, Naushaba moved to National University of Ireland Maynooth from India in 2009 to pursue her PhD in Biology. She started her career as an undergraduate student of Zoology in Dibrugarh University, India. After completing her M.Sc. in molecular biology and biotechnology from Tezpur Central University, India, she returned to her hometown and started working as a senior research fellow in India Council of Medical Research. She was awarded a John and Pat Hume scholarship from Maynooth University to carry out PhD in yeast genetics under the mentorship of Dr. Gary Jones. Her PhD was on Hsp70 -a ubiquitous molecular chaperone that is involved in responding to a variety of cellular stresses. During her stay at Maynooth University, she had contributed in an international collaboration with researchers at University of Chicago utilizing Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Baker’s yeast) as a model organism in studying the role of Hsp70 in cell division that might provide a new approach in cancer therapeutics.

    She graduated in 2012 and moved to the United States where she is now working as a postdoctoral scientist at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda. Her research now focuses on the enzyme RnaseH and how in this protein are related to a neurological disorder called Aicardi-Goutières syndrome (AGS). Another part of her work focuses on ataxia- a neurological disorder characterized by loss of body movements. This work includes examination of the degree of penetrance and severity of the disease in mouse lacking RnaseH enzyme. She is trying to determine the mutation causing ataxia.

    In her own words, “Coming to Maynooth University was the best move of my career. I cherish my memories as a student at Maynooth University and all the people I met, the friends I made will always be in my thoughts. I have enjoyed all the three years of my stay in this University and although in a foreign land with the friendly and welcoming nature of Maynooth University and surroundings, settling in  became far easier than I thought.”