Umar Ahmad

Background

About Umar Ahmad

I am an accomplished genomicist with expertise in bioinformatics and a multidisciplinary focus spanning genomics, transcriptomics, and biomedical data science. My journey began with a strong foundation in genetics, which evolved into the fields of genomics and bioinformatics, where I now integrate coding, data science, and computational biology to extract meaningful insights from large-scale biological datasets. With a deep passion for public health genomics and precision medicine, I leverage high-throughput sequencing technologies such as RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq), single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-Seq), whole-genome sequencing (WGS), and whole-exome sequencing (WES) to understand complex biological processes. My research primarily focuses on: Cancer Genomics – Genomic profiling of bladder cancer and urothelial cell carcinoma, studying key molecular drivers, therapeutic resistance, and protein-protein interactions (PPI) in oncogenic pathways. 🦠 Infectious Disease Genomics – Investigating oncolytic virotherapy mechanisms using Newcastle disease virus (NDV), particularly in persistent infections in cancer cells, and exploring pathogen genomics for public health surveillance. 🧬 Genomic Surveillance & Bioinformatics – Developing computational pipelines for AMR surveillance, pathogen detection, and population genomics, applying Unix, R/Bioconductor, Python, and machine learning to analyze genomic data and inform public health decision-making. Beyond research, I am dedicated to training and capacity building in genomics and bioinformatics. I teach undergraduate and postgraduate students, develop bioinformatics curricula, and mentor early-career scientists, encouraging them to embrace coding and computational biology as transformative skills in biomedical research.