Full Member

Dr. Rabail Raza

Membership since: 2026

Pakistan

Currently in:

Pakistan

Field of activity:

Biological Systems and Organisms

About me

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics at the National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS), Pakistan, with nearly seven years of experience in teaching, research, and academic administration. I hold a PhD in Bioinformatics from Quaid-i-Azam University, with specialization in comparative and evolutionary genomics.

My research focuses on regulatory and evolutionary genomics, particularly human accelerated regions, enhancer evolution, neuropsychiatric genetics, and disease genomics. I use bioinformatics and computational approaches to investigate how genetic and regulatory variation contributes to human evolution and disease susceptibility. My work also includes genomics-based studies of neurodevelopmental disorders and complex diseases.

Alongside research, I have taught undergraduate and graduate courses in Genetics, Evolution, and Bioinformatics, supervised student research projects, and served in academic leadership roles including program coordination and student mentoring. I am passionate about advancing genomics education and fostering interdisciplinary research in biological sciences.

Degrees:

2019

Doctorate

Biological Systems and Organisms

Agriculture and Food Security Biodiversity & Environmental Conservation Sustainable Cities and Communities Climate Change Education Medicine and Health Technology and Artificial Intelligence

Publications resulting from Research

Zehra, Rabail, and Amir Ali Abbasi. "Homo sapiens-specific binding site variants within brain exclusive enhancers are subject to accelerated divergence across human population." Genome biology and evolution 10, no. 3 (2018): 956-966.

Khatoon, Hizran, Rabail Zehra Raza, Shoaib Saleem, Fatima Batool, Saba Arshad, Muhammad Abrar, Shahid Ali, Irfan Hussain, Neil H. Shubin, and Amir Ali Abbasi. "Evolutionary relevance of single nucleotide variants within the forebrain exclusive human accelerated enhancer regions." BMC Molecular and Cell Biology 24, no. 1 (2023): 13.

Raza, Rabail Zehra, and Sumra Wajid Abbasi. "An evolutionary insight into the heterogeneous severity pattern of the SARS-CoV-2 infection." Frontiers in Genetics 13 (2022): 859508.

Hussain, Irfan, Rabail Zehra Raza, Shahid Ali, Muhammad Abrar, and Amir Ali Abbasi. "Molecular signatures of selection on the human GLI3 associated central nervous system specific enhancers." Development Genes and Evolution 231, no. 1 (2021): 21-32.

Ali, Liaqat, Sobiah Rauf, Abbas Khan, Samreen Rasool, Rabail Zehra Raza, Fahad M. Alshabrmi, Taimoor Khan et al. "In silico design of multi-epitope vaccines against the hantaviruses by integrated structural vaccinology and molecular modeling approaches." Plos one 19, no. 7 (2024): e0305417.

Raza, Rabail Zehra, Farah Nazir, and Amir Ali Abbasi. "Genetic Foundations of Human Brain Evolution: A Study of IRX3-Associated Human Accelerated Enhancer and the P422L Mutation." Evolutionary Biology 52, no. 3 (2025): 182-196.

Raza, Rabail Zehra, Saad Raza, Sumayyah Naveed, and Shahid Ali. "Evolution in neuropsychiatric cis-regulatory enhancers through human-specific neuronal mutations within transcription factor binding sites." Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA)-Proteins and Proteomics (2025): 141095.

Ali, Shahid, Muhammad Abrar, Irfan Hussain, Fatima Batool, Rabail Zehra Raza, Hizran Khatoon, Matteo Zoia et al. "Identification of ancestral gnathostome Gli3 enhancers with activity in mammals." Development, growth & differentiation 66, no. 1 (2024): 75-88.

Ismail, Saba, Noorah Alsowayeh, Hyder Wajid Abbasi, Aqel Albutti, Muhammad Tahir ul Qamar, Sajjad Ahmad, Rabail Zehra Raza, Khulah Sadia, and Sumra Wajid Abbasi. "Pan-genome-assisted computational design of a multi-epitopes-based vaccine candidate against Helicobacter cinaedi." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19, no. 18 (2022): 11579.