I was born and raised in Bangladesh. After finishing college, I moved to Japan to pursue my undergraduate degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences at Osaka University. During my third year, I visited several research labs and learned about the story of Milasen, which sparked my interest in oligonucleotide (ON) therapeutics. Around the same time, I volunteered with a humanitarian organization during the COVID-19 pandemic and witnessed how RNA vaccines brought hope to people. These experiences motivated me to focus my research on ON therapeutics during my undergraduate and master’s studies, and to pursue a PhD in this field further.

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During my undergraduate and master’s, I worked on oligonucleotide conjugation for enhancing efficacy and mRNA circularization to improve protein translation efficiency. After graduation, I joined Mitsubishi Gas Chemical, where I worked on the characterization and development of bioplastics. However, my interest for ON research led me to return to academia. On October 1, 2025, I started as a Marie Curie PhD Fellow at University College London in Prof. Haiyan Zhou’s lab, within the EFFecT (APDC) consortium. My research focuses on enhancing the delivery of antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) to skeletal muscle by conjugating them to peptides identified through cell-surface proteomics and phage display.

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Outside the lab, I enjoy traveling. I explored many parts of Japan and have visited several countries across Asia. I also look forward to traveling around Europe whenever I get the chance. Other than that, I enjoy cooking and growing vegetables.

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Associated DC1: Developing cell-targeted delivery of ASOs in skeletal muscle for the treatment of neuromuscular disorders

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Supervisor: Prof. Haiyan Zhou

External mentor: Dr. A. Goyenvalle

Host Institute: University College London, UK (www.ucl.ac.uk)

Secondments planned: Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain; AstraZeneca, Sweden

Doctoral program: PhD Program of the University College London

Starting date: October 1st, 2025

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Project description:

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This project focuses on identifying bioconjugates that can enhance the delivery of ASOs in skeletal muscle, such as to myoblasts or muscle interstitial fibroblasts, to improve the biodistribution and in vivo efficacy of ASOs in treating neuromuscular disorders. Following cell surface proteomics and phage display studies that already performed in the host laboratory, we will further optimize the peptide design and validate the uptake efficacy of candidate peptides or bioconjugates in different model systems. These may include 2D cell culture or 3D skeletal muscle culture model and mouse models available in the host lab. In leveraging the expertise of the host laboratory in different ASO strategies development, DC12 will be investigating the therapeutic efficacy of ASO-conjugates in correcting genetic defects in different model systems. These may include exon-skipping or inclusion or gene silencing.