Microbiome and Genomics Lab

Dr. Abdul Latif Khan

Office Location: SAB1, 218
Office Tel: +1 713 743 5642
Office Fax: +1 713 743 4032
Email: alkhan@uh.edu

Dr Eunhae Kwon

Dr Eunhae Kwon is highly motivated with expertise in the broad field of plant bioscience and a strong background in signaling between plants and microorganisms (crop physiology). She is proficient in the use of in vitro and in vivo techniques to conduct plant research, including metabolomic and genomic analyses based on microorganisms and crops. She specifically focuses on the melatonin synthesis and pathway in microorganisms and interaction between plant and melatonin-producing microbes under abiotic stress.

Dr. Ali Al Lawati

Ali Al Lawati is an assistant professor at the Natural and Medical Sciences Research Center of the University of Nizwa with over 30 years of experience in plant science and statistics. His expertise covers agronomy, plant breeding, genetics, biodiversity, and plant breeder rights. He has led research on crops like wheat, barley, and corn and collaborated with organizations like ICARDA and ICBA. Ali has also administered research grants for Oman’s Research Council and has conducted field surveys, trials, molecular techniques, and statistical analysis. With over 35 published articles and a 2020 book on Oman’s socioeconomic plants, Ali’s work is highly regarded. Currently, as a Fulbright Scholar, he focuses on smart agriculture, utilizing phenotyping, remote sensing, and big data.

Waqar Ahmad

Waqar joined the lab as Ph.D. student. He is working on exploring plant stress microbiomes. He uses multi-OMIC approaches to understand the role of abiotic stresses, specifically the impact of greenhouse gases on shaping the plant microbiome and biosynthetic pathways. His other interests include isolating, characterization, and identifying salt and temperature-tolerant endophytic microbes and utilizing them as a stress alleviating strategy for growing crop plants in salinity and temperature stresses.

Nasir Khan

Nasir, a recent graduate from Texas Tech University, has joined our lab as a PhD Graduate Research Assistant. He is currently working on microbial seed encapsulation and coating to promote sustainable agriculture. His research focuses on enhancing the physical and physiological properties of seeds to facilitate planting, boost growth indices, enhance yields and quality and mitigate abiotic stresses. Additionally, Nasir is interested in isolating, characterizing, and identifying extremophilic endophytic microbes, with the goal of using these microbes to alleviate stress in crop plants growing under adverse conditions.

Suhaib Ahmed

Suhaib Ahmed is thrilled to begin his Ph.D. research focused on the genetic engineering of crops and microbiomes to mitigate climate change. His project aims to enhance the climate resilience of soybean and sorghum using advanced techniques such as CRISPR-Cas9 and gene overexpression. By investigating silicate solubilization, silicon uptake, CO2 sequestration, and ACC deaminase, he plans to boost these crops’ ability to withstand environmental stressors. 

Imad Aijaz

Imad Aijaz, a master’s student has a keen interest in the intersections of microbiology, stem cells, and bioinformatics. He is committed to advancing knowledge and contributing to breakthroughs in these fields. He is always seeking new opportunities to contribute to the biotechnology industry and make a positive impact on society. His research include analyzing the impact of exogenous melatonin on different plant species under climatic change conditions.

Nida Fatima

Nida Fatima, a master’s student at the University of Houston, is passionate about plant biotechnology and microbiology. She is currently engaged in research on the effectiveness of biofertilizers on various plants to enhance growth and sustainability.

Lucy Owens

Lucille Owens is interested in soil microbiomes and their potential to address challenges associated with a changing climate. With experience in environmental lab work, and undergrad research on oyster mushrooms as a sustainable food source in an urban environment, she is eager to explore the utilization of microbes for sustainable crop production to increase global food security.

Nadia Rasheed

Nadia Rasheed is recent graduate from the University of Houston with her Masters in biotechnology. With a focus on climate change engineering in her undergraduate and graduate years. She is now currently researching the effects and quantification techniques of nanoplastics in soybean plants under Dr.Khan’s Lab at the University of Houston.

Tisha Haukongo

Tisha Haukongo is a Biotechnology undergraduate at the University of Houston, and minoring in Medicine & Society. Her current project is researching the help and improvements that microbial consortiums can have on and bring to plants, with focus on pearl millet, sorghum, and soybeans.

Jessica Yang

Jessica is doing project on secondary metabolites, such as terpenoids, are renowned for their anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer applications. Over the next few months, she will identify squalene synthase (SQS) genes from the triterpenoid biosynthesis pathways of 2,000 plant species to understand the influence of evolution on gene function. These findings may suggest favorable characteristics for the sustainable production of squalene, and by extension, triterpenoids.

Elysse Nioupin

Elysse is an undergraduate student. Her research strives to advance the understanding of the benefits of the symbiotic relationship between fungi and soybean plants under both normal and drought conditions.

The key objective of her research is to gather empirical evidence that can encourage farmers and agriculturalists to utilize fungi as a tool to enhance crop growth.

Past Graduate Students

Past Undergraduate Students