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Name: Prof. Zeba Islam Seraj
Personal/Contact Address
Education
Job Experience
Research Experience
Distinctions, Research Grants
List of Important Publications		 zis.jpg (3346 bytes)
Special Article Published on Daily Star Bangladesh
Personal/Contact Address:


Prof.  Zeba Islam Seraj
Date of birth : January 12, 1958
Place of birth: Dhaka, Bangladesh
Citizenship:    Bangladeshi

 Contact address :
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Dhaka, 
Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh.
Phone: 880-2-8614708, 9661921-59 extn 7647,  Fax: 880-2-8615583/9143332
E-mail: zebai@univdhaka.edu

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Education


Post Doctoral in Biochemistry (1986-1987). Exploration of the diversity of protein coding sequences in RNA from bovine retina in the laboratory of Prof. B.E.H. Madden, Dept. of Biochemistry, University of Liverpool, U.K.

                                                           

Ph. D. in Biochemistry (1982-1986). Worked on Isolation and characterization of the core proteins of rat liver heterogeneous ribonucleoprotein (hnRNP) particles. Under supervision of Dr. J.T. Knowler, Department of Biochemistry, University of Glasgow, U.K.

 

Master of Science in Biochemistry (1982). From the Department of Biochemistry, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Thesis supervision: Prof. Kamal Uddin Ahmed. Secured First Class Third position.

 

Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry (1980).From the Department of Biochemistry, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Secured First Class First position.

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Job Experience


Have been responsible for teaching Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Dhaka for more than 19 years. Am teaching on a voluntary basis at the Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, DU, since the latter's inception in 2001. Have been extensively involved in designing and supervising Masters and 4th year honors practical as well as training of students in current methods in Biotechnology. Have brought in many international as well as local grants (details below) and established a well-equipped Biotechnology and Molecular Biology laboratory at the Department.

 

  • Professor :in the Department of Biochemistry, University of Dhaka, since December 1997 to date. Have been teaching  molecular biology to under graduate students and molecular biology and plant biotechnology to master's students. Have supervised M.Sc thesis of more than 40 students/research associates in plant biotechnology and plant molecular biology. Two students have received M. Phil. And two have received Ph.D. degrees under my supervision. Currently have 2 more Ph.D. and 1 M.Phil. students as well as graduate research associates at the moment (2008).

 

  • Associate Professor : in the same department  from December 1991 till December 1997, working as above.

 

  • Assistant Professor : in the  same department since 1988  working as described above.

 

  • Principal Investigator: Have supervised work on plant biotechnology funded by foreign and local grants since 1991 (details below).

 

  • Co-Principal Investigator with IRRI scientists on development of rice varieties suited to adverse soils under a Generation Challenge program. Details of partnership and work published in 'Partners and Product Highlights, 2006', whose web copy is available currently atwww.generationcp.org. This work has put Dhaka University and my laboratory as a partner internationally.


 

Awards for Visiting Scientist 

  • Visiting Scientist, Department of Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Texas at Austin, USA, August 15-December 15, 2005. Awarded Norman Borlaug fellowship for this work as first Bangladeshi to receive this honor.
  • Visiting Scientist at USDA research station at Beaumont, Texas, USA: August 4-16, 2003.
  • Visiting Research Fellow at PBGB & CSWS Division, IRRI: IRRI-PETRRA Bangladesh project on development of high yielding rice varieties for the coastal wetlands of Bangladesh. June 11-29, 2002 and June 16-20, 2003. Supervision and report writing on fine mapping of the major QTL of Pokkali.  
  • Visiting Scientist, IRRI, January-March 1998: Cloning, subcloning and transformation inE.coli and Agrobacterium. 

 

Organizing Faculty and Update in Biotechnology:

 

  • Secretary and Organizer of  Conference on promotion of Biotechnology in Bangladesh, National and International Perspectives, April 4-7, 2007, Dhaka, Bangladesh,http://www.promotebiotechbd.net

 

  • Organizer & Faculty: International Practical Workshop on 'Novel DNA markers for crop improvement', sponsored by ICGEB and jointly organized by the Department of Botany and Biochemistry, University of Dhaka 4-13th November, 2001.

 

  • Developing country collaborator: Invited to present on IRRI Day at IRRI Los Banos, October 29th, 2002

 

  • Biosafety Guidelines for Bangladesh, Resource Person: Ministry of Science & Technology, 1999.

 

  • Participant: USDA sponsored Two-week Cochran Fellowship program in USA on current status of crop transformation, IPR and Biosafety issues, August 15th to September 3, 2001.

 

  • Participant: IRRI-sponsored ARBN workshop on 'Proteomic analysis of abiotic stress responsiveness of rice' held in the Agricultural Biotechnology Institure of Iran (ABRII). From 28th April –9th May, 2001.

 

  • Participant: Microarray and Bioinformatics workshop III at IRRI, Feb 23-26, 2004

 

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Research Experience

Please click here (http://www.pbtlabdu.net) to visit the Plant Biotechnology Lab headed by Dr. Zeba Islam  Seraj.

Salinity tolerance in rice:

  • Rice transformation with antiporter and other genes for production of salt tolerant rice. Cloning with various genes, using the PCR and recombination vectors. Transgenic rice being tested for salt tolerance in confined conditions.

  • Isolation and characterization of salt-inducible promoters.

  • Use of DNA markers in breeding programs (in collaboration with Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, BRRI), for producing salt tolerant versions of mega rice varieties.

  • Fine-mapping and progeny testing of major QTLs for salinity tolerance in rice

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Distinctions, Research Grants

Establishment of International and National Collaborative links:

  • Links with Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) -joint collaborative research. Md. Sazzadur Rahman, SO, Physiology Division of BRRI, completing research work on Marker aided selection for production of saline tolerant rice.

  • Links with International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). Co-PI of joint projects. MOU with Dhaka University and IRRI arranged.

  • Generation Challenge Program (GCP) partner in International Agricultural Research.

Invited speaker/ research Reports at conferences

  • Van Humboldt invited speaker at Alumni on, 'Biotechnological solutions for sustainable crop production in the changing environment of Bangladesh', February 2008.

  • FAO sponsored lecture/report on 'Status of Dhaka University Biotechnological Research, November, 2002, BARC, Dhaka.

  • Plenary Lecture at Annual Conference of the Bangladesh Association of Plant Tissue Culture and Biotechnology, BRRI auditorium, Gazipur, December 2002, entitled, 'Progress and Potential in Rice Research'

  • Lecture at Meijo University, Nagoya Japan, December, 2003, on 'Characterization and genetic variation of the traditional coastal rice cultivars of Bangladesh' during International Symposium on Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Plants.

  • Lecture on 'Research at the DU Affiliated center' (Plant Biotechnology and Genetics laboratories of Biochemistry and Botany) of ICGEB in Board of Governors meeting, November, 2004.

  • Lecture on 'Biotechnology and Genetic Modification for Crop Improvement in Bangladesh' in Report from Regional Public Hearing Workshop on GMO, 12th February, 2006, organized by IUCN, IPSU-MoEF, DANIDA and Orbicon.

  • Invited by UGC to be part of Team for World Bank Sponsored Study on, 'A Strategic Plan for Higher Education', submitted in August 2006.

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Professional Membership

  • Ex-member, Board of Trustees, Bangladesh Rice Foundation.

  • Member, Editorial Board, Bangladesh Plant Tissue Culture and Biotechnology (BAPTCB) Journal.

  • Life Member, Bangladesh Association of Plant Tissue Culture and Biotechnology (BAPTC&B)

  • Life member Bangladesh Biochemical and Molecular Biology Society (BMBS)

  • Life member, Graduate Biochemists Association (GBA)

  • My laboratory is part of the Affiliated Center jointly with the Department of Botany for the International Center of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB).

 
List of Important Publications

  • Laisa A. Lisa, Sabrina M. Elias, M. Sazzadur Rahman, Saima Shahid, Tetsushi Iwasaki, Mahbub Hasan, Keiko Kosuge, Yasuo Fukami and Zeba I. Seraj (2011). Physiology and gene expression of the rice landrace Horkuch under salt stress. Functional Plant Biology, 38: 282–292

  • Rejbana Alam, M. Sazzadur Rahman, Zeba I. Seraj, Michael J. Thomson, Abdelbagi M. Ismail, Ellen Tumimbang-Raiz and Glenn B. Gregorio (2010). Investigation of seedling-stage salinity tolerance QTLs using backcross lines derived from Oryza sativa L. Pokkali. Online version published already. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0523.2010.01837.x. Wiley Blackwell publications.

  • Saima Shahid, Sabrina M. Elias, Sudip Biswas, Zeba I. Seraj (2010). READS- a resource for plant non-coding regulatory sequence analysis. Plant Tissue Cult. & Biotech. 20: 211-223

  • Michael J. Thomson,  Marjorie de Ocampo,  James Egdane,  M. Akhlasur Rahman, Andres Godwin Sajise, Dante L. Adorada, Ellen Tumimbang-Raiz,  Eduardo Blumwald,  Zeba I. Seraj,  Rakesh K. Singh, Glenn B. Gregorio and Abdelbagi M. Ismail (2010). Characterizing the Saltol Quantitative Trait Locus for Salinity Tolerance in Rice. Rice 3:148-160

  • M. Sazzadur Rahman, Keshob C. Das, Dipok K. Das, Kuntal Biswas, M. Badrul H. Chowdhury, Nilufer H. Karim, M. Abdus Salam and Zeba I. Seraj (2010). Breeding and anther-derived lines of rice for saline coastal areas of Bangladesh. Bang J Bot 39: 71-78.  

  • S.M. Touhidul Islam, R.S. Tammi, Sneh L Singla-Pareek, Z.I. Seraj (2010). Enhanced Salinity Tolerance and improved yield properties in Bangladeshi rice Binnatoa through Agrobacterium Mediated Transformation of PgNHX1 from Pennisetum glaucum. Acta Physiol Plant 32: 657-663.

  • SM Touhidul Islam, Rumana S. Tammi, Richard Malo, Mahzabin Amin, M. Sazzadur Rahman, Sabrina M. Elias and Zeba I. Seraj (2009). Constitutive expression of OsNHX1 under the promoter Actin1D can improve the tolerance and yield characteristics of Bangladeshi rice Binnatoa in salt stress. Australian J. of Crop Sci 3: 329-335.

  • SM Touhidul Islam, Rumana S. Tammi, Sneh_Lata Singla-Pareek and Zeba I. Seraj (2009) Agrobacterium-mediated Transformation and Constitutive Expression of PgNHX1 from Pennisetum glaucum L. in Oryza sativa L. cv. Binnatoa. Plant Tissue Cult. & Biotech. 19: 25-33.

  • SM Touhidul Islam and Zeba I Seraj (2009). Vacuolar Na+/H+ antiporter expression and salt tolerance conferred by actin1D and CaMV35S are similar in transgenic Binnatoa rice. Plant Tissue Cult. & Biotech. 19: 257-262.

Book Chapters

  • ·         MA Salam, MR Islam, MS Rahman, MA Rahman, MAR Bhuiyan, ZI Seraj, TL Aditya, MK Uddin, MK Mandal, AM Ismail, DL Adorada, RD Mendoza, EB Tumimbang-Raiz and GB Gregorio (2010). In Tropical Deltas and coastal zones: Food production, communities and environment at the land-water interface. Eds: CT Hoanh et al. CAB International. Pp 183-198.

  • Hossain Mahabub and Seraj Zeba I (2008). Biotechnology for crop improvement: global status and potential gains for Bangladesh. In: ‘Emerging issues in Bangladesh economy’, ed, Osmani SR, CPD, University Press Ltd, Dhaka, pp 83-100.

  •  Zeba I. Seraj, Laisa A. Lisa, M. Rafiqul Islam, Rokeya Begum and Deepok K. Das (2006). Genetic diversity of saline coastal rice (Oryza sativa L.) landraces of Bangladesh.  In: Abiotic stress tolerance of plants. Towards the improvement of global environment and food. Eds.: Rai, Aswani K and Takabe, Teruhiro, SpringerVerlag, pp. 229-244

  •  Elahi CMF, Seraj ZI, Rasul NM, Das KC, Biswas K, Salam MA, Gomosta AR,Tumimbang E, Adorada D, Gregorio G, Bennett J. (2004). Breeding rice for salinity tolerance using the Pokkali allele: finding a linked DNA marker. In:In Vitro Culture, Transformation and Molecular markers for Crop Improvement. Ed. Islam AS. Science Publishers, Inc., USA, pp 157-170.

  •  Seraj Z I, Khan H, Sarker RH, Khan S N and Islam AS (2004). Harnessing Biotechnology. In: Bangladesh in the New Millenium, A Dhaka University Study. Ed. Abul Kalam, University Press Limited, Dhaka, Bangladesh, pp 393-421.

  • Seraj ZI, Hossain MB, Rasul NM, Akhter , Khan H, Hossain S, Salam MA and Gregorio G (2002). Agrobacterium mediated transformation of Bangladesh  indica rice for conferring salt tolerance. In: R. Ahmad and KA Malik (eds.). Prospects for saline agriculture. Pages 167-176. Kluwer Academic  Netherlands.

  • Islam AS, Haque MM, Hoque MI and Seraj ZI (1992). Tissue Culture and micropropagation of jute (Corchorus spp.).InBiotechnology in Agriculture and Forestry Vol. 19 High tech and Micropropation III. Ed. YPS Bagaj. Springer Veriag,Berlin, Heidelberg PP 505-526.-(3)

  • Knowler JT, McGregor CW and Islam Z (1986), Ribonuleooprotein particles containing heterogenous nuclear RNA. In Nuclear Structures: Their isolation and characterization (MacGillivray A J and Birnie G D eds.) PP 118-129. Butterworths Scientific, London. 

Manuscripts submitted/in preparation 

  • Aliya Ferdousi, Suhaila Rahman, Rejbana Alam, Nazlee Sharmin, M. Sazzadur Rahman, Taslima Haque, Habibul B. Shozib, Saima Shahid, M. Noorjahan Begum, Jesmin and Zeba I. Seraj. Investigation of DNA markers and pre-miR408 sequence across Saltol in Pokkali rice and different mapping populations. Being Re-Revised after submission to Theoretical Applied Genetics in April and then Oct 2010.

  • Relative sequence divergence of plant miRNA precursors involved in stress responses.Sajib Chakraborty, Saima Shahid , Rajib Chakravorty , Zeba I. Seraj. In preparation for the The Journal of Molecular Evolution.

  • Laisa A. Lisa, Sabrina M. Elias, M. Sazzadur Rahman, Saima Shahid , Tetsushi Iwasaki, A. K. M. Mahbub Hasan, Keiko Kosuge, Yasuo Fukami and Zeba I. Seraj.  Physiology and gene expression of the Rice (Oryza sativa L.) landrace Horkuch under salt stress Submitted to Functional Plant Biology in November, 2010. Has been reviewed once and is being edited for possible publication.

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