Zahir Ali: Plant Physiology First Author

Zahir Ali, first author of CRISPR/Cas systems versus plant viruses: engineering plant immunity and beyond

 Current Position: Research Scientist, Laboratory for Genome Engineering & Synthetic Biology, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia

 Education: Ph.D. Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Gyeongsang National University, South Korea.

 Non-scientific Interests: Exploring nature, hiking, and long drive.

Brief bio: I completed my M.S in Plant Genetics from QAU, Pakistan, and Ph.D. at Gyeongsang National University, South Korea, under the supervision of professor Dae-Jin Yun. Working with the CRISPR/Cas system, I did my post-doctorate with professor Magdy Mahfouz at KAUST, Saudi Arabia. I developed viral vectors for efficient delivery of CRISPR/Cas machinery for plant genome engineering, CRISPR/Cas system for virus interference in plants during my post-doctorate. Recently, I started to devise the CRISPR/Cas system for pathogens detection/diagnostics.  It is just the beginning; the wonders of the CRISPR/Cas system will keep us excited.