Biography

Dr. Muhammad Tayyab Akhtar is a bioscientist and natural products researcher with over 15 years of expertise in phytochemistry, metabolomics, and plant-based drug discovery. He holds a PhD in Biosciences and Biotechnology from Leiden University, he has significantly contributed to the fields of plant metabolomics, natural product chemistry, and zebrafish-based bioassays. Dr. Akhtar’s research spans cannabinoid chemistry, plant responses to environmental and genetic variation, food authentication, natural product pharmacology, and the development of sustainable plant-based solutions for health and agriculture. He has authored more than 50 peer-reviewed publications, and has supervised over 60 students across PhD, MPhil, and undergraduate levels. His international research experience includes a four-year postdoctoral appointment at University Putra Malaysia, where he established advanced metabolomics workflows, designed a zebrafish bioassay laboratory, and contributed to several competitive research grants. He has presented his work at numerous international conferences in Europe, the United States, and Asia, and has served as a facilitator, reviewer, and academic program designer at various institutions. Dr. Akhtar is also actively engaged in innovation and commercialization initiatives, serves on multiple Boards of Studies, and maintains strong national and international research collaborations aimed at advancing natural product research and agricultural sustainability.

Education

• Post Doc in Biotechnology, University Putra Malaysia (Serdang, Malaysia) 2018
• PhD in Biotechnology, Leiden University (Leiden) 2013
• MS/MPhil in Biotechnology, National Institute Of Biotechnology And Genetic Engineering (Faisalabad) 2008
• BA/BSc(Hons) in Plant Breeding And Genetics, University Of Agriculture Faisalabad (Faisalabad) 2006

Teaching Areas

Journal Papers

• Siti Nazirah, Muhammad Tayyab Akhtar, Maula Diani, Khozirah Shaari (2017). "Discriminative analysis of different grades of Gaharu (Aquilaria malaccensis Lmak.) H- NMR based metabolomics using PLS-DA and random forests classification models." Molecules .
• Ramesh Kumar Santhanam, Muhammad Tayyab Akhtar, Faridah Abas, Intan Safinar Ismail1, and Khozirah Shaari (2017). "Inhibition of UVB-induced pro-inflammatory cytokines and MMP expresiion by Zanthoxylum rhetsa bark extract and its active constituent hesperidin." Phytotherapy Research .
• Muhammad Fraz Hussain, Hye Kyong Kim, Huub J.M. Linthorst, Muhammad TayyabAkhtar (2017). "Overexpression of ATWRKY50 correlated with enhanced production of sinapicderivatives in Arabidopsis." Metabolomics .
• Ramesh Kumar Santhanam, Muhammad Tayyab Akhtar Syahida Ahmad, Faridah Abas, Intan Safinar Ismail1, Yaya Rukayadi1, and Khozirah Shaari (2017). "Utilization of ethyl acetate fraction of Zanthoxylum rhetsa bark extract as an active ingredient in natural sunscreen formlations." Industrial Crops and Products .
• Muhammad T. Akhtar, Mohamad S. Bin Mohd Sarib, Intan S. Ismail, Faridah Abas, Khozirah Shaari (2016). "Anti-Diabetic Activity and Metabolic Changes Induced by Andrographis paniculata Plant Extract in Obese Diabetic Rats." Molecules .
• 3. Muhammad T. Akhtar, Khozirah Shaari, Robert Verpoorte (2016). "Biotransformation of Tetrahydrocannabinol." Phytochemistry review .
• Muhammad T. Akhtar, Mian Yahya Mushtaq, Robert Verpoorte, Michael K. Richardsonand Young Hae Choi (2016). "Metabolic effects of cannabinoids in zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryo determined by 1H NMR metabolomics." Journal of Metabolomics .
• 4. Muhammad T. Akhtar, Mian Yahya Mushtaq, Robert Verpoorte, Michael K. Richardson and Young Hae Choi (2016). "Zebrafish as a model for systems medicine R&D: Rethinking the metabolic effects of carrier solvents and culture buffers determined by 1H NMR metabolomics." OMICS: A Journal of Integrative Biology .
• Muhammad T. Akhtar, Natali Rianika Mustafa, Robert Verpoorte (2015). "Hydroxylation and glycosylation of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol by Catharanthus roseus cell suspension culture." Biocatalysis and Biotransformation .
• Akhtar MT, Ali S, Rashidi H, Van der Kooy F, Verpoorte R, Richardson MK (2013). "Developmental effects of cannabinoids on zebrafish larvae." Journal of Zebrafish .
• Rashidi H, Akhtar MT, Kooy FDR, Verpoorte R, Duetz. WA (2009). "Hydroxylation and Further Oxidation of Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol by Alkane-Degrading Bacteria." Applied Environmental Microbiology .

Projects

Awards/Achievements

• Overseas scholarship MPhil leading to PhD (2007), HEC.

Thesis/Research Supervisions

• Zain Aabideen (2020), Ph.D.. Thesis: "Anti-obesity attributes and metabolite profiling to identify active constituents of promising medicinal floa from azad jammu and Kashmir Pakistan" (Completed)
• Waseem Abbas (2019), MS/MPhil. Thesis: "Efficacy of various COVID-19 vaccines for the production of neutralizing antibodies" (Completed)
• Muhammad Ahtsham (2018), MS/MPhil. Thesis: "Cloning and expression of Bacillus thuringiensis insecticidak cry1la12 gene in E.coli" (Completed)
• Syed Faizan Ahmed (2018), MS/MPhil. Thesis: "NMR based metabolite profiling and different biological activities of Cassia Senna" (Completed)
• Anam Amin Shami (2017), MS/MPhil. Thesis: "Metabolic analysis of insect resistant and wild type cotton plant by using NMR spectroscopy" (Completed)
• Muhammad Abdul Samad (2017), BS. Thesis: "Chemical Characterization and Anti-cancer Potential of Canabis sativa" (Completed)
• Muneeba Sammar (2017), MS/MPhil. Thesis: "1H-NMR based metabolomics of various meats" (Completed)
• Oneeb Ahmad (2017), BS. Thesis: "A review on the therapeutic doses of cannabinoids for medical applications" (Completed)
• Syed Jawad Haider (2017), BS. Thesis: "NMR-based metabolite profiling and anti-cancer activity of Cannabis plant available in Pakistan" (Completed)
• Sidra Riaz (2016), BS. Thesis: "Isolation and quantification of Cannabinoids" (Completed)
• Naureen Ahsan (2015), BS. Thesis: "Internship" (Completed)
• Rabail Rana (2015), BS. Thesis: "Internship" (Completed)
• Satwant Singh (2015), BS. Thesis: "Internship Supervisor" (Completed)
• Tasbeeha Marjan (2015), BS. Thesis: "Antimicrobial activity and metabolic profiling of cannabis essential oil" (Completed)