Muntasir Kamal, Ph.D.

Research publications affiliated with NSU

Chen L, Thompson K, Kamal M, Sihuta K, Topalidou I, Burns AR, Farshour NH, Cooke B, Knox J, Jiang Y, Al Qasser M, Shuteriqi E, Usaj M, Ching J, Flaget A, Costanzo M, Tan G, Lacoste J, Lautens M, Andrews BJ, Boone C, Taipale M, Lehrbach NJ, Roy PJ. The nematicide tioxazafen disrupts proteasome function via cytochrome P450 bioactivation. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2026 Jul 16:2026.07.10.737828. doi: 10.64898/2026.07.10.737828. (under peer review)

·         Sindhu ZU, Imran M, Aslam B, Kamal M, Khan MK, Abbas RZ, Munir F. A comparative in vitro anthelmintic screening of medicinal plants from Pakistan using dual nematode model (Caenorhabditis elegans and Oscheius tipulae) (under peer review)

Peer-reviewed journal articles

Research publications affiliated with NSU:

 Chen L, Thompson K, Kamal M, Sihuta K, Topalidou I, Burns AR, Farshour NH, Cooke B, Knox J, Jiang Y, Al Qasser M, Shuteriqi E, Usaj M, Ching J, Flaget A, Costanzo M, Tan G, Lacoste J, Lautens M, Andrews BJ, Boone C, Taipale M, Lehrbach NJ, Roy PJ. The nematicide tioxazafen disrupts proteasome function via cytochrome P450 bioactivation. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2026 Jul 16:2026.07.10.737828. doi: 10.64898/2026.07.10.737828. (under peer review)

·         Sindhu ZU, Imran M, Aslam B, Kamal M, Khan MK, Abbas RZ, Munir F. A comparative in vitro anthelmintic screening of medicinal plants from Pakistan using dual nematode model Caenorhabditis elegans and Oscheius tipulae. 2026. (under peer review)

Peer-reviewed journal articles:

 Kamal M, Knox J, Horne RI, Tiwari OS, Burns AR, Han D, Levy D, Laor Bar-Yosef D, Gazit E, Vendruscolo M, Roy PJ. A rapid in vivo pipeline to identify small molecule inhibitors of amyloid aggregation. Nat Commun. 2024 Sep 27;15(1):8311. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-52480-6. PMID: 39333123; PMCID: PMC11436953.

Kamal M, Tokmakjian L, Knox J, Han D, Moshiri H, Magomedova L, Nguyen KC, Zheng H, Burns AR, Cooke B, Lacoste J, Yeo M, Hall DH, Cummins CL, Roy PJ. PGP-14 establishes a polar lipid permeability barrier within the C. elegans pharyngeal cuticle. PLoS Genet. 2023 Nov 6;19(11):e1011008. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1011008. PMID: 37930961; PMCID: PMC10653525.

 Kamal M, Mukherjee S, Joshi B, Sindhu ZU, Wangchuk P, Haider S, Ahmed N, Talukder MH, Geary TG, Yadav AK. Model nematodes as a practical innovation to promote high throughput screening of natural products for anthelmintics discovery in South Asia: Current challenges, proposed practical and conceptual solutions. Mol Biochem Parasitol. 2023 Dec;256:111594. doi: 10.1016/j.molbiopara.2023.111594. Epub 2023 Sep 18. PMID: 37730126.

Kamal M, Tokmakjian L, Knox J, Mastrangelo P, Ji J, Cai H, Wojciechowski JW, Hughes MP, Takács K, Chu X, Pei J, Grolmusz V, Kotulska M, Forman-Kay JD, Roy PJ. 2022. A spatiotemporal reconstruction of the C. elegans pharyngeal cuticle reveals a structure rich in phase-separating proteins. Elife. 11:e79396. doi: 10.7554/eLife.79396. PMID: 36259463; PMCID: PMC9629831.

Kamal M, Moshiri H, Magomedova L, Han D, Nguyen KCQ, Yeo M, Knox J, Bagg R, Won AM, Szlapa K, Yip CM, Cummins CL, Hall DH, Roy PJ. 2019. The marginal cells of the Caenorhabditis elegans pharynx scavenge cholesterol and other hydrophobic small molecules. Nat Commun;10(1):3938. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-11908-0. PMID: 31477732; PMCID: PMC6718421.

 Kamal M, D'Amora DR, Kubiseski TJ. 2016. Loss of hif-1 promotes resistance to the exogenous mitochondrial stressor ethidium bromide in Caenorhabditis elegans. BMC Cell Biol.;17 Suppl 1(1):34. doi: 10.1186/s12860-016-0112-x. PMID: 27618966; PMCID: PMC5020483.

·         The University of Toronto Open Fellowship (2017-2018)

·         The University of Toronto Open Fellowship (2016-2017)

·         The University of Toronto Open Fellowship (2015-2016)

·         International student scholarship, York University (2010-2012)

·         George Luckyj Prize, Faculty of Arts and Science, University of Toronto (2008)

·         In-course scholarship (CAD 1,000), University of Toronto (2006-2007)

·         President’s Entrance Scholarship (CAD 5,000), University of Toronto (2006)

Ph.D. (2023)

Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Canada

M.Sc. (2013)

Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, Canada

B.Sc. (Hons.) With Distinction (2010)

Department of Human Biology, University of Toronto, Canada

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF BIOCHEMISTRY & BIOTECHNOLOGY, NORTH SOUTH UNIVERSITY, Dhaka, Bangladesh | May 2026 - current 

VISITING FELLOW, CHATTOGRAM VETERINARY & ANIMAL SCIENCES UNIVERSITY (CVASU), Chattogram, Bangladesh | March 2026 – current

•       Workshop- C. elegans: concepts and laboratory techniques (M.Sc. and Ph.D. students)

•       Course design- Research Methodology (M.Sc. and Ph.D. students)

•       Teaching- General Biochemistry, Genetics and Biotechnology (M.Sc. and Ph.D. students)

POST-DOCTORAL FELLOW, LAB OF DR. PETER J. ROY, DEPT. OF MOLECULAR GENETICS, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO | April 2025 – February 2026

POST-DOCTORAL FELLOW, LAB OF PROF. PETER ST. GEORGE-HYSLOP, TANZ CENTRE FOR RESEARCH IN NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO | April 2025- February 2026

·         Helping to complete two projects, one focusing on drug effect on the proteasomal system and drug effect on FUS aggregation in worm models of ALS. Specifically:

·         Performed in vitro proteasome activity assay (Abcam, Sigma kits)

·         Used BCA protein quantification assay

·         Performed dose response curve assays

·         Performed microscopy studies on worms looking at transgenic WT and mutant FUS in worms

·         Performing drug treatment of worm FUS strains to test for rescue of FUS-dependent defects

POST-DOCTORAL FELLOW, LAB OF DR. LORRAINE V. KALIA, KREMBIL RESEARCH INSTITUTE, UHN | September 2023- March 2025

·         Completed mandatory animal training courses in rat and mouse handling.

·         Helped move an animal project forward studying the effects of drugs in alleviating neurodegeneration in a rat model of Parkinson’s disease (PD).

·         Performed animal anesthesia (isoflurane) and necropsy (animal sacrifice by cardiac puncture), perfusion (with/without formaldehyde fixation), blood and RNA collection, brain harvesting, brain dissection, preparation of brain slices by microtome, mounting).

·         Performed animal behavioral assays including left/right paw usage, grid walk, gait analysis (using CatWalk system from Noldus), adhesive nose removal test, forward/reverse step test.

·         Led a worm (C. elegans) project investigating the interaction between PD-associated mutations and sleep disruptions.

POST-DOCTORAL FELLOW (MINI), LAB OF DR. PETER J. ROY, DEPT. OF MOLECULAR GENETICS, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO | April 2023 –August 2023

Completed some experiments required by reviewers for journal submission. Co-wrote paper with Prof. Roy.

Ph.D. STUDENT, LAB OF DR. PETER J. ROY, DEPT. OF MOLECULAR GENETICS, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO | September 2015 –March 2023

·         Discovered the phenomenon of crystalline and spherical small molecule accumulation in cuticles of wildtype C. elegans and other nematodes

·         Performed extensive forward genetic screens and obtained mutants resistant to lethal xenobiotics

·         Worked with several different small molecule libraries in parallel (Chembridge, Spectrum, and other built-in-house small molecule libraries) totaling ~2,000 compounds

·         Extensive experience working with different screening formats: 6-well, 12-well, 24-well plates; and 3.5cm, 6cm and 10cm plates for cultures/screens in solid media; 96-well and 384-well plates for culture/screens in liquid media

·         Analyzed sequences of mutant alleles to identify resistance-conferring mutations in candidate target genes

·         Extensive experience working with highly toxic compounds (e.g., cyanide, FCCP/CCCP, paraquat, rotenone, sodium azide)

·         Performed reverse genetic (RNAi) screens to obtain reproducible phenotypes

·         Designed a high-throughput microscopic assay that was used in the publication of two papers arising from my study and is being used by other groups

·         Established new cuticle-staining and worm fixation methods

·         Created several transgenic worm strains by DNA microinjection

·         Made double and triple knockout worm mutants by classical genetics

·         Carried out high-throughput assays to study robust phenotypes upon acute exposure to chemicals in both solid and liquid media

·         Worked with reporter (GFP/sfGFP/eGFP, YFP, mCherry, GreenLantern, NeonGreen) and mutant strains extensively throughout the PhD project

·         Helped design a research project for an MSc student that led to the discovery of a new scaffold with anthelmintic potency

·         Performed extensive in silico physicochemical, sub-structural, SAR, and clustering analyses using available tools online (ChemMine R, Openbabel, Cytoscape etc.)

·         Invented a mathematical formula to predict whether small molecules would form crystalline or spherical aggregates in the nematode cuticle

·         Performed protein expression and purification in bacteria (i.e., E. coli Stbl3, Rosetta, BL21) and yeast (Pichia pastoris)

·         Performed drug screens and mutagenesis screens in a drug-hypersensitive background in the yeast S. cerevisiae (the “Green Monster” strain)

·         Performed western blots

·         Prepared worm samples for TEM processing

·         Worked with several other labs and teams to generate publishable data

·         Gave lab demonstrations to primary and high-school students

BIO103 - Biology I (NSU)

CHE101 - Chemistry I (NSU)

University of Toronto Alumni Association

York University Alumni Association

On-going research projects:

1.      In vivo high-throughput screening of small molecules for the discovery of novel antiparasitic compounds using Caenorhabditis elegans

2.      Development of genetic and pharmacological Caenorhabditis elegans models of colitis

3.      Investigating the molecular basis of gut–brain axis-mediated amyloid transmission in Caenorhabditis elegans

4.      Investigating the effects of diet and environmental factors on the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) using Caenorhabditis elegans ALS models

5.      Investigating the lifespan-extending and lifespan-shortening effects of natural compounds in Caenorhabditis elegans

6.      Investigating the effects of sterols derived from diverse natural sources in Caenorhabditis elegans

7.      Exploration of novel habitats for the discovery of new wild isolates of Caenorhabditis elegans and related Caenorhabditis species

C                             - Currently recruiting Research Assistants and Graduate Students -