Aws Ahmed

 

Hello, my name is Aws Ahmed. I attended the University of Texas at El Paso, where I graduated with a Biomedical science degree. Growing up in Iraq, I did not know anything about research. For decades, Iraqi universities have been denied the freedom to do research as well as free access to information necessary to be a successful researcher. I discovered research in my junior year here in the United States when my TA from microbiology lab saw my passion for science and my ability in the lab. He invited me to do research with him in Dr.Sun’s lab in the University of Texas at El Paso. My primary interest was on how bacterial pathogens cause diseases. I studied Mycobacterium tuberculosis ESX-1 secreted proteins.

My previous experience in M. tuberculosis led me a new opportunity working with a post-doctoral researcher in Dr. Spencer’s lab. This focus has been on the intracellular pathogen Francisella tularensis. My interest towards research was nurtured and developed by these two experiences, thus I sought additional training before applying to MD-PhD programs to gain more research experience along with professional development and coursework to prepare for professional school. I chose to become part of PREP@UGA because of the diversity of faculty mentors offered to its scholars, and the quality of research UGA creates.

Here at UGA, I am working in the lab of Dr. Lohitash Karumbaiah under the mentorship of a post-doctoral associate, Dr. Charles-Francois Latchoumane in the regenerative bioscience center. I study Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) in vitro and vivo. CNS deficits are limited in their ability to effectuate long-term repair, I am working on previously developed glycomaterials for stem cell transplantation, and trophic factor enrichment after moderate TBI. Also, I been working of various tissue clearing techniques applied on rat brains with a focus on molecular/cellular staining and imaging of large samples. This last experience brought me an even more diverse skill set, a more constructed vision of what can be done and what I could do in the future in the field of scientific research. I now truly respect the impact of basic and translational research on the medical field and I am confident that as an aspiring PhD/MD-PhD I will be able to make a significant contribution.