Aging and Regenerative Medicine (ARMed) Lab

For a long time, scientists believed that aging was unmodifiable process, which happened at the same rate for everyone. However, over the past decades research has shown that a variety of genes are associated with longer lifespan through different mechanisms in both mice and other mammals. A growing body of research published over the past decade also suggests that aging can be influenced by behavioural changes, such as calorie restriction and lifestyle changes. This has raised the exciting possibility that we can slowdown or even reverse the
aging process.

Lab Equipment /Resources

Fully equipped molecular biology lab

Capabilities of Lab

DNA/RNA extraction

Biological Age prediction analysis

Physiological aging

Phenotypic analysis
Biochemical analysis

Psychological aging

Cognitive analysis

Biological aging

Telomere analysis
Epigenetic analysis
Mitochondria analysis
GXPXE analysis

Metabolomic aging

Proteomics and Metabolomic analysis
Gene and Protein Expression Analysis

Phytochemical analysis

Cardiovascular Aging analysis

Infectious diseases analysis

PI Profile

Dr. Muhammad Asghar is a prominent academic and scientist serving as Professor, at Atta-Ur-Rahman School of Applied Biosciences (ASAB), NUST, Islamabad. Dr Asghar also hold an Associate Professor position and Ragnar Söderberg Fellow in Medicine at the Department of Biology, Lund University, Sweden, and also appointed as a guest researcher at Department of Sports and Clinical Biomechanics at Southern University Denmark.

Dr Asghar completed his postdoctoral training at the Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, one of the world’s premier medical research universities, where he served as Assistant Professor, Associate Professor and Group Leader.

His interdisciplinary research in aging biology, genetics, and infection biology focuses on promoting healthy aging and reducing healthcare burdens. He has established a strong research profile, with publications in top-tier journals such as Science, Nature Medicine, and Nature Communications, and has secured over USD 2 million in competitive research funding. His contributions have earned him international recognition, including the KATMA Award (USA), TRN Award (USA), and Prominent Young Scientist Award (Sweden).

Projects undertaken:

Healthy Aging and Longevity (HeAL)

Role of genetic and environmental factors in aging in the people of Hunza, Gilgit Baltistan.
Investigate whether cellular aging is reversable? Is it fact or fiction?
Drugs development for health span and lifespan.

Mapping Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs) among the population of Gilgit Baltistan.

To determine the overall CVDs prevalence among the population of Gilgit Baltistan.
Investigation of genetic pattern of prevalent CVDs among target population.
Identification of CVD associated variants/mutations in inhabitants of Gilgit Baltistan.

Aging: Long term hidden cost of infections

Establish whether repeated and chronic infections have more pronounced long-term hidden cost on cellular aging in humans.
Understanding the molecular mechanisms, which mediate the impact of infectious diseases on cellular aging.
Investigate how infections induced aging and allostatic load in whole body by using experimental murine models.

ZERO MALARIA: Molecular Diagnosis and genetic diversity of Malaria parasites in Pakistan

To study the genetic diversity of malaria parasites in Pakistan.
To develop a low-cost multiplex real time PCR kit for detecting four forms of malaria in Pakistan.
Initiating and promote awareness campaigns following the results of study.
Promote awareness campaigns and improve government policy makers in developing strategies to control Malaria in Pakistan.

FUNDINGS

ARMed Lab is fudded by the long-term funding awarded to Dr Muhammad Asghar from Ragnar Söderberg Foundation and Swedish Research council worth 1.4 million USD.