Prof Niyaz Ahmed Wins Prestigious Prize in Medical Sciences
By Sameen Ahmed Khan
Dhofar University
Salalah, Sultanate of Oman
Professor DrNiyaz Ahmed has been conferred the prestigious Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize in Medical Sciences. He is an internationally known medical microbiologist working at the University of Hyderabad, India.
He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK), Royal Society of Biology (UK) and the National Academy of Sciences India, as well as the founder Editor -in-Chief of Gut Pathogens journal. The Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology (SSB) is an award given annually by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) for notable and outstanding research, applied or fundamental, in biology, chemistry, environmental science, engineering, mathematics, medicine and Physics.
DrNiyaz Ahmed was born in Paras Village of Akola District in Maharashtra to Late MrAbdusSamad and Late MrsAqeelaParveen. He is the grandson of the most respected figure of the village Late Mr Haji Basheeruddin. He has three brothers all of whom are PhD holders namely DrAejaz Ahmed, DrIrshad Ahmed and DrNaushadZubair. His primary education was completed in Government ZP Urdu Middle School, Paras and high schooling at Usman Azad High School and Junior College Akola. He has graduated in veterinary medicine (BVSc & AH) in 1995 from Nagpur Vet College, PKV Akola and MS Biotechnology from NDRI Karnal and Ph. D in Molecular medicine (Manipal).
Through his productive and translational work, sustained commitment and dedication to public health microbiology in India, Ahmed made founding and pioneering contributions to the development of Molecular Epidemiology of bacterial pathogens. He made seminal contributions to host-pathogen epidemiology of bacterial pathogens such as TB bacilli and Helicobacters. He has also contributed in unraveling the population genetic structure and virulence mechanisms of major human pathogens. The research of Niyaz Ahmed is of an applied nature and has already impacted human health.
The ‘Science Family’ of Niyaz Ahmed numbering over 150 consists of his students, postdoctoral researchers and research collaborators across the world. He is married to WaseemaNiyaz and blessed with two daughters, FareehaFiryal and Rumaisa Maryam; and a son, SuhaybGazali.
