Ahmad Junaid is a pharmacist by training from Pakistan. After graduating with an undergraduate degree, his passion for research let him to pursue a master’s degree. Without having a research background, he benefitted from joining the IMU’s MSc in Analytical and Pharmaceutical Chemistry degree as the degree has both coursework and research components which would train him to be a researcher.
“The MAPC Research Methodology and Scientific Writing experience has helped me to create new research ideas and design new projects, which helped me to improve my knowledge and skills in the academic life as well as beyond academia.”
After graduating from IMU in 2014, he earned a Fulbright scholarship to pursue his graduate studies in Medicinal Chemistry from Monash University Malaysia. During his graduate studies, he published several research articles in well reputed journals and represented Monash Malaysia in 3MT competition in Australia. He won several publication and travel awards.
“The knowledge and expertise I learned during my time in IMU provided the edge in my graduate studies. The critical thinking and reasoning I developed during the programme in IMU, via the discussion among the students and teachers, has helped me throughout my PhD studies”.
Currently, Ahmad is working as a Research Associate at the Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at Purdue University, Indiana, USA. His research encompasses synthetic chemistry, computational chemistry, and biology. He is working on drug design at enzymatic level for antiproliferative targets. Recently, his team secured two prestigious NIR grants with Ahmad as computer-aided drug design scientist.
“My philosophy in life is to try and make a better change in the world; no matter how small and I enjoy doing it. I believe my MAPC training in IMU has laid the strong foundation for all my success. My goal in life is to build a strong presence in my research field with the skills I learned at IMU, take my research to the highest level, and try to find the best cure for the terminal diseases as well as improve the lives of people around the globe”.
