Who am I?

I am a veterinary epidemiologist and microbiologist with a strong passion for understanding the epidemiology, emergence, transmission, and impact (burden) of zoonotic diseases among human, animal and environment, using epidemiological and microbiological tools within the One Health framework. During my graduate studies, I investigated the molecular mechanisms underlying the pathogenic potential of zoonotic bacteria isolated from Irrawaddy squirrels, along with their antimicrobial resistance (AMR) profiles. My research also encompassed the prevalence of various animal diseases, including joint ill, foot-and-mouth disease, and canine parvovirus, and the evaluation of antiviral and antioxidant properties of selected medicinal plants. In addition, I assessed the thermostability of the Newcastle disease (ND) vaccine.

Currently, my work focuses on improving the diagnosis and burden estimation of neurocysticercosis to enhance disease management and inform public health interventions. To know more about my works click here or here.

As a professional, I started my career in an avian disease diagnostic laboratory of Bangladesh, as a laboratory officer. There I was responsible for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and avian disease surveillance. Then, I served as “Animal Health Laboratory Capacity Specialist” on a UK aid project (implemented by DAI, USA) to establish an integrated AMR surveillance system in Bangladesh using One Health approach.

Education

2021 – Present
PhD candidate (Veterinary science - Epidemiology), Department of Pathology and Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Université de Montréal, Canada.

2018
Master of Science (MS) in Microbiology, Chittagong (now Chattagram) Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (CVASU), Chittagong-4225, Bangladesh.
Thesis: Isolation and Identification of Some Selective Zoonotic Bacteria from Irrawaddy Squirrel (Callosciurus pygerythrus).

2016
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM), CVASU, Chittagong, Bangladesh.
Clinical Report: Study on Joint Ill in Calves of Crossbred Dairy Cattle.

2008
Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC), Dula Hazra College, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.
Section: Science

2006
Secondary School Certificate (SSC), Kishalay Model Shiksha Niketan, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.
Section: Science

Work experience

January - April, 2026

Intern Researcher
Dr. Ndao’s lab, The National Reference Centre for Parasitology, The McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), Montréal, Canada.

Key Responsibilities:

  • Extracellular vesicular protein biomarker discovery for early diagnosis of Babesiosis. Techniques involve cell-culture of Babesia duncani, extra-cellular vesicles isolation from cell culture, etc.

November - December, 2022

Visiting Researcher
Neurochemistry Laboratory, Department of Neurological Sciences, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India

Key Responsibilities:

  • Extracellular vesicular protein biomarker identification for the diagnosis of neurocysticercosis (NCC).
  • Extracellular vesicles isolation from blood serum.
  • Determination of protein in biological samples following Lowry`s method and microBCA.

February - December, 2020

Animal Health Laboratory Capacity Specialist
Department of Microbiology and Veterinary Public Health, Chattogram Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (CVASU), Chattogram - 4225, Bangladesh.

Key Responsibilities:

  • Implementation of the Fleming Fund Country Grant to Bangladesh.
  • Antimicrobial sensitivity testing capacity building for government laboratories in the animal and fisheries sectors of Bangladesh.
  • Development of an antimicrobial resistance surveillance system in Bangladesh.
  • Study on antimicrobial use (AMU) and antimicrobial consumption (AMC) in livestock, poultry, and aquatic animals.

December, 2017 – February, 2020

Officer (Lab)
Aftab Poultry Diagnostic Lab, Bhagalpur-2336, Bajitpur, Kishoreganj, Bangladesh.

Key Responsibilities:

  • Diagnosis of avian diseases based on post-mortem findings and lab test reports.
  • Conducting microbial culture, serology, real-time RT-PCR, and histopathology.
  • Overseeing disease surveillance, antibiotic resistance surveillance, and sero-monitoring of breeder and grandparent (GP) poultry flocks.
  • Supervising farm, feed mill, and poultry meat processing plant hygiene.
  • Technical capacity building of laboratory personnel.
  • Developing standard protocols for laboratory tests and ensuring test quality.
  • Interpreting test results for disease diagnosis and control.

Research experience

2021 – Present

PhD Student, Department of Pathology and Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Montreal, Canada.

Research Projects:

  • Improving the diagnosis and burden estimation of neurocysticercosis (NCC).
  • Identification of exosome biomarkers for NCC diagnosis.
  • Systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the frequency of NCC among people with epilepsy and other neurological manifestations.
  • Systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the frequency of neurological symptoms among people with NCC.
  • Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) analysis for NCC.
  • Directed acyclic graph (DAG) analysis for NCC.

2017

Research Assistant, Poultry Research and Training Center, CVASU, Bangladesh.

Research Projects:

  • Isolation and Identification of Some Selective Zoonotic Bacteria from Irrawaddy Squirrel (Genus Identification, Virulence Gene Detection, Antimicrobial Resistance Patterns).
  • Identification and Diversity Analysis of the mcr Gene in Escherichia coli Isolated from Humans, Cattle, Goats, Poultry, and Street Food.
  • Validation of real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to detect Newcastle disease virus titer.
  • Determination of the antiviral properties of selected local plants.

2015

Intern Veterinarian and Research Assistant
Department of Medicine and Surgery, and Department of Microbiology and Veterinary Public Health, CVASU, Bangladesh.

Research Projects:

  • Study on Joint Ill in Calves of Crossbred Dairy Cattle (Etiology and Antimicrobial Resistance of Isolated Bacteria).
  • Epidemiological Study on Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD), Canine Parvovirus Infection in Dogs, Dog Bites, and Rabies in Animals.
  • Isolation and Identification of Antimicrobial-Resistant Escherichia coli in Hospital Effluent.

Key competencies

  • Epidemiology & Statistical Skills

    • Basic to advanced concepts of epidemiology and study designs
    • Frequentist and Bayesian statistics
    • Systematic review of scientific literature
    • Bayesian meta-analysis and meta-regression
    • Epidemiological and statistical modelling
    • Data analysis using R, STATA and SAS
    • Primary knowledge of machine learning in Python
    • Disability adjusted life years (DALYs) analysis
    • Directed Acyclic Graphs (DAG) analysis

  • Microbiology & Molecular Techniques

    • Classical Microbiology: General and clinical microbiology, microbial culture techniques, biochemical tests, and antimicrobial susceptibility testings.
    • Molecular Microbiology: DNA extraction from bacterial cultures and animal tissues, viral RNA extraction, conventional PCR, RT-PCR, and real-time RT-PCR.
    • Immunology: Serological techniques such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), hemagglutination (HA), and hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assays.
    • Histopathology: Tissue processing, embedding, staining, and slide interpretation

  • Exosome & Proteomics

    • Experience in exosome isolation from blood serum or cell-culture fluid.
    • Determination of protein concentration using microBCA and Lowry’s method
    • SDS-PAGE
    • Quantification and size determination of exosomes by nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA)
    • Theoretical knowledge of LC-MS/MS and proteomics data analysis

  • Computer Skills

    • Proficiency in Microsoft Office including Microsoft Access, Photoshop
    • Basic knowledge of programming, R and Python

  • Bioinformatics Skills

    • Biological database searching
    • Using BLAST and perform sequence alignment
    • Phylogenetic analysis using MEGA-X software

  • General Research Skills

    • Problem identification, hypothesis generation, research project writing, hypothesis testing, research modeling, field and laboratory research, data collection, research paper writing, and presentation

  • Interpersonal Skills

    • Working individually and in-team
    • Working in multi-disciplinary environments
    • Good communication, networking and collaboration skills
    • Leadership skills

  • Language skills

    • Bengali
    • English
    • French

  • Other Interests & Activities

    • Bangla poetry writing and recitation, photography, fishing, active participation in voluntary campaigns and cultural activities.

Comprehensive training

  • Training on Biosafety Principles, The McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), Montréal, Canada.
  • Training on Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS), The McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), Montréal, Canada.
  • Training on Hazardous Waste Disposal, The McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), Montréal, Canada.
  • Internship training on EV protein biomarker discovery for the diagnosis of Babesiosis,Dr. Ndao’s lab, The National Reference Centre for Parasitology, The McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), Montréal, Canada.
  • Summer School: Burden of Infectious Diseases, 2025, European Burden of Disease Network, Ghent, Belgium.
  • Summer Institute: One Health and the Global Governance of Antimicrobial Resistance, 2023, Global One Health Network, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada.
  • Introduction to Multilevel Modelling, 2022, by Ian Dohoo, Henrik Stryhn & Simon Dufour, Hybrid mode, Université de Montréal, Saint-Hyacinthe campus, Québec, Canada.
  • Bias in Observational Studies, 2021, by Ian Dohoo & Simon Dufour, Hybrid mode, Université de Montréal, Saint-Hyacinthe campus, Québec, Canada.
  • Training on real-time RT-PCR, BLRI, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
  • Training on Essential Electronic Agricultural Library, CVASU, Chattogram, Bangladesh.
  • Internship Training on Biosecurity and Herd Health Management, CCBDF, Dhaka, Bangladesh 
  • Internship Training on Vaccine Production and Cell Culture, LRI, Dhaka, Bangladesh
  • Internship Training on Activities of Laboratory, CDIL, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
  • Internship Training on Clinics, Madras Veterinary College, Chennai, India.
  • Internship Training on Clinics and Veterinary Science, VC&RI, Namakkal, India.
  • Modern Orthopedic Surgical Techniques in Veterinary Science, CVASU, Chattogram, Bangladesh.
  • International Training Program on Theriogenology, CVASU, Chattogram, Bangladesh.
  • International Training Program on Reproduction, CVASU, Chattogram, Bangladesh.

Conferences attended

  • ASTMH 2025 Annual Meeting, American of Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, Toronto, Canada
  • CSEB-SCEB Conference 2025, Canadian Society for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Montréal, Canada.
  • Research week 2025, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Université de Montréal, Saint-Hyacinthe, Canada
  • One Health: Antimicrobial Resistance and Emerging Zoonoses Conference, 2025, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
  • GREZOSP Day, 2024, Groupe De Recherche En Épidémiologie Des Zoonoses Et Santé Publique, Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec, Canada
  • 3rd Scientific Congress of CReSP (Centre de recherche en santé publique), 2023, Montréal, Québec, Canada.
  • 2nd Annual Montréal Parasitology Symposium, 2022, Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec, Canada
  • 15th International Scientific Conference, 2018, Chattogram, Bangladesh.
  • 1st Conference of Continuing Education for the Veterinarians of Bangladesh,2017, Cox’s bazar, Bangladesh.
  • 9th One Health Bangladesh Conference, 2017, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
  • Implementation of One Health and Developing Laboratory Capacities for Diagnosis of Infectious Zoonotic Diseases, 2017, Chattogram, Bangladesh.
  • 14th Annual Scientific Conference, 2017, Chattogram, Bangladesh.
  • 1st National DVM Intern Research Conferences, 2016, Chattogram, Bangladesh.

Membership

  • The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH)
  • The Centre de Recherche en Santé Publique (CReSP)
  • The Groupe de Recherche en Epidémiologie des Zoonoses et Santé Publique (GREZOSP)
  • Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Collaborator
  • Bangladesh Veterinary Association
  • Bangladesh Veterinary Council

For my contact information, please click here.