Dr. Qasim Ayub

Biography

Professor Qasim Ayub joined Monash University Malaysia in 2017. He graduated from Khyber Medical College, Peshawar, Pakistan, and subsequently obtained a Ph.D. from the University of North Texas, Denton, USA, as a Thomas Jefferson Fellow. He has worked in the USA, Pakistan, Italy, and the United Kingdom. In Pakistan, he assisted in setting up a state-of-the-art molecular biology research facility, the Biomedical Genetic Engineering Laboratories in Islamabad, which became a focal point for the Human Genome Diversity Project. From August 2008 to 2017, he worked at the world-renowned Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, near Cambridge, as a member of the 1000 Genomes Project Consortium's gorilla sequencing team and published several high-profile papers. His research focuses on population and evolutionary genomics of humans and non-human species. In recent decades, he has analyzed DNA variation among worldwide ethnic and linguistic groups to understand origins and relatedness. He has identified novel male-specific markers used in forensic DNA identification studies among Pakistani populations and received the President of Pakistan's Medal for Excellence for contributions to science in 2006. Qasim also maintains interest in South Asian population genetics, exploring the functional basis of high-altitude adaptation in the Himalayas. Currently, he serves as the Director of the Monash University Malaysia Genomics Facility, conducting research in human population evolutionary disease genomics and leading the Malaysian BioGenome Project to establish high-quality reference genomes in collaboration with the Vertebrate Genomes Project and local initiatives.

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