Asma Iqbal

PhD

Research Associate, J.D. MacLean Centre for Tropical Diseases, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medical Microbiology, McGill University Health Centre

Location

Montreal, Quebec

Keywords

microbiology, parasitology, food and water-borne pathogens, zoonotic transmission, epidemiology

Research interests

My research focuses on molecular characterization of species, genotypes and sub-genotypes of coccidian parasites, especially Cryptosporidium, Giardia and Toxoplasma gondii in food, water and environmental samples. This leads to an understanding of the possible sources and transmission routes of the parasites. Involved in method development and have special interest in developing aptamers. Aptamer are single-stranded oligonucleotides synthesized through a in-vitro selection and amplification process that involves systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichments (SELEX); high diversity and specificity with target molecule

Expertise in

Cryptosporidiosis

Detection/Diagnostics

Epidemiology

Genomics

Giardiasis

Marine Mammals

Toxoplasmosis

Relevant publications

Stacey A. Elmore, Larissa L. Bailey, Kathryn P. Huyvaert, Asma Iqbal, Chunlei Su, Brent R. Dixon, Ray T. Alisauskas, Alvin A. Gajadhar, Emily J. Jenkins. Using a multi-scale occupancy approach to determine Toxoplasma gondii detection probability: an application and guide for field sampling. International Journal of Parasitology, 2016; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpara.2016.04.003

Karine Thivierge, Asma Iqbal, Brent Dixon, Réjean Dion, Benoît Levesque, Philippe Cantin, Lyne Cédilotte, Momar Ndao, Jean-François Proulx, and Cedric P Yansouni. Cryptosporidium hominis is a newly recognized pathogen in the Arctic Region of Nunavik, Canada: Molecular characterization of an outbreak. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 2016; doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0004534

Asma Iqbal, Mahmoud Labib, Darija Muharemagic, Syed Sattar, Brent R. Dixon and Maxim V. Berezovski. Detection of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts on fresh produce using DNA aptamers. PLoS ONE, 2015; 10(9): e0137455. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0137455

Asma Iqbal, David M. Goldfarb, Robert Slinger, and Brent R.Dixon. Prevalence and molecular characterization of Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia duodenalis in diarrhoeic patients in the Qikiqtani Region, Nunavut, Canada. International Journal of Circumpolar Health, 2015; 74: 27713. doi.org/10.3402/ijch.v74.27713

Asma Iqbal, Sim BLH, Brent R. Dixon, Johari Surin, Yvonne AL Lim. Molecular epidemiology of Cryptosporidium in HIV/AIDS patients in Malaysia. Tropical Biomedicine, 2015; 32(2): 1-13

Contact

McGill University Health Centre (Glen Site) Block E

1001 Blvd. Décarie

Montréal, QC H4A 3J1

asma.iqbal@mail.mcgill.ca