About Me
I am a Ph.D. candidate at Auburn University, and I use fruit flies to chase a stubbornly simple question: why do males and females turn on the same genes differently? My work follows the insulin signaling pathway (a hormone that touches metabolism, lifespan, and nearly everything else) and asks how its regulatory architecture gets rerouted between sexes.
I came to flies through human genetics. During my Master’s at the University of Dhaka, I spent two years hunting type 2 diabetes risk variants in patient cohorts. I have been chasing different versions of that same gene-regulation question ever since, which recently led to a summer project on how heat stress affects oogenesis across two Drosophila species.
When I step away from the lab, I am usually pulling espresso shots or out chasing light with a camera. Whether I am dialing in a clean shot, waiting for the right golden-hour frame, or building a reproducible DESeq2 pipeline, it is the same pull: precision, patience, and getting the details exactly right.
CVs
Education
Ph.D. in Biological Sciences
Expected 2026
Auburn University · Auburn, AL
M.Sc. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
2017
University of Dhaka · Dhaka, Bangladesh
B.Sc. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
2015
University of Dhaka · Dhaka, Bangladesh
Research Interests
Sex-differential gene regulation Hormone signaling (IIS) Multi-omic integration Single-cell genomics Alternative splicing Functional genomics Quantitative and evolutionary genetics Comparative Drosophila genomics
Research Experience
2017–Present
Doctoral Research, Graze Lab
Auburn University · Advisor: Dr. Rita M. Graze
Summer 2026
Heat Stress and Oogenesis
Auburn University
2015–2017
Master’s Research, Population Genetics Lab
University of Dhaka · Advisor: Dr. A.H.M. Nurun Nabi
For project breakdowns and methods, see the research page.
Publications
See the Publications page for the full list.
Google Scholar Citations: 74 h-index: 5 i10-index: 2
Teaching Experience
2018–2026
BIOL 1031/1037 Honors
Organismal Biology Laboratory
Auburn University
Fall 2022 & 2025
BIOL 5521
Recombinant DNA Technology (CURE)
Auburn University
2018–2019
BIOL 1021
Principles of Biology Laboratory
Auburn University
For full course detail, see the teaching page.
Selected Skills
Bulk and single-cell RNA-seq library prep Illumina NGS DESeq2 / edgeR rMATS turbo WGCNA ATAC-seq Molecular cloning Site-directed mutagenesis qPCR / ARMS-PCR Benchling (ELN/LIMS) R · Python · Bash Multifactor experimental design
For the full skill list, see my CV (PDF).
At a Glance
5
Peer-Reviewed Publications
3
Manuscripts in Preparation
22+
Students Mentored
8+ yrs
Teaching Experience
How I Am Spending My Time in Summer 2026
Contact
Office 125 Rouse Life Sciences Building
Department of Biological Sciences
Auburn University · Auburn, AL 36849, USA
Get in touch nafiul@auburn.edu