Career Objective

As a science fiction fan, I've always been fascinated by the futuristic technologies portrayed in
those stories, where treating any illness is as effortless as blinking an eye. This vision of the
future has fueled my belief that such innovations could drastically improve lives by reducing
human suffering. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has starkly exposed our vulnerability to
diseases, especially in developing countries like mine. I have personally witnessed the impact of
public health crises, exacerbated by a lack of diagnostic and therapeutic options. These
experiences drive my passion to work on the development and implementation of advanced
medical technologies, aiming to bridge the gap between our current healthcare challenges and a
future where effortless, effective treatment is accessible to everyone.
I am Ahmed Saif, I earned my Bachelor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Rajshahi,
Bangladesh, with a CGPA of 3.35 out of 4.00. During my undergraduate days, I was introduced
to an arena of multidisciplinary subjects including pharmacology, molecular biology, medicinal
chemistry, physiology, biochemistry, immunology, biopharmaceutics, pharmacogenomics,
pharmaceutics technology, clinical health, biostatistics, and computer science. Additionally, I
learned programming languages like Python and R, along with knowledge of various statistical
analyses. I was also engaged in a private thesis, focusing on applied machine and deep learning.
With a deep understanding of biology and medicine, along with expertise in computer science
and statistics, I am particularly passionate about the intersection of bioinformatics and artificial
intelligence (AI).
I am currently collaborating with Assistant Professor Md. Obayed Raihan from Chicago State
University, USA, who supervises me remotely. Our primary research focus is on cancer
bioinformatics through multi-omics approaches. Additionally, we aim to identify potential
natural inhibitors of proteins linked to diseases such as Alzheimer's and Dengue. This
collaboration led to my first author project titled “Exploring the Pan-Cancer Role of CDC7 in
Human Tumors: An Integrative Multi-Omics Investigation and Novel Inhibitor Identification
through Advanced Computational Methods,” where we employed multi-omics and machine
learning techniques. Moreover, two other co-authored projects have been completed under Dr.
Raihan's supervision. The first, “In Silico Based Identification of Natural Inhibitors from
Traditionally Used Medicinal Plants that Can Inhibit Dengue Infection,” has been published in
Molecular Biotechnology. The second, “Identification of Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitors from
Traditional Medicinal Plants for Alzheimer's Disease Using In-Silico and Machine Learning
Approaches,” is currently under review in Scientific Reports. Furthermore, I am being mentored
by Dr. Md. Nurul Haque Mollah, who holds the position of Professor in the Department of
Statistics at the University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh. In his Bioinformatics Laboratory, I am
involved in identifying shared genomic biomarkers between breast and ovarian cancer using
microarray and RNA-seq data, examining their genetic alterations, and assessing their impact on
cancer survival. We also identified similar biomarkers between rheumatoid arthritis and
myasthenia gravis. Besides these efforts, I am engaged in several drug repurposing and AI-based
projects in his lab.
Starting this year, I have been working as a research assistant at the Center for Health
Innovation, Research, Action, and Learning Bangladesh, focusing on Health AI and next-
generation sequencing with Linux operating systems. During this time, I have successfully
submitted a research paper to Scientific Reports. Additionally, I am coordinating two interns,
providing mentorship, research guidelines, ethical oversight, and professional development
support. Since 2022, I have been a junior research collaborator at the Advanced Bioinformatics,
Computational Biology, and Data Science Laboratory in Bangladesh, where I have acquired
expertise in computer-aided drug design (molecular docking, molecular dynamic simulations,
ADMET, PPI, and DFT), as well as AI tools for academic research. This knowledge contributed
to my participation in a published paper titled "Characterization of Plant-Derived Natural
Inhibitors of Dipeptidyl Peptidase 4 as Potential Antidiabetic Agents: A Computational Study" in
Pharmaceutics. I also completed comprehensive in-plant training at ACI Pharmaceuticals Ltd.,
which significantly enriched my understanding of the pharmaceutical industry.
At present, the human race is fighting against several notorious diseases, including Alzheimer’s,
Parkinson’s, stroke, cancer, diabetes, and autoimmune diseases. Researchers are trying hard to
find proper medication for these life-threatening diseases, but success often seems far from
achieved due to the complexity of analyzing vast amounts of biological data. By leveraging the
power of bioinformatics to analyze vast amounts of biological data and applying artificial
intelligence to process these datasets, we can better understand complex disease mechanisms,
predict drug efficacy, and discover new therapeutic targets. Over the course of my PhD studies, I
would like to focus my research on gaining in-depth knowledge in bioinformatics and AI to
accelerate drug discovery and development, ultimately improving global health and making a
meaningful difference in the fight against these diseases.
The University of Central Florida (UCF) is one of the world’s most reputed educational
institutions in terms of scientific discoveries offering a multicultural collaborative environment
as well as advanced technological support. The PhD program in Industrial Engineering is a
unique platform for graduate students as this program is designed to prepare students for
advanced research and careers in academia, industry, and government. Department of Industrial
Engineering and Management Systems (IEMS) has a diverse student body and outstanding
research facilities, I hope my scientific development will be further enhanced by this dynamic
academic environment. I am particularly excited about the opportunity to work under Dr.
Niloofar Yousefi and am very interested in her research on bioinformatics and artificial
intelligence, as it aligns perfectly with my interests and previous work. After completing my PhD
program, I aspire to build a career in the healthcare industry, focusing on creating innovative
solutions for diagnosing and treating diseases. Being part of this program and collaborating with
esteemed scholars would provide an ideal opportunity to flourish my knowledge, delve into
scientific discoveries, acquaint myself with cutting-edge research techniques, and ultimately
establish a successful career in the healthcare industry.
During my early university days, I actively engaged in various extracurricular activities and
clubs, including esteemed organizations like the Rajshahi University Science Clubs, Rajshahi
University Research Society, and the American Society for Microbiology. These involvements
significantly enhanced my collaboration and communication skills. Moreover, my expertise in
graphic design and video editing allows me to present my work in a visually compelling manner.
Finally, I can say that the experiences I have accumulated throughout my life have made me a
confident, versatile, productive, meticulous, and motivated individual. I think this enables me to
be a competent candidate for your graduate program, and I am confident that I can navigate that
difficult path successfully.