Postdoctoral Researchers

Name: Dr. Aasia Khaliq                
Supervisor: Dr. Shaper Mirza                
Email: aasia.khaliq.pu@gmail.com                
Department: Biology

Dr. Aasia holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences from University of the Punjab, Lahore in During her Ph.D , one of the areas of her research was the developfment and validation of multiplex-based tests for serodiagnosis of tuberculosis (TB). The purpose of this work was to design a reliable, rapid and affordable diagnostic procedure for TB. Using a set of antigens of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb.) sensitivity of the test was enhanced to >90%. Another study undertaken during her PhD was to develop a rapid and reliable DNA-based multiplex test for multiple-drug resistance (MDR) TB mutation detection. Upon completion of her degree, Dr Aasia took a 3 years (2017-2020) Post Doc Fellowship at Armed Forces Institute of Pathology and worked on “Computational modelling of active tuberculosis using clinical, immunological and radiological data”. In 2021, she joined Department of Biology, LUMS as Post Doctorate Fellow and is currently working on “Mapping of Immune Response to SARS-COv2 using a multidisciplinary approach”.                

Dr. Aasia have participated in various national and internal conferences and workshops. She also holds a diploma in Environmental Law.  Her experimental expertise are Isolation & Purification of DNA, Protein Purification, Cloning and Transformation, PCR, Spectroscopy, DNA Sequencing, Protein and DNA coating on microbeads, Multiplex microbead immunoassay, Cytokine assays, ELISA, Multiplex PCR & Multiplex MDR assay and FACS. She has authored 13 publications in peer reviewed journals. 

Name: Dr. Farrukh ibne Mahmood                 
Supervisor: Dr. Nauman Zafar Butt             
Email: TBA            
Department: Electrical Engineering

Dr. Farrukh ibne Mahmood is a distinguished engineer with a robust academic background and an expansive portfolio in energy and photovoltaics. Having earned his Ph.D. in Systems Engineering with an emphasis on Energy Systems from Arizona State University (ASU), he boasts a niche expertise in reliability testing, particularly in the potential induced photovoltaic module degradation. This was preceded by a Master's degree in Energy Systems Engineering from the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) and a Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering from the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS).

Dr. Mahmood has consistently made headway in energy systems throughout his academic tenure. His research on the reliability and optimization of bifacial solar PV modules is notable. In addition to his endeavours, he has worked on various projects with prominent entities during his doctoral studies in the US, such as the Department of Energy, the University of Central Florida, and the National Renewable Energy Lab.        
Dr. Mahmood's technical acumen is diverse and profound, encompassing the design and utilization of a myriad of simulation and programming tools, unique techniques in photovoltaic equipment, and a profound grasp of systems engineering principles.

Having authored numerous publications, Dr. Mahmood has made significant contributions to the academic community. His research papers traverse various subjects within energy systems and photovoltaics.        
Beyond the research labs and academia, Farrukh is an avid advocate for innovative problem-solving, a trait recognized through awards such as the Fulbright Scholarship for Ph.D. studies and induction into Tau Beta Pi at ASU, the esteemed engineering honor society.

For individuals keen on exploring his body of work further, Dr. Mahmood's research publications are available on Google Scholar.

Name: Dr. Ghulam Sarwar                
Supervisor: Dr. Muhammad Sabieh Anwar                
Email: ghulam.sarwar@lums.edu.pk                
Department: Physics

Dr. Ghulam Sarwar Butt is currently serving in physical properties measurements at Central Lab, Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering LUMS. He joined LUMS in 2017 as a scientific officer. His research lab comprises of vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), plasma etcher, microprobe station and four probe system. His main achievement is attaining the smooth operation of the VSM which is the Cryogen-Free High Field Measurement System with sophisticated measurement techniques; providing a versatile, powerful investigative device achieving low temperatures (4K) and high magnetic fields (up to 7 Tesla). He is characterizing magnetic samples with magnetic moment measurement technique by vibrating sample magnetometer. He is currently working on a number of probes with the basic cryogen-free High Field Measurement System to extend its capabilities. These probes include AC Susceptibility, Resistivity Magneto-Transport and Hall Effect measurement, Seebeck Effect and Thermal Transport, Heat-Capacity measurement by AC Calorimetry.                

Sarwar received his M.Sc (Physics) and M.Phil (Microelectronic Engineering and Semiconductor Physics) degrees from University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan. He completed his Ph.D Physics in 2021 from the Department of Physics, under the supervision of Dr. Muhammad Waseem Ashraf, GCU, Lahore, Pakistan. The title of Ph.D was “Simulation and Synthesis of Group-II Elements Doped ZnO Nanostructures for MEMS Energy Harvester”. The applied areas of his research include piezoelectric materials for MEMS energy harvester and simulation with MATLAB Fuzzy Logic. The area of research interest is magnetic materials and their characterization. He has 6+ publications in impact factor international journals and peer reviewed conference publications. He has been teaching and conducting electronics labs at GCU and University of the Punjab prior to joining LUMS.

Research Publications:

• Sarwar, G., et al., Simulation, synthesis and band-gap engineering of 2nd group doped ZnO nanostructures. Materials Research Express, 2021. 8(8): p. 085004.
• Butt, G.S. and M.W. Ashraf, Parametric estimation of Group II element doped zinc oxide nanostructures using fuzzy logic. Journal of Intelligent & Fuzzy Systems, 2020. Preprint: p. 1-11.
• Ali, B., et al., Fuzzy logic based energy harvesting with the movement of plants branches and leaves. Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 2016. 53(2).
• Tayyaba, S., et al. Simulation of flow control in straight microchannels using fuzzy logic. in 2016 International Conference on Computing, Electronic and Electrical Engineering (ICE Cube). 2016.
• Tariq, N., et al. Comparative simulation of silicon, PDMS, PGA and PMMA actuator for piezoelectric micropump. in 2016 2nd International Conference on Robotics and Artificial Intelligence (ICRAI). 2016.
• Afzal, M.J., et al. Simulation of fuzzy based flow controller in ascending sinusoidal microchannels. in 2016 2nd International Conference on Robotics and Artificial Intelligence (ICRAI). 2016.

Journal Publications[1-3]                
International Conference Publications[4-6]

Name: Dr. Hayder Ali                          
Supervisor: Dr. Hassan Abbas Khan             
Email: hayder.ali@lums.edu.pk 
Department: Electrical Engineering

Dr. Hayder Ali earned his PhD in Electrical Engineering from Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) in 2024. He has been deeply involved in projects focusing on solar system installation, lithium-ion battery technology, and sustainability. His work includes collaborations with renowned institutions such as NASA, the Center for Advanced Life Cycle Engineering (CALCE) at the University of Maryland, and Texas A&M University. Dr. Ali was awarded the HEC IRSIP Scholarship for a six-month exchange program at CALCE, where he also received a research scholarship for his outstanding performance and contributions to safe energy storage research. With over 350 research citations, Dr. Ali's academic impact is evident, and his role as a peer reviewer for 150 articles in leading journals further highlights his expertise.

Research Publications:

• His research can be followed via the link below:              
  https://scholar.google.com.pk/citations?user=0UvD2RMAAAAJ&hl=en 

Name: Dr. Maira Hasnain Pasha         
Supervisor: Dr. Rahman Shah Zaib Saleem         
Email: mairahasnain184@gmail.com          
Department: Chemistry and Chemical Engineering 

Dr. Maira Hasnain Pasha is a synthetic organic chemist whose research focuses on developing enantioselective organocatalyzed reactions for synthesizing bioactive chiral molecules. She is trained in organocatalysis, a field that was honoured with the 2021 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. She obtained her PhD in Chemistry in 2023 from the University of Sargodha (UOS), Sargodha, in collaboration with the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Graduate University, Okinawa (OIST), Japan.   

During her PhD studies, Dr. Pasha had the opportunity to conduct research at Japan's renowned institution, OIST, as a Research Intern. Subsequently, she was appointed as a fully funded Research Student/PhD candidate from 2018 to 2021 in the Chemistry and Chemical Bioengineering Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), Japan, under the guidance of Professor Fujie Tanaka. During this period of time, her research was published in reputable scientific journals.   

As an Abdus Salam Postdoctoral Fellow, Dr. Pasha has joined the research group of Dr. Rahman Shah Zaib Saleem. She aims to optimize compounds such as SSE15206 by synthesizing enantiopure isomers and employing chiral auxiliaries to create innovative libraries for subsequent biological analysis. 

Name: Dr. Muhammad Hamza Humayun                
Supervisor: Dr. Muhammad Sabieh Anwar                
Email: muhammad.humayun@lums.edu.pk                
Department: Physics

Muhammad Hamza Humayun received the B.Sc. Electrical Engineering from University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan in 2007, the M.Sc. degree in Optoelectronics and Photonics from Koç University, Istanbul, Turkey, in 2015, and the Ph.D. degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey in 2021.                 

He was awarded MS leading to PhD scholarship by HEC Pakistan in 2013. His current research interests comprise of understanding light-matter interactions at the nanoscale involving photonic nanostructures. Currently, he is a Senior Lab Instructor in the Department of Physics department of LUMS. His extracurricular activities include reading books and playing sports.

Research Publications:

• Muhammad Hamza Humayun, Pedro Ludwig Hernandez-Martinez, Negar Gheshlaghi, Onur Erdem, Yemliha Altintas, Farzan Shabani, and Hilmi Volkan Demir, "Near-Field Energy Transfer into Silicon Inversely Proportional to Distance using Quasi-2D Colloidal Quantum Well Donors", Small, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202103524
• N. Gheshlaghi, S. Foroutan-Barenji, O. Erdem, Y. Altintas, F. Shabani, M. H. Humayun, H. V. Demir, “Self-Resonant Microlasers of Colloidal Quantum Wells Constructed by Direct Deep Patterning,” Nano Lett., vol. 21, no. 11, pp. 4598–4605, 2021.
• M. H. Humayun, I. Khan, F. Azeem, M. R. Chaudhry, U. S. Gökay, M. S. Murib, A. Serpengüzel, “Far-infrared elastic scattering proposal for the Avogadro Project’s silicon spheres,” J. Quant. Spectrosc. Radiat. Transf., vol. 210, pp. 173–179, 2018.
• Muhammad Hamza Humayun, Syed Sultan Shah Bukhari, Muhammad Zakwan, Mustafa Mert Bayer, Ulaş Sabahattin Gökay, Ali Serpengüzel, Kenichi Taira, Etsuji Omura, and Josuke Nakata, "Spatial intensity profiling of elastic and inelastic scattering in isotropic and anisotropic liquids by immersion of a spherical silicon photocell," Appl. Opt. 56, 9384-9389 (2017)

Name: Dr. Saad Sarwar                
Supervisor: Dr. Irshad Hussain                
Email: saad.sarwar@lums.edu.pk                
Department: Chemistry and Chemical Engineering

Dr. Saad Sarwar completed his Ph.D. in Renewable Energy Engineering from the University of Science and Technology (UST) South Korea. His work focused on energy harvesting and saving through the development of dye sensitized solar cells and photoelectrochromic windows. He worked at the Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER); a national research institute during his Ph.D. Dr. Saad Sarwar is experienced in device fabrication: solar cells (dye sensitized & perovskite), electrochromic, and photoelectrochromic windows (aka smart windows). He did his BS in Materials Science and Engineering from KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) and MS in Applied Chemistry from Kumoh National Institute of Technology, South Korea.                

At LUMS, Dr. Saad is developing a photo-assisted rechargeable battery that will improve the energy density of the existing battery systems by utilizing solar power.

Research Publications:

• His research can be followed via the link below:                 
  https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=bLo_AysAAAAJ&hl=en