Department of Biotechnology

Dr. Saiqa Ilyas
Dr. Saiqa Ilyas

Assistant Professor

Department of Biotechnology   
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Educational Qualification 

  • Dec 2009 - Jan 2016                    
    Lahore College for Women University, Lahore, Pakistan
    PhD in Botany 
  • 2003-2005                                    
    Government College University, Lahore, Pakistan
    M.Phil. in Biotechnology
  • 2001-2003                                    
    Government College University, Lahore, Pakistan
    M.Sc. in Botany                                                             

Working Experience          

  • 2018 – to date             Assistant Professor                    
    Department of Biotechnology, Lahore College for   Women University, Lahore, Pakistan
  • 2010 – 2018              Research Officer                     
    Department of Biotechnology, Lahore College for   Women University, Lahore, Pakistan     
  • 2008 – 2010                    Research Associate             
    Department of Botany, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore, Pakistan
  • 2005 – 2008                     Lecturer           
    Queens College for girls, Lahore, Pakistan     

Research Experience

  • Standardization of protocols for in vitro clonal multiplication of ornamental, woody and medicinal plants through micropropagation
  • Establishment of efficient protocols for production of somaclonal variants of herbs and shrubs through callogenesis
  • Acclimatization of different mericlones in green house and field trial
  • DNA isolation, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), gel electrophoresis and molecular characterization through molecular markers
  • Evaluation of anti-microbial activities of plant extracts against pathogenic microorganisms
  • Chemical characterization of different plant extracts through different techniques
  • Induced mutagenesis (in vivo and in vitro) through physical mutagens for selection of superior plant varieties

Workshops Attended

  • 2025         1st International workshop on exploring precision medicine on 17 February, 2025 organized by Department of Biotechnology and VICPAK education consultant in collaboration with university of Technology Sydney at LCWU, LHR.
  • 2023           2nd International conference on recent approaches in plant sciences (RAPS-2023) on 4-5th May, 2023, organized by Department of Botany, Division of Science and Technology, University of Education, LHR.
  • 2022           Model competition 21stApril, 2022, organized by Department of Biotechnology, LCWU.
  • 2021          The world of vaccines, viruses and pandemic on 16th July, 2021, organized by Department of Biotechnology, LCWU.
  • 2019        Symposium and Model Competition on Biotechnology Insight on 4th April, 2019, organized by Department of Biotechnology, LCWU.
  • 2019    National Symposium on Awareness, Prevention and Treatment of Hepatitis on 27th November 2019, organized by Department of Biotechnology, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore in collaboration with Lahore General Hospital, Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department and Government of Pakistan.
  • 2018      International Symposium on Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors: Magic Bullets Against Cancer on 13th November 2018, organized by Department of Biotechnology, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore.
  • 2018     2nd International conference on New Trends in Natural Sciences II: Public health, Food Nutrition and Safety on 24-26th October 2018, organized by Department of Biotechnology & Zoology, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore.
  • 2018       Pipette clinic workshop on 9th October 2018, organized by Eco Biosciences in collaboration with Eppendorf.
  • 2018       1st International conference on current Scenario of research in plant sciences challenges and opportunities on 09-11th May 2018, organized by Department of Botany, University of Sargodha, Sargodha, Lahore, Pakistan.
  • 2018       participated in “7th Invention to Innovation Summit 2018 for Buy and Sell Technology” on 07 - 08th March 2018, organized by ORIC, University of the Punjab, Lahore.
  • 2017    International symposium on recent trends in biotechnology on 25-27th October 2017, organized by Department of Biotechnology & Zoology, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore.
  • 2017       International symposium on recent trends in biotechnology on 30th March 2017, organized by Department of Biotechnology, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore.
  • 2017       participated and won technology award in “6th Invention to Innovation Summit 2017 for Buy and Sell Technology” on 08 - 09th March 2017, ORIC, organized by University of the Punjab, Lahore.
  • 2014       Seminar on “Transgenic plants in perspectives of microbiological applications” on 25th Feb, jointly organized by Department of Botany, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore and The American Society for Microbiology.
  • 2013       International workshop on “Molecular diagnostics for robust disease detection” from 7th to 24th Oct, organized by Department of Biotechnology, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore and Ministry of Education, Training & Standards in Higher Education Government of Pakistan.
  • 2012     Biotech poster Competition on the theme of “Colours of Biotechnology” on 20th Dec, organized by Department of Biotechnology, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore and Ministry of Education, Training & Standards in Higher Education Government of Pakistan.
  • 2012    “Principles of plant breeding and advancement of molecular techniques to breeding of bioscience” from 21th May to 7th June, organized by department of Biotechnology, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore.
  • 2009      7th Annual national training course on “Modern techniques in Biotechnology” on 22-27 March, arranged by National Institutes for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (NIBGE), Faisalabad.
  • 2009           Participated in the National Symposium on “Pharmacological studies of Medicinal Plants” on 20th June, 2009 organized by Department of Chemistry, Lahore College for university, Lahore.
  • 2008        1st “International seminar on medicinal plants (ISMP)” organized by Chemistry Department of Lahore College for Women University, Lahore on 15-17 May.
  • 2008      Three days 9th Biennial conference on Advances in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, organized by Pakistan Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi on December 17-20.

Publications 

  1. Khazeema Yousaf, Zernish Shabbir, Rasheeda Bashir, Syed Mohsin Raza, Saiqa Ilyas and Rukhama Haq. 2024. Prevalence and in silico analysis of p.D658G variant of WDR36 gene in patients affected with primary open angle glaucoma from Punjab Pakistan. Journal of the National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka. 52(1): 35-44. (IF = 0.63)   
  2. Saiqa Ilyas, Iqra Ishfaq, Kiran Fatima, Amina Tariq, Kiran Shahzadi, Madiha Rashid, Hajra Sohail, Farheen Aslam, Usman Minhas, Toobah Arshad. 2024. Synergistic effect of Zingiber officinale (ginger) and Curcuma longa L. (curcumin analogs) for anti-inflammatory, anti-nociceptive activity and analgesic potentials. Journal of Population Therapeutics and Clinical Pharmacology, 31(3): 1363-1369. (IF = 1.94)
  3. Nadia Ghaffar, Sumera Javad, Anis Ali Shah, Saiqa Ilyas, Abeer Hashem, Graciela Dolores Avila-Quezada, Elsayed Fathi Abd-Allah and Amina Tariq. 2024. Restoration of antibacterial activity of inactive antibiotics via combined treatment with AgNPs. ACS Omega, 9(12): 13621-13635. (IF = 4.26) 
  4. Farheen Aslam, Maria Akhtar, Saiqa Ilyas, Kiran Shahzadi, Amna Tariq, Hajra Sohail, Usman Minhas and Syed Zeeshan Haider Naqvi. 2023. Identification of βeta-galactosidase producing bacteria from soil samples and enzyme optimization. Journal of Population Therapeutics and Clinical Pharmacology, 30(18): 2679-2691. (IF = 1.94)
  5. Muhammad Noman, Iqra Siddique, Bilal Saleem, Saiqa Ilyas, Shaukat Ali and Muhammad Ramzan Khan. 2022. In silico dissection and expression analysis of sucrose synthase gene family in sugarcane. Sugar Tech, 24(6): 1766-1777. (IF = 1.59)
  6. Sana Awan, Kiran Shahzadi, Sumera Javad, Amina Tariq, Asma Ahmad and Saiqa Ilyas. 2021. A preliminary study of influence of zinc oxide nanoparticles on growth parameters of Brassica oleracea var italic. Journal of the Saudi Society of Agricultural Sciences, 20(1):18-24. (IF = 4.47)
  7. Neelma Munir, Armish Riaz, Esha Mehmood, Saba Ghulam Mustafa, Rukhama Haq, Saiqa Ilyas and Shagufta Naz. 2021. Effect of Different Treatments on Nutritional, Microbiological and Rheological. Properties of Flours., 23(2):1-13. (IF = 0.5)
  8. Saiqa Ilyas, Nida Asghar, Mahwish Aftab, Neelma Munir and Shagufta Naz. 2020. Genetic transformation of carrot (Daucas carota l.) To express hepatitis B surface antigen gene for edible vaccine of HBV. The Journal of Animal & Plant Sciences, 30(5): 1263-1272. (IF = 0.529)
  9. Saiqa Ilyas, Maham Khalid and Shagufta Naz. 2019. Microshoot tip culture therapy for disease elimination in different varieties of grapes cvs. Princess seedless and golden Italian musact in Pakistan. Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences, 29(6): 1733-1742. (IF = 0.529)
  1. Sumera Javad, Ammara Tahir, Nadia Ghaffar, Saiqa Ilyas and Iqra Akhtar. 2019. Augmentation of anti-bacterial efficacy of Augmentin- an antibiotic by Foeniculum vulgare extract. Pure and Applied Biology, 8(2): 1818-1823.
  2. Saiqa Ilyas, Shagufta Naz, Sumera Javad and Kiran Shahzadi. 2018. Genetic divergence among Curcuma longa (turmeric) germplasm from Pakistan using RAPD markers. Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences, 28(2): 597-603. (IF = 0.407)
  3. Saiqa Ilyas, Shagufta Naz, Sumera Javad, Rukhama Haq and Neelma Munir. 2017. Quantification of curcuminoids and essential oil contents from rhizomes of in vivo and in vitro grown indigenous turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) germplasm from Pakistan. Journal of Innovative Sciences, 3(2): 27-44.
  4. Saiqa Ilyas, Shagufta Naz, Noureen Ashraf, Sumera Javad and Kiran Shahzadi. 2017. Effect of plant growth regulators on micropropagation of Hedera helix. Journal of Innovative Sciences, 3(1): 13-21.
  5. Sumera Javad, Shagufta Naz, Saiqa Ilyas and Arusa Aftab. 2016. Production of Stevioside from callus and cell Suspension cultures of Stevia rebaudiana (Bert.). Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences, 26(5): 1374-1382. (IF = 0.422)
  6. Saiqa Ilyas, Noureen Ashraf, Neelma Munir and Shagufta Naz. 2016. In vitro clonal propagation and acclimatization of Philodendron erubescens “Rojo Congo”. Journal of Innovative Sciences, 2(2): 56-63.
  7. Kiran Shahzadi, Shagufta Naz and Saiqa Ilyas. 2016. Genetic diversity of Citrus germplasm in Pakistan based on Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences, 26(4): 1094-1100. (IF = 0.422)
  8. Amina Tariq, Shagufta Naz, Kiran Shahzadi, Saiqa Ilyas and Sumera Javad. 2015. Study of genetic stability in in vitro conserved Podophyllum hexandrum using RAPD markers. Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences, 25(4): 1114-1120. (IF = 0.448)
  9. Shagufta Naz, Intiaz Shehzadi, Kiran Shahzadi and Saiqa Ilyas. 2015. Assessment of genetic variability in different chrysanthemum varieties of Pakistan using RAPD markers. Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences, 25(2): 554-560. (IF = 0.448)
  10. Shagufta Naz, Rukhama Haq, Farah Aslam and Saiqa Ilyas. 2015. Evaluation of antimicrobial activity of extracts of in vivo and in vitro grown Vinca rosea L. (Catharanthus roseus) against pathogens. Pakistan Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 28(3): 849-853. (IF = 0.95)
  11. Saiqa Ilyas, Farah Aslam, Kiran Shahzadi, Rukhama Haq and Shagufta Naz. 2015. In vitro shoot proliferation of Euonymus Japonicas (an ornamental plant). Journal of Innovative Sciences, 1(1): 15-22. (ISSN: 2411-2240)
  12. Saiqa Ilyas and Shagufta Naz. 2014. Effect of Gamma irradiation on morphological characteristics and isolation of curcuminoids and oleoresins of Curcuma longa L. Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences, 24(5): 1396-1404. (IF = 0.634)
  13. Saiqa Ilyas, Shagufta Naz, Farah Aslam, Zahida Parveen and Aamir Ali. 2014. Chemical composition of essential oil from leaves of in vitro grown plants of Peperomia obtusifolia. Pakistan Journal of Botany, 46(2): 667-672. (IF = 0.9)
  14. Sumera Javad, Shagufta Naz, Saiqa Ilyas, Amina Tariq and Farah Aslam. 2014. Optimization of the Microwave assisted extraction and its comparison with different conventional extraction methods for isolation of stevioside from Stevia rebaudiana. Asian Journal of Chemistry, 26(23): 8043-8048. (IF = 0.3)
  15. Farah Aslam, Shagufta Naz, Amina Tariq, Saiqa Ilyas and Kiran Shahzadi. 2013. Rapid multiplication of ornamental bulbous plants of Lilium orientalis and Lilium longiflorum. Pakistan Journal of Botany, 45(6): 2051-2055. (IF = 0.9)
  16. Saiqa Ilyas, Shagufta Naz, Sumera Javad, Kiran Shahzadi, Amina Tariq, Neelma Munir and Aamir Ali. 2013. Influence of cytokinins, sucrose and pH on adventitious shoot regeneration of Polyscias balfouriana (Balfour aralia). Journal of Medicinal Plants Research, 7(42): 3098-3104. (IF = 0.5)
  17. Ambreen Zafarullah, Saiqa Ilyas, Shagufta Naz, Farah Aslam and Farkhanda Manzoor. 2013) Effect of culture media and growth regulators on in vitro propagation of Chrysanthemum indicum L. Pakistan Journal of Science, 65(4): 462-466.
  18. Sumera Javad, Shagufta Naz, Saiqa Ilyas and Bushra Mateen. 2013. Establishment of the honey crop (Stevia rebaudiana) in hot semi-arid climate. Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences, 23(1): 108-113. (IF = 0.634) 
  19. Shagufta Naz, Farah Aslam, Saiqa Ilyas, Kiran Shahzadi and Amina Tariq. 2012. In vitro propagation of tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa). Journal of Medicinal Plants Research, 6(24): 4107-4112. (IF = 0.5)    
  20. Sana Rashid, Saiqa Ilyas, Shagufta Naz, Farah Aslam and Aamir Ali. 2012. In vitro propagation of Gypsophila paniculata L. through plant tissue culture techniques. Pakistan Journal of Science, 64(1): 6-10.
     
  21. Sumera Javad, Shagufta Naz, Saiqa Ilyas, Aamir Ali, Farah Aslam and Neelma Munir. 2012. Study of the effect of physical state of medium and different concentrations of sucrose, ferric ethylene diamine-tetraacetic acid (Fe-EDTA) and CuSO4 in enhancing the micropropagation system of Stevia rebaudiana. Journal of Medicinal Plants Research, 6(9): 1800-1805. (IF = 0.5)
     
  22. Shagufta Naz, Irum Akber, Saiqa Ilyas and Safia Jabeen. 2012. Antibacterial activity of different varieties of Curcuma longa rhizome extracts against pathogenic bacteria. Asian Journal of Chemistry, 24(7): 2875-2877. (IF = 0.4)
     
  23. Kiran Shahzadi, Shagufta Naz, Amina Tariq, Saiqa Ilyas, M A Qadeer and A U Haq. 2012. Production of calcium gluconate by Aspergillus niger GCU-1. Pakistan Journal of Science, 64(3): 214-218.
     
  24. Shagufta Naz, Saiqa Ilyas, Safia Jabeen and Zahida Parveen. 2011. Composition and antibacterial activity of the essential oil from the rhizome of turmeric (Curcuma longa L.). Asian Journal of Chemistry, 23(4): 1639-1642. (IF = 0.4)
     
  25. Shagufta Naz, Fozia Tabassum, Sumera Javad, Saiqa Ilyas, Farah Aslam, Neelma Munir and Aamir Ali. 2011. Micropropagation and callogenesis of a recalcitrant species Ricinus communis. Pakistan Journal of Botany, 43(5): 2419-2422. (IF = 0.9)
     
  26. Shagufta Naz, Saiqa Ilyas, Zahida Parveen and Sumera Javad. 2010. Chemical analysis of essential oils from turmeric (Curcuma longa) rhizome through GCMS. Asian Journal of Chemistry, 22(4): 3153-3158. (IF = 0.4)
     
  27. Shagufta Naz, Safia Jabeen, Saiqa Ilyas, Farkhanda Manzoor, Farah Aslam and Aamir Ali. 2010. Antibacterial activity of Curcuma longa varieties against different strains of bacteria. Pakistan Journal of Botany, 42(1): 455-462. (IF = 0.947)
     
  28. Shagufta Naz, Saiqa Ilyas, Sumera Javad and Aamir Ali. 2009. In vitro clonal multiplication and acclimatization of different varieties of turmeric (Curcuma longa L.). Pakistan Journal of Botany, 41(6): 2807-2816. (IF = 0.9)
     
  29. Shagufta Naz, Sumera Javad, Saiqa Ilyas and Aamir Ali. 2009. An efficient protocol for rapid multiplication of Bryophyllum Pinnatum and Bryophyllum daigrrimontianum. Pakistan Journal of Botany, 41(5): 2347-2355. (IF = 0.9)

Book Chapter

  1. Sumera Javad, Saiqa Ilyas, Amina Tariq and Shagufta Naz. 2019. Tissue culture and its scope in production of phyto-pharmaceuticals In: Applications of natural products in drug discovery and Biotechnological advances. Apple Academic Press.

Patent filed      

  1. Saiqa Ilyas, Shagufta Naz and Neelma Munir. “A novel and cost-effective process for in vitro clonal multiplication of pineapple (Ananas comosus)”. 398/2016.
  2. Shagufta Naz, Saiqa Ilyas, Kiran Shahzadi, Ambreen Zafarullah, Neelma Munir and Faiza Saleem. “Modified DNA extraction method with CTAB for enhancing the quality and quantity of DNA”. 206/2015.

Project Awarded  

A project entitled “Comparison of curcuminoids and essential oil isolated from in vivo and in vitro grown plants of Curcuma longa L. (turmeric) through modern extraction methods” is awarded by HEC. The amount of the project is 0.5 M.   

Dissertation titles

  • PhD      “Studies on development of seed production technology for enhancement of yield,             curcumin, oleoresin contents and induced mutagenesis in turmeric (Curcuma longa L.)”
  • M.Phil.        “The production of beta-galactosidase by Kluyveromyces fragilis”
  • M.Sc.           “The Morpho-anatomical studies of some foliose and fruticose lichens”

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