Biography:

Currently, Dr. Majid is working as a Tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry, at COMSATS University Islamabad, Abbottabad Campus, Pakistan. He joined this University as an Assistant Professor back in 2014 and now he is working on the current position since August 2021. He possess proficiency in various analytical techniques, including thermogravimetric analysis, chromatographic methods such as LPLC, HPLC, TLC, and spectroscopic techniques such as UV-Vis, FT-IR, solution-state NMR (400 MHz and 600 MHz), and MS. He is also skilled in enzyme inhibition protocols on SpectraMax M2, which he carries out regularly in his research lab following compound synthesis. His knowledge of theoretical studies of organic compounds, including docking and MD simulations, is considerable, and his scientific expertise is evident from his numerous journal publications, conference proceedings, and book chapters. In the course of his career, he has mentored 44 MS and 2 PhD students, overseeing their projects, which focused on the synthesis of organic molecules, including Schiff bases and organometallic compounds. Several of his students secured admission to prestigious universities worldwide, and he shares credit with them for their achievements.

Alongside research, his teaching experience in Universities is also over 16 years. He has taught several core and allied courses of theoretical as well as practical nature in universities including the University of the Punjab, Pakistan, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway and COMSATS University Islamabad, Abbottabad Campus, Pakistan. Spectroscopic techniques, synthetic organic chemistry, bioorganic chemistry, chemistry of advanced materials, drug development, organic transformations, and advanced analytical techniques are a few courses from my total list which he has taught multiple times at MS and PhD levels. His student feedback has always been excellent. He is a part of different committees where we assess the quality and content of the curriculum and play an important role in curriculum design.

He has held several administrative positions, such as research group head of the Natural Product research group, graduate program coordinator of MS and PhD programs at the university level, and other roles, including the presidency of associations and membership of key committees such as the departmental advisory committee, board of studies, office of research, innovation, and commercialization, departmental academic regulatory committee, purchase committee, and ISO/QEC committee. He is adept at managing regulatory and administrative affairs in an organization.

He holds a PhD from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway, and was honored with a full-time merit scholarship from the Government of Pakistan. His doctoral research focused on medicinal chemistry where he worked on the development of ten compounds including a novel compound with potent anti-inflammatory properties. His academic sojourn abroad played a critical role in his scientific advancement and personal development in a multicultural milieu. Furthermore, he attained second position in his batch of bachelor's degree and completed his master's degree from the University of the Punjab, Pakistan, where his MS thesis presented several synthesized organic compounds of industrial interest. His expertise spans across Organic, Inorganic, Physical, Analytical, Applied, Environmental, and Bio Chemistry.

Throughout his research career, he has worked with individuals from diverse backgrounds and is recognized with several honors and awards, which are documented in his CV. His future plans are to excel in the field of Chemistry by focusing on challenging problems and contributing to the well-being of this planet.

Dr. Asma Zaidi

Research Group Head (Synthetic Organic Chemistry)