Keeping genes active
How do trithorax group proteins and their partners maintain developmental gene activation through successive cell divisions?
Our central question
Gene regulation across generations of cells
Cell identities depend on patterns of gene expression passed on as cells divide. We investigate how Polycomb and trithorax proteins preserve that transcriptional memory during development.
Research at a glance
From chromatin to cell fate.
Balancing two systems
We study how Polycomb and trithorax systems antagonize each other to maintain repression and activation.
Connecting signals to memory
Which signaling pathways modulate chromatin regulators and the maintenance of cell fate?
The lab at LUMS
Building a home for discovery in Pakistan.
Muhammad Tariq established the Biology program at LUMS and a dedicated epigenetics research group centered on the fruit fly. Since then, the lab has cultivated a robust research and training program. As the first fruit fly research facility in Pakistan, the Fly Room at SBASSE champions experimental work and hands-on teaching, making Drosophila an integral, living component of biology education at LUMS.
Meet the lab →News & media
Stories and conversations from the lab.
Explore a LUMS conversation about teaching, the Fly Lab, and videos on biology research and training.
Teaching excellence interview ↗
People and mentorship
A lab built through its people.
Our work is inseparable from the students and researchers who have shaped it. Since 2009, the lab has trained researchers at every level, from undergraduate theses to doctoral work.
10PhD graduates
24MS theses
43BS theses
Mentorship totals provided by the lab, as of 2026.