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Ms. Sadaf Zaka

Membership since: 2024
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About me

Sadaf Zaka is a Research Associate and M.Phil candidate in Biotechnology specializing in Medical Mycology. With hands‑on experience in genomic surveillance, molecular diagnostics, and antifungal susceptibility testing, she has contributed to high‑impact international research, including a publication in Medical Mycology and presentations at global conferences such as ISHAM. Her work spans Candida albicans pathogenesis, antifungal resistance mechanisms, and fungal genomics, with ongoing research exploring ERG11 and CYP51 mutations in clinically significant fungal pathogens. Passionate about translational mycology and fungal bioinformatics, she aims to pursue a PhD focusing on fungal transcriptomics and drug resistance to address the rising burden of fungal infections in Asia.

Sadaf Zaka is a Research Associate and M.Phil Biotechnology candidate specializing in Medical Mycology. She has contributed to high-impact fungal research, including a publication in Medical Mycology and presentations at international conferences. Her work focuses on antifungal resistance, fungal genomics, and Candida albicans pathogenesis, with ongoing projects on ERG11 and CYP51 mutations. She aims to pursue a PhD in fungal transcriptomics and translational mycology.

Degrees:

2017
Master
Structural, Cell and Molecular Biology

Publications resulting from Research
Shahid, M., Raheem, T., Zaka, S., Farooqi, J., Naqvi, S. F., Talat, H., Ghanchi, N., Zafar, A., & Jabeen, K.
(2026). SQLE mutations and antifungal susceptibility profile of Trichophyton species isolated from
patients with recalcitrant dermatophytosis: a laboratory-based study from Pakistan. Medical mycology,
myaf127. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/mmy/myaf127
Zaka, S., Shahid, M., Farooqi, J., Raheem, T., Naqvi, M. F., & Jabeen, K. (2025). COVID-associated
pulmonary aspergillosis and azole resistance Aspergillus species; a laboratory-based study from
Pakistan. Infectious Diseases Journal of Pakistan, 34(4), 227–232.
https://doi.org/10.61529/idjp.v34i4.432
Nasir, S. A. R., Zaka, S., Farooqi, J., Zubair, A., & Jabeen, K. (2025). Azole resistance using agar screening
in environmental isolates of Aspergillus species from Pakistan. Infectious Diseases Journal of
Pakistan, 34(3), 176–179. https://doi.org/10.61529/idjp.v34i3.377
Memon, S., Ghanchi, N. K., Zafar, U., Farooqi, J., Zaka, S., & Jabeen, K. (2025). Detection of ERG11 gene
mutation in coding and non-coding regions of clinical Candida glabrata (Nakaseomyces glabratus)
isolates from Pakistan. Access microbiology, 7(9), 000952.v6.
https://doi.org/10.1099/acmi.0.000952.v6
Zehra, S. R., Zaka, S., Farooqi, J., Ghanchi, N., Fatima, S., & Jabeen, K. (2025). Panfungal PCR for
identification of fungi from histopathology-positive formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues and
analysis of factors affecting performance. Laboratory medicine, lmaf028. Advance online publication.
https://doi.org/10.1093/labmed/lmaf028
Jabeen, K., Farooqi, J., Simons, L. M., Hultquist, J. F., Lorenzo-Redondo, R., Evans, C. T., Hartmann, E. M.,
Hanif, M., Hasan, Z., Mahmood, S. F., Ashraf, J., Ghayas, H., Zaka, S., Saeed, N., Bukhari, S. A. R. S., Arshad,
M., Kociolek, L. K., Patel, S. J., Hasan, R., & Ozer, E. A. (2025). Scheffersomyces spartinae Fungemia
among Pediatric Patients, Pakistan, 2020-2024. Emerging infectious diseases, 31(8), 1550–1560.
https://doi.org/10.3201/eid3108.241604
Nasir, S. A. R., Zeeshan, M., Ghanchi, N., Saeed, N., Ghayas, H., Zaka, S., Ashraf, J., Jabeen, K., Farooqi, J.,
Hasan, Z., Fatima, T., Rezwan, F., Mahmood, S. F., Arshad, M., Khan, E., Ozer, E. A., & Hasan, R. (2024).
Linezolid-resistant Enterococcus faecium clinical isolates from Pakistan: a genomic analysis. BMC
microbiology, 24(1), 347
Arastehfar, A., Daneshnia, F., Hovhannisyan, H., Fuentes, D., Cabrera, N., Quinteros, C., Ilkit, M., Ünal, N.,
Hilmioğlu-Polat, S., Jabeen, K., Zaka, S., Desai, J. V., Lass-Flörl, C., Shor, E., Gabaldon, T., & Perlin, D. S.
(2023). Overlooked Candida glabrata petites are echinocandin tolerant, induce host inflammatory
responses, and display poor in vivo fitness. mBio, 14(5), e0118023.
https://doi.org/10.1128/mbio.01180-23
Memon, S., Ghanchi, N. K., Zafar, U., Farooqi, J., Zaka, S., & Jabeen, K. (2023). Analysis of fks1 and fks2
gene mutations in invasive Candida glabrata strains from Pakistan. Mycoses, 66(1), 52–58.
https://doi.org/10.1111/myc.13527
Moin, S., Farooqi, J., Rattani, S., Nasir, N., Zaka, S., & Jabeen, K. (2021). C. auris and non-C. auris
candidemia in hospitalized adult and pediatric COVID-19 patients; single center data from Pakistan.
Medical mycology, 59(12), 1238–1242. https://doi.org/10.1093/mmy/myab057