Professional Exprience of Dr. Md. Rafiqul Islam
Previous Teaching Experiences
- Assistant Professor (October 2002-2009; active and study leave): Department of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Islamic University, Kushtia, Bangladesh. Responsibilities: Full course (B.Sc. & M.Sc.) curriculum and laboratory design; building departmental library; daily lectures on some basic and advanced courses of Biophysical Chemistry, Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Genetic Engineering; conducting practical courses and experiments for undergraduate and graduate students; preparation of exam questions and assignment topics, grading exam papers.
- Lecturer (October 1999-September 2002): Department of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Islamic University, Kushtia, Bangladesh. Responsibilities: Full course (B.Sc. & M.Sc.) curriculum and laboratory design; building departmental library; lectures on some basic and advanced courses of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Genetic Engineering; conducting practical courses and experiments for undergraduate and graduate students; preparation of exam questions and grading exam papers.
Research experiences
1. Cultured and maintained different types of mammalian cell lines (like mouse mammary C127, fibrosarcoma L929, HEK293, HeLa, melanoma B16-4A5, neuroblastoma C-1300 etc.). Isolation and purification of mRNA from different types of mammalian cells. Trasnfection and siRNA mediated specific gene silencing effect. DNA Sequencing. Cell-based ATP release assay. Monitoring particular gene function by heterologous over-expression and gene silencing technology. Measuring cell volume upon hupotonic shock. EtBr uptake assay. Electrophysiological (patch-clamp) characterization of the Maxi-anion channel by Patch-clamp technique (on-cell, whole-cell, inside-out and outside-out mode) which is a very special technique for cellular ion-channel and neurophysiology research. Analysis of single ion channel event using biophysics and electrophysiology. Also, performed detailed pharmacological study of the Maxi-anion channel. Furthermore detailed screening of the genetically engineered C127 cells, developed using the robust gene editing technology CRISPR/Cas9, to investigate the channel function of a target gene. Also, I have been analyzing some other biologically vital ion channels like VSOR (volume-sensitive outwardly rectifying) anion channel (also known as VRAC) and CFTR (cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator) using different kind of mammalian cell lines like mouse mammary fibroblast C127, fibrosarcoma L929, HEK and HeLa.
2. Site-directed mutagenesis, biochemical and bio-physical characterization of wild type model cyanobacterium (Synechocystis sp. PCC6803) and several mutant lines, HPLC, TLC, ultracentrifugation, sucrose-density gradient, UV-visible spectroscopy, fluorescence emission spectra. Also, analyzed cyclic electron transport activity (using different types of inhibitors) around photosystem I of intact cyanobacterial cells and isolated thylakoid membrane. Measured fluorescence induction (using PAM fluorometer) in a cyanobacterium, Synechocystis 6803.
3. Gained experiences in tissue culture of rice and jute plant and their transformation. Have handled different micro-organisms. Isolated genomic DNA & total RNA from plant and plasmid & genomic DNA and as well as total RNA from several microorganisms and their agarose gel electrophoresis. Gathered experiences in some modern biochemical and molecular biology techniques like RE digestion, primer designing, PCR, RT-PCR, cloning and sub-cloning, Northern blot, Southern blot, DNA fingerprinting with micro-satellite primers, gel imaging and bio-documentation, sequencing gel electrophoresis, SDS-PAGE, histochemical assay, purification of Taq. DNA polymerase.
4. Fully competent in utilizing databases for researching scientific literature (SciFinder, HighWire, Web of Science, NCBI etc) and several useful experimental data analysis software.
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