Meet Sri Lankan Researcher — Zahra Nawaz

What are you currently working on or worked on before?

I study the regulation of cullin-RING ubiquitin ligases (CRLs), which target the degradation of thousands of cellular proteins. I specifically work on understanding the mechanism that globally alters the repertoire of SRs bound to the core complex during the cell cycle for one of the major classes of CRLs. This work has significant implications for diseases in which CRL complexes are implicated, most notably cancer and developmental defects.

What encouraged you to pursue your research topic?

As an undergraduate, I envisioned studying cell cycle regulation, as I was aware that deregulated cell-cycle control is a fundamental aspect of cancer. Hence, I wanted to understand the biology of cell division and unravel novel pathways that can be targeted for developing therapeutic strategies to treat cancer.

What is the name of your current institute?

The University of Georgia.

Where do you find your best inspiration for your work?

My mentors and what they have achieved were my inspiration, to begin with. New findings, newer stories of research success always inspire me to work more!

Can you share with us some of your publications?

My major project has not been published yet. There are currently two papers on the review that will be able to provide a URL as soon as they get accepted.

What’s one of your biggest personal achievements so far?

Doing my Ph.D. research in an elite institution in the US is a great achievement for me. I always see myself as an educator rather than a researcher, and recently I’ve been chosen for a Future Faculty fellowship program, a highly competitive professional development program. Being able to get into that program has been an achievement for me.

What lessons would you share with a budding researcher?

Research is about being passionate about what you do. Don’t hesitate to ask questions, even from yourself. Taking risks is part of research and failures are inevitable. Hence you should really love what you do so you can achieve or unravel the mysteries.

What motivated you to be a researcher?

My dad was a teacher who used to teach chemistry for a while, growing up having conversations with him, had an impact on loving sciences. I was always fascinated by how organisms function, I believed understanding it at a molecular level would allow me to find answers for many unknown questions. This passion drove me towards research.

If there is a chance, will you help build research in Sri Lanka?

Yes definitely! When there is an opportunity, I would definitely contribute to research development in Sri Lanka.

According to your opinion, what are the changes that the Sri Lankan education system needs to do, in order to meet the requirement of the international industry and academia?

In Sri Lanka, we learn a lot in theory, but the application is very rare. In order to keep up with the international industry and academia, more applications should be incorporated into our Learning. Teacher centric education needs to be changed and more student-driven education should be promoted. This will allow our younger generations to be more creative and innovative.