Dr Zakira Naureen

Dr. Zakira Naureen is an accomplished academic leader, researcher, and educator in the field of Biological Sciences, with more than 14 years of progressive experience in higher education, academic governance, research leadership, curriculum development, quality assurance, and postgraduate supervision. She is currently Head of the Department of Biological Sciences and Chemistry and Associate Professor at the University of Nizwa, Sultanate of Oman, where she also serves as Team Leader of the Genomics & Metabolomics Research Cluster and Head of the Biology Section. In these roles, she provides multidisciplinary academic leadership spanning biological sciences and chemistry, with responsibilities encompassing academic strategy, faculty workload, budget oversight, accreditation, curriculum innovation, research development, and institutional governance.

Dr. Naureen has built a distinguished academic career at the University of Nizwa, where she has served since 2012. She has held several significant leadership positions, including Head of the Department of Biological Sciences and Chemistry since June 2024, Acting Head of Department during 2021–2022, Acting Assistant Dean during 2020–2021, Head of Quality Assurance since 2013, and Head of the Biology Section since 2018. Her sustained contribution to quality assurance, accreditation, programme review, and academic governance is reflected in her membership and leadership of numerous institutional committees, including the College Board, College Promotion Committee, College Accreditation Committee, Graduate Studies Committee, and research and quality assurance committees.

A major dimension of Dr. Naureen's academic leadership has been her contribution to programme and curriculum development. Over the past five years, she has led or co-led the design of nine degree programmes and pathways spanning undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral education. These include the BSc and MSc in Biological Sciences, Postgraduate Diploma in Laboratory Sciences, MSc and Postgraduate Diploma in Food Sciences and Food Security, and the PhD in Biological Sciences currently under development. She has also contributed to the development of Biomedical Laboratory Sciences and to numerous courses and laboratory manuals in biotechnology, genetic engineering, molecular and cell biology, medical biotechnology, environmental biotechnology, and enzyme biotechnology.

Her research career is strongly interdisciplinary, with expertise encompassing genomics, metabolomics, molecular biology, microbial biotechnology, molecular plant–microbe interactions, gene-expression analysis, bioinformatics, and biotechnology. As Team Leader of the Genomics & Metabolomics Research Cluster, she founded and leads an interdisciplinary research initiative bringing together faculty and students working in genomics, transcriptomics, and metabolomics across plant, microbial, and human-health contexts. She has also overseen the development of research infrastructure at the University of Nizwa, including the Genomics & Metabolomics Laboratory established in 2021, Plant Tissue Culture Laboratory established in 2018, and Biotechnology Laboratory established in 2015.

Dr. Naureen has developed a substantial international research profile. Her CV records more than 5,400 Google Scholar citations, alongside extensive international collaborations across Europe, the Middle East, and South Asia. She is a Senior Collaborator in the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), University of Washington, contributing to one of the world's major international population-health research consortia. Her recent research contributions include work on the whole-genome assembly and annotation of Sphingobacterium petrolanis sp. nov., chromosome-level genome assembly of Dendrosicyos socotranus, metagenomic studies, and research on the genetic and metabolomic determinants of sarcopenic obesity in young Omani adults.

She has served as Principal Investigator on several competitive research grants, including a Ministry of Health Oman Strategic Grant valued at OMR 49,100 for research on metabolomic and genetic factors of sarcopenic obesity and precision nutrition. Other PI-led projects include research funded by the Oman Research Council, the University of Nizwa Internal Research Fund, and the Pakistan Higher Education Commission. These projects demonstrate her continuing commitment to linking molecular and genomic research with applied health, environmental, agricultural, and biotechnology challenges.

Her scholarly output encompasses research articles, international collaborative publications, book chapters, and methodological contributions. Recent publications include contributions to major Global Burden of Disease 2023 studies published in The Lancet family of journals, as well as research and scholarly chapters on genomics, metabolomics, nanomaterials, microbial biotechnology, plant holobiomes, ionic liquids, the microbiome–gut–brain axis, and Mediterranean-diet foods. Her research has also resulted in multiple GenBank submissions, including bacterial 16S rRNA sequences, a high-affinity phosphate transporter gene, and microbial sequences from environmental samples.

Dr. Naureen is equally committed to teaching, mentoring, and faculty and student development. She has taught a broad range of courses including General Biology, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Genetics, Genetic Engineering, Recombinant DNA Technology, Microbiology, Microbial Biotechnology, Enzyme Biotechnology, Environmental Biotechnology, Forensic Sciences, and Biological Techniques. She has supervised 72 BSc projects, five MSc theses, and two MPhil theses, and has co-supervised seven PhD theses. She completed a Certificate in Higher Education Teaching and Learning in 2024–2025 and further strengthened her computational research expertise through Bioinformatic Methods I and II at the University of Toronto in 2024.

Her academic achievements are grounded in a strong educational foundation. She earned her PhD in Biological Sciences from Lancaster University, United Kingdom, in 2008, supported by a full scholarship from the Pakistan Higher Education Commission. She obtained her MPhil in Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering from NIBGE in 2003, receiving a Gold Medal, Academic Distinction Award, and Talent Award. She also earned an MSc in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in 2000, receiving a Gold Medal and Vice Chancellor Talent Awards, followed by a BSc in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Punjab in 1998.

Beyond her institutional responsibilities, Dr. Naureen contributes to the international scientific community through peer review for international journals, including Scientific Reports, BMC Microbiology, and Chemical and Biological Technologies in Agriculture. She is also a member of several professional scientific organizations, including the Society for Applied Microbiology, British Society for Plant Pathology, Association of Applied Biologists, European Federation of Biotechnology, American Phytopathological Society, and International Society for Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions.

A notable recent milestone was her role as Keynote Opening Speaker at the Strategic Evidence Dialogue, Ministry of Health Research Forum, Sultanate of Oman, in December 2025, where she presented evidence and policy recommendations arising from her strategic research on sarcopenic obesity in young Omani adults. Taken together, Dr. Naureen's career reflects a sustained commitment to academic excellence, research innovation, institutional development, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the education and mentoring of the next generation of scientists. Her work bridges fundamental biological sciences with genomics, metabolomics, biotechnology, population health, and applied research, positioning her as a researcher and academic leader with both strong international engagement and significant contributions to higher education and scientific research in Oman.