QAU Faculty | Microbiology | Dr. Rabaab Zahra

Research Interests Publications Conferences Research Projects

My research focuses on epidemiology and dissemination of antibiotic resistance in clinical and non-clinical settings and its impact upon infection outcomes in Pakistan. In particular, we study the impact of the resistant bacteria in neonatal infections and focus on links between hospital and community acquired infections. I am also very much interested in studying the reservoirs of these resistant bacteria in non-clinical environments to understand the role of environment in dissemination of resistance.

1. Zahra, R., Javeed, S., Bibi, M., Babenko, D., Toleman, M. (2018) Analysis of Escherichia coli STs and resistance mechanisms in sewage from Islamabad, Pakistan indicates a difference in E. coli carriage types between South Asia and Europe. Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy doi: 10.1093/jac/dky109

2. Gilmore-Hall, S., Kuo, J., Ward, J., Zahra, R., Morrison, R., Perkins, G., La Spada, A. (2018) CCP1 promotes mitochondrial fusion and motility to prevent Purkinje cell neuron loss in pcd mice. Journal of Cell Biology doi: 10.1083/jcb.201709028

3. Latif, A., Zahur, A.B., Libeau, G., Zahra, R., Ullah, A., Ahmed, A., Afzal, M., Rahman, S.U. (2018) Comparative Analysis of BTS-34 and Vero-76 Cell lines for Isolation of Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) Virus. Pakistan Vetrinary Journal 38(3): 237-242. doi: 10.29261/pakvetj/2018.050

4. Saba, T., Sajid, M., Khan, A. A., Zahra, R. (2018) Role of Intracellular Adhesion icaAD and agr genes in Biofilm Formation in Clinical S. aureus Isolates and Assessment of Two Phenotypic Methods. Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences 34(3): 633-637. doi: 10.12669/pjms.343.14530

5. Nahid, F., Zahra, R., Sandergren, L. (2017) A blaOXA-181-harbouring multi-resistant ST147 Klebsiella pneumoniae isolate from Pakistan that represent an intermediate stage towards pan-drug resistance. PLoS One 12(12), doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0189438

6. Kumar, N., Nahid, F., Zahra, R. (2017) Association of virulence factors, phylogenetic groups and antimicrobial resistance markers in Escherichia coli from Badin City, Pakistan. Journal of Chemotherapy 29(1): 8-13

7. Maryam, S., Rasheed, S., Latif, A., Zahra, R., Zahur, A. B., Ahsan, A., Afzal, M., Farooq, U. (2017) One-Step Real-Time Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (RT-LAMP): Evaluation and its Applications for the detection of Foot and Mouth Disease Virus and its serotypes. Turkish Journal of Veterinary and Animal Sciences 41(3):435-443. doi: 10.3906/vet-1611-10

8. Ahmed, A., Latif, A., Zahra, R., Zahur, A. B., Farooq, U., Ullah, A., Abubakar, M., Jamil, A., Afzal, M. (2017) Current Appraisal of the suitability of foot-and-mouth disease strains in two commonly used Commercial Vaccines for Control of FMD in Pakistan. Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences 27(2):446-450

9. Angez, M., Shaukat, S., Zahra, R., Alam, M. M., Sharif, S., Khurshid, A., Arshad, Y., Rana, M. S., Mujtaba, G., Zaidi, S. Z. Z. (2017) Characterization of group B Coxsackieviruses isolates from non-polio acute flaccid paralysis patients in Pakistan: vital assessment before polio eradication. Epidemiology and Infection 145(12): 2473-2481

10. Sattar, H., Toleman, F., Nahid, F., Zahra, R. (2016) Co-existence of bla_NDM-1 and bla_KPC-2 in clinical isolates of Klebsiella penumoniae from Pakistan. Journal of Chemotherapy 28(4): 346-9

11. Angez, M., Shaukat, S., Zahra, R., Sharif, S., Alam, M. M., Khurshid, A., Rana, M. S., Zaidi, S. Z. Z. (2015) Identification of new genotype of Echovirus 19 from children with Accute Flaccid Paralysis in Pakistan. Scientific Reports doi: 10.1038/srep17456

12. Jamil, A., Zahra, R., Abubakar, M., Arshad, M. J., Ehtisham-ul-Haq, L., Akhter, T., Afzal, M. (2015) Study of Humoral Immune Response in Buffalo Calves Following Various Foot and Mouth Disease Vaccines. Pakistan Vetrinary Journal 35(3):289-292

13. Qamar, M. U., Nahid, F., Walsh, T. R., Kamran, R., Zahra, R. (2015) Prevalence and clinical burden of NDM-1 positive infections in pediatric and neonatal patients in Pakistan. The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal 34(4): 452-4 IF= 3.14

14. Angez, M., Shaukat, S., Zahra, R., Khurshid, A., Sharif, S., Alam, M. M., Zaidi, S. Z. Z. (2015) Molecular epidemiology of enterovirus B77 isolated from non polio acute flaccid paralytic patients in Pakistan during 2013. Infection, Genetics and Evolution 29: 189-195

15. Wasee Ullah, R., Zahur Bin A., Latif, A., Dasti, J. I., Zahra, R., Khan, S. (2015) Mild Form of Peste des Petits Ruminants Virus (PPRV) in Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Zoology 47(1): 276-279

16. Dubinsky, A. N., Dastidar, S. G., Hsu, C. L., Zahra, R., Djakovic, S. N., Durate, S., Esau, C. C., Spencer, B., Ashe, T. D., Fischer, K. M., MacKenna, D. A., Sopher, B. L., Masliah, E., Gaasterland, T., Chau, B. N., Pereira de Almeida, L., Morrison, B. E., La Spada, A. R. (2014) Let-7 Coordinately suppresses Components of the Amino Acid Sensing Pathway to Repress mTORC1 and Induce Autophagy. Cell Metabolism 20 (4): 626-638

17. Shah, T. A., Zahra, R. (2014) Screening of Environment water for the presence of bla_NDM-1 containing Microorganisms. Journal of the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan 24 (9): 695-697

18. Rasheed, F., Campbell, B. J., Alfizah, H., Varro, A., Zahra, R., Yamaoka, Y., Pritchard, D. M. (2014) Analysis of Clinical Isolates of Helicobacter pylori in Pakistan Reveals High Degrees of Pathogenicity, High Frequencies of Antibiotic Resistance and Identifies a Novel Mutation which Confers Resistance to Clarithromycin. Helicobacter 19:387-399

19. Hasan, B., Perveen, K., Olsen, B. and Zahra, R. (2014) Emergence of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii in hospitals in Pakistan. Journal of Medical Microbiology 63: 50-55

20. Khan, S., Rasheed, F., Zahra, R. (2014) Genetic polymorphism of agr Locus and antibiotic resistance of Staphylococcus aureus at two hospitals in Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences 30(1): 172-6

21. Rasheed, F., Khalid, A., Saadia, A., Habib, S., Khan, S. M., Saeed, F., Ahmed, T., Usman, J., and Zahra, R. (2014) Correlation of 13C Urea Breath Test Values with Helicobacter pylori Load among Positive Patients. Hepato Gastroenterology 61 (129): 125-8

22. Nahid, F., Khan, A. A., Rehman S., Zahra, R. (2013) Prevalence of metallo-beta-lactamase NDM-1-producing multi-drug resistant bacteria at two Pakistani hospitals and implications for public health. J Infect Public Health 6, 487-493

23. Blackwood, J., Okely, E., Zahra, R., Eykelenboom, J., and Leach, D.R.F. (2010) DNA tandem repeat instability in the Escherichia coli chromosome is stimulated by mismatch repair at an adjacent CAG.CTG trinucleotide repeat. PNAS 107(52): 22582-22586

24. Chakrabarti, L., Zahra, R., Jackson, S.M., Kazemi-Esfarjani, P., Sopher, B. L., Mason, A. G., Toneff, T., Ryu, S., Shaffer, S. Kansy, J. W., Eng, J., Merrihew, G., Maccoss, M., Murphy, A., Goodlett, D. R., Hook, V., Bennett, C. L., Pallanck, L. J., and La Spada, A. R. (2010) Mitochondrial dysfunction in NnaD mutant flies and Purkinje cell degeneration mice reveals a role for Nna proteins in neuronal bioenergentics. Neuron 66: 835-847

25. Zahra, R., Blackwood, J. K., Sales, J. and Leach D. R. F. (2007) Proofreading and secondary structure processing determine the orientation dependence of CAG.CTG trinucleotide repeat instability in Escherichia coli. Genetics 176(1):27-41

Book Chapters:

1. Zahra, R., and La Spada, A. R. (2011) Cellular and Molecular basis of Neurodegeneration in the CAG-Polyglutamine repeat diseases. Basic Neurochemistry, 8^th Edition, Elsevier Inc.

2011-2012 Role of agr system and autophagy in development of methicillin resistance of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Higher Education Commission, Pakistan (principal investigator)

2013-2016 Autophagy mediated cytotoxicity and antibiotic resistance of Staphylococcus aureus, role of accessory gene regulatory (agr) system. Higher Education Commission, Pakistan (principal investigator)

2015-2018 Burden of Antibiotic Resistance in Neonates from Developing Societies (BARNARDS)” As part of the BARNARDS Network. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (principal investigator-Islamabad)

2015 Genetics of Gram Negative Bacteria Causing Infection in Neonates. UK-Researcher Links Travel Grant Program, Cardiff University, United Kingdom

2016-2018 BARNARDS – Community Project. As part of the BARNARDS Network. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (principal investigator-Islamabad)

2016-2017 Sequence Types of E. coli in Environment. Commonwealth Academic Staff Fellowship, Cardiff University, UK

2017-2020 Genomic Comaprison of community and hospital acquired carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) in Pakistan, and influence of the intestinal microbiota. Pak-France Joint HEC PERIDOT Research Program 2017 (principal investigator – Pakistan side)