Lab Members
Current Lab Members
Masfique Mehedi
Assistant Professor
Dr. Masfique Mehedi is an assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences, SMHS. He received his Ph.D. in medical microbiology in 2013 the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada. He had done a part of the thesis research at the National Microbiology Lab, Winnipeg, Canada. He completed the rest of his thesis work at Rocky Mountain Laboratories, Hamilton, MT, USA, where he identified a novel small soluble nonstructural glycoprotein (ssGP) of Ebola virus. He also characterized the mechanism of Ebola virus RNA editing-driven glycoprotein expression. He did post-doctoral training from 2013 to 2017 at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) in Bethesda, MD, USA. There, he identified actin-related protein 2 (ARP2) as a novel host factor for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection. Since 2017, he established his laboratory to study the host-pathogen interactions aspect of respiratory viral infections to identify novel treatments for combating respiratory viral diseases. The lab studies RSV, human metapneumovirus (HMPV), human parainfluenza virus type 3 (HPIV3), influenza A virus, and different coronaviruses (SARS, SARS-CoV-2, and MERS). The lab uses almost all in vitro lung models (e.g., 2D cell culture, Vitrogel-based 3D cell culture, air-liquid interface culture, and the state-of-the-art lung-on-a-chip).
Muhammad Faheem
Post-Doctoral Researcher
Muhammad Faheem is working as a post-doctoral researcher at the Mehedi Lab in the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences Department of Biomedical Sciences. In 2016, he secured his Ph.D. degree in biotechnology from Catholic University of Brasilia in Brazil. Later, he completed his post-doctorate from EMBRAPA Genetic Resources and Biotechnology, Brasilia, Brazil. In 2018, he was appointed as assistant professor (biotechnology) at the Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Medical Sciences, Pakistan. He joined the Mehedi lab in 2023. His research interest lies in molecular and structural biology, virology, immunology, and vaccine design.
Elhennawy Mostafa
Graduate Student
Mostafa is a graduate student in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the University of North Dakota’s School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Before joining the Ph.D. program, Mostafa earned his Bachelor of Pharmacy degree from the School of Pharmacy Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt, and a graduate diploma in clinical pharmacy from the School of Pharmacy Ain Shams University in Cairo. His research interests are immunology, virology, and cell cytoskeleton modification in response to viral infections.
Vicente Torres
Undergraduate Student
Vicente is a biology undergraduate student at the University of North Dakota.