Kudsiya Ashrafi

About

My Ph.D. research was focused on the development of an improved variety of Stevia rebaudiana with enhanced organoleptic and nutraceutical values. S. rebaudiana contains steviol glycosides compounds, which are potent alternative to artificial sweeteners. One part of the objective completed through functional characterization of the novel non coding miRNA (miRstv_7) targeting key genes (KO, KAH, and, UGT76G1) of steviol glycosides biosynthetic pathway. By using miRNA interference approach the repression of miRstv_7 was employed thus resulting in over-expression of its target gene to achieve increased accumulation of steviol glycosides content. The other part dealt with the development of a rapid and efficient direct shoot regeneration protocol from leaf explant and agrobacterium mediated transient transformation method for stable line generation of S. rebaudiana.

Skills and Expertise: Plant Tissue Culture, cloning, miRNAs and gene over-expression, RLM-RACE, miRNA interference, HPTLC, Confocal microscopy, GC-MS, Stem Loop RT-PCR, Agrobacterium mediated transformation, Transient Transformation and basic Bioinformatics techniques.

Publications: 9 Research Articles, 4 Review Articles, and 1 Book Chapter.

Beyond research, I have actively contributed to the scientific community by organizing conferences, mentoring B.Sc. students for their theory and practical classes and 7 M.Sc. students for their thesis work.

Employment

• MARWAR MUSLIM EDUCATIONAL & WELFARE SOCIETY PGT Biology
  2025 - 2026
• ICAR-IARI Senior Research Fellow
  2024 - 2024

Education

• Jamia Hamdard Ph.D. Scholar
  2016 - 2024

Projects & Funding

Projects & funding information is unavailable.

Publications (16)

• Quality-by-design optimized albumin nanoparticles encapsulating Artemisia annua L. phytochemicals using artemisinin as a quantitative marker
  International Journal of Biological Macromolecules 2026 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2026.153273
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• Genetic engineering as a means to maximize secondary metabolite production
  Secondary Metabolites in Stress and Disease Management 2026 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-443-33959-2.00022-8
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• Computational prediction of potent antiviral microRNAs in Stevia rebaudiana
  European Journal of Plant Pathology 2025 DOI: 10.1007/s10658-025-03089-y
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• Emerging nanotechnology-driven drug delivery solutions for malaria: Addressing drug resistance and improving therapeutic success
  International Journal of Pharmaceutics 2025 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2024.125163
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• Increased artemisinin production in Artemisia annua L. by co-overexpression of six key biosynthetic enzymes
  International Journal of Biological Macromolecules 2024 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.136291
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• Improving organoleptic and antioxidant properties by inhibition of novel miRstv_7 to target key genes of steviol glycosides biosynthetic pathway in Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni
  Plant Molecular Biology 2024 DOI: 10.1007/s11103-024-01505-1
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• Artemisinin production strategies for industrial scale: Current progress and future directions
  Industrial Crops and Products 2024 DOI: 10.1016/j.indcrop.2024.118937
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• Regulatory Trends in Engineering Bioactive-Phytocompounds
  Plant Science 2024 DOI: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2024.112167
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• Insights into Pharmacological Potential of Apigenin through various Pathways on a Nanoplatform in Multitude of Diseases
  Current Pharmaceutical Design 2023 DOI: 10.2174/1381612829666230529164321
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• Enhancement of diterpenoid steviol glycosides by co-overexpressing SrKO and SrUGT76G1 genes in Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni
  PLOS ONE 2023 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0260085
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