Our team

Muhammad Tariq

My scientific journey began with a BS (Hons) in Agriculture from UAF and an MPhil in Biotechnology at NIBGE, Faisalabad, where I worked on plant virology under the guidance of Shahid Mansoor. I later completed my PhD in Cell Biology at FMI, Basel, investigating the interplay between DNA and histone methylation in plants under the mentorship of Jerzy Paszkowski. During my postdoctoral research with Renato Paro at ZMBH, Heidelberg, and ETH Zurich, I transitioned to studying fruit flies and the mechanisms of epigenetic cell memory. The training and support from these mentors paved the way for the establishment of our research group at SBASSE, LUMS in 2009. Today, our lab is dedicated to understanding gene regulation during cell fate maintenance and exploring how cell signaling modulates the molecular machinery behind cellular memory.

LUMS faculty profile ↗

A lab built through its people

Our work is inseparable from the students who have shaped the research and carried its methods forward. In the early years, before our school had an MS or PhD program, undergraduate Zain Umer created the cell based reporter during her 2011 BS senior project. That reporter was later used in our reverse genetics screens. We owe our success to the BS, MS and PhD students and postdoctoral researchers who have built the Tariq Lab at LUMS.