Nafees Ahmad

Dr. Nafees Ahmad received his B. S.(Hons) and M. S. in Biochemistry & Microbiology from one of the prestigious central universities in India, The Aligarh Muslim University. He then joined another renowned research institute, The Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, India, from where he earned his Ph.D. in 1983. Dr. Ahmad did his Postdoctoral Fellowship at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland, USA from 1985-1990 in the Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. His research primarily focused on the regulation of HIV-1 gene expression and replication, especially the role of HIV-1 regulatory and accessory proteins in HIV-1 replication and biology. In 1990, a group of scientists from the NIH, including Dr. Ahmad moved to J.N. Gamble Institute of Medical Research, Cincinnati, Ohio to start a new program on Molecular Virology, including his own independent research program on molecular mechanisms of HIV-1 mother-to-infant transmission. In 1994, Dr. Ahmad joined the University of Arizona College of Medicine's Department of Microbiology and Immunology (now Immunobiology). His research involves understanding the molecular mechanisms of differential HIV infection in infants and adults and vertical transmission and HIV infection in aging and older infected patients. In addition, he directs the Immunity and Infection block of the medical curriculum (M.D. program) of the College of Medicine. He is also the Director of Microbiology and Immunity Graduate Certificate Program and Director of Applied Biosciences Professional Masters Graduate Interdisciplinary Program - Medical Microbiology and Immunology Track. He teaches medical virology to M.D. students and molecular virology to M.S. and Ph.D. students. He mentors postdoctoral and medical fellows and graduate, medical and undergraduate students for research in his laboratory. His services include serving on various university, college, and departmental committees, grant review committees, editorial boards of scientific journals and other international, national and local agencies.