Dr Mohd Farooq Shaikh - IBRO-APRC Exchange Fellowship Award

Dr Mohd Farooq Shaikh will use his IBRO-APRC Exchange Fellowship Award to travel and work in Karin Borges Lab to continue his important work on a potent plant extract of Eclipta alba in epilepsy models.

According to Dr. Shaikh, "In traditional medicine extracts of Eclipta alba, commonly known as False Daisy, has been used to treat epilepsy; however its efficacy is not well established. In my PHD work I showed that Eclipta alba extracts are anticonvulsant in several mouse seizure models. To further the development of this treatment approach it is now vital to decipher its mechanism of action."

Dr. Borges wrote the following about Dr. Shaikh: "I am pleased to offer Dr. Mohd Farooq Shaikh to come to my research laboratory at the University of Queensland to continue his important work on a potent plant extract of Eclipta alba in epilepsy models. Farooq contacted me 4 months ago and since then we have extensively discussed his research work. He was recommended to me by Prof Dr. Annamaria Vezzani [via the IBRO Young Investigators Programme], one of the world leaders in epilepsy research, who got to know him well during his 3-week research stay in her laboratory. I am convinced that he and my laboratory would benefit from his visit....His visit would allow him to further elucidate the mechanism of anti-epileptic action of E. alba extract....In summary, my laboratory is very excited about his project, which may lead to a new treatment approach for epilepsy."
The IBRO-APRC Exchange Fellowship aims to allow high-quality junior scientists at the level of postdoctoral fellow or junior faculty (under the age of 45) from diverse geographic and scientific areas to broaden the scope of their training in neuroscience by working four to six months abroad in established laboratories. Senior PhD students with a good publication record and strong justification for the exchange program will also be considered. Both the applicant and the host laboratory must be within the Asia Pacific Region.

Dr Mohd Farooq Shaikh recently earned his doctorate at the Institute of Chemical Technology in Mumbai, India, where evaluates the pharmacological properties of Eclipta alba in experimental models of epilepsy.
 

On this site