CEMB Centre of Excellence in
Molecular Biology University of the Punjab
Virology Lab team photo at CEMB

Research laboratory

Virology

The Molecular Virology Laboratory builds national capacity in virology, studying DNA and RNA viruses of humans and animals in Pakistan and developing cost-effective vaccines and rapid diagnostic assays.

Research with public-health impact

From viral biology to diagnostics that reach patients.

Pakistan faces a critical shortage of trained manpower in molecular virology. The group therefore strengthens national research capacity by upgrading infrastructure and training researchers, studying the life cycles, structure, host-cell entry, gene expression, replication and assembly of viruses prevalent across Pakistan, and coupling that understanding with applied research on cost-effective antiviral vaccines and highly sensitive, rapid diagnostic assays for clinical specimens.

Human & animal virologyMolecular diagnosticsAntiviral vaccines
19
research scholars
50,000+
free HCV and HBV tests for patients in need
104
hospital sentinel sites supported
5
faculty investigators

Research programme

Four priorities for Pakistan’s virology.

Capacity building, fundamental virology, vaccine development and diagnostics, pursued together.

  1. 01

    National research capacity

    Upgrading essential infrastructure and developing trained human resources for molecular biology in animal and medical virology.

  2. 02

    Human & animal viruses

    DNA and RNA viruses prevalent in Pakistan: life cycles, structure, host-cell attachment and entry, uncoating, gene expression, replication and assembly.

  3. 03

    Antiviral vaccines

    Applied research toward cost-effective antiviral vaccines.

  4. 04

    Rapid diagnostic assays

    Novel, highly sensitive and rapid assays for detecting viruses in clinical specimens.

Translation & outcomes

Molecular diagnostics delivered at national scale.

Subsidised PCR testing, free testing for patients in need, outbreak response and a strong research record on HCV, HBV, dengue and HIV.

01

Provides qualitative and quantitative PCR diagnostics for HCV, HPV, HBV and dengue at highly subsidised rates, about 50% below market, generating income for the Centre

02

Lab income was about 5.0 million per month (60 million per year) in 2009–2010; in 2013 an amount of 650 million was deposited with the Government of Pakistan as revenue through the Ministry of Science & Technology

03

Provided molecular diagnostics (qualitative, quantitative and genotyping) to hepatitis B and C patients at 104 sentinel sites (teaching and district headquarter hospitals) under the PM’s Program for Prevention & Control of Hepatitis

04

Performed more than 50,000 HCV quantitative, HCV genotyping and HBV quantitative tests free of charge for poor patients between September 2006 and July 2008, with a market value above 113 million

05

Actively involved in the molecular identification and serotyping of the 2011 dengue outbreak, and continues to provide free dengue detection and serotyping for all provinces on WHO referral

06

Next-generation sequencing studies on the HVR1 region of Pakistani isolates of hepatitis C virus

07

CRISPR-Cas13a-mediated targeting of the hepatitis C virus internal ribosomal entry site (IRES) as an effective antiviral strategy

08

Molecular characterisation and potential role of recombinant envelope proteins of dengue virus serotype 2 for development of a diagnostic assay

09

Established the correlation between IL28B polymorphisms and susceptibility to HCV infection and response to interferon and ribavirin therapy in Pakistani chronic HCV patients

10

miRNA profiling for biomarker development in HCV patients with and without cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma

11

Identification and correlation analysis of host genes in response to hepatitis C virus infection and treatment, including association of SNPs with resistance and treatment response

12

Basic insights into human hepatitis C virus disease and its effects on health

Research group

Faculty leading the programme.

Expertise across molecular virology, hepatitis, dengue, HPV, antimicrobial resistance and host-virus genetics.

Research students

The questions shaping tomorrow’s virology.

12 PhD scholars7 MPhil scholars

PhD research scholars 12

Humera Naveed

Humera Naveed

Investigating the role of long non-coding RNAs in hepatitis virus-induced hepatocellular carcinoma as a prognostic biomarker and therapeutic intervention

Saeeda Tariq

Saeeda Tariq

Development of a quantitative diagnostic system: an approach towards a non-invasive paradigm for early detection of liver cancer / hepatocellular carcinoma

Mahnoor

Identification of circular RNA expression-based competing endogenous RNA networks and drug resistance in HIV-infected patients

Talha Bin Rahat

Talha Bin Rahat

Construction of nanobody phage display libraries for diagnostic applications

Maryam Nasim

Maryam Nasim

Epigenetic and transcriptional regulation of hepatocellular carcinoma-related genes as blood-based biomarkers for HCV-induced hepatocellular carcinoma

Afifa Noor

Afifa Noor

Translational identification and validation of common differentially expressed genes and their regulatory miRNAs across multi-compartments as early biomarkers for HCC detection: an integrated in silico, experimental and clinical study

Tayyaba Nisar

Tayyaba Nisar

Expression analysis of adenoviral vector-based HBV surface antigen as a therapeutic candidate for hepatitis B treatment

Errum Zubair

Errum Zubair

Engineering of a stable GLP-1 receptor agonist for affordable type 2 diabetes therapy

Husnain Ali

Husnain Ali

Epigenetic modulation of interleukin-11 in hepatitis C virus-induced hepatocellular carcinoma: a pathway for integrated non-communicable disease management in Pakistan

Neelum Jahan

Recombinant protein for the development of an indigenous ELISA kit

Areesha Rashid

Areesha Rashid

HPV E6 genetic diversity: clinical and structural insights

Laiba Iqbal

Laiba Iqbal

Expression profiling of IL-11 and related cytokine pathway genes in biopsies and serum of HCV patients with chronic liver disease and HCC

MPhil research scholars 7

Abdia

Abdia

Transcriptional profiling of selected molecular signalling genes in hepatitis-associated hepatocellular carcinoma

Ayesha

Ayesha

Development and optimisation of a multiplex quantitative PCR assay for high-risk human papillomavirus genotyping

Muhammad Ahsan

Investigating the role of promoter methylation of phosphodiesterase genes in chronic stress-induced insulin resistance as a potential epigenetic biomarker and therapeutic target for type 2 diabetes

Muhammad Sajid Mustafa

Muhammad Sajid Mustafa

First integrative analysis of HCV qPCR and transcriptomics in genotype-3 CKD: a South Asian nephrology cohort study

Fatima Shahid

Fatima Shahid

Translational identification and validation of common differentially expressed genes and their regulatory miRNAs across multiple compartments as early biomarkers for hepatocellular carcinoma detection: an integrated in silico and experimental approach

Laiba Dar

Laiba Dar

Exosomal miRNA panel as a non-invasive liquid biopsy for early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma in chronic HCV patients

Manahil Akram

Manahil Akram

Transcriptomic analysis and blood-based validation of cuproptosis-related genes in HCV-associated hepatocellular carcinoma

Research funding

Two decades of national and international support.

Projects funded by HEC, WHO/TDR, WHO/EMRO, the National Institute of Health, the Ministry of Science & Technology and the University of the Punjab.

Active projects

Integrated approaches to infection prevention and control: benchmarking the effectiveness and feasibility of multimodal strategies for healthcare-associated multidrug-resistant pathogens across varied resource-limited settingsWHO/TDR Impact Grant 2024 · PKR 2.7 million · Dr. Samia Afzal (PI)
Identifying innovative solutions to scale up self-testing for hepatitis C (HCV) and hepatitis B (HBV) in the Pakistani populationWHO/TDR Impact Grant 2024 · PKR 3.0 million · Dr. Samia Afzal (Co-PI)
Revolutionising HPV screening: affordable in-house production of TaqMan-based multiplex PCR for simultaneous detection of HPV genotypes in PakistanUniversity of the Punjab · 2025–26 · PKR 0.3 million · Dr. Shazia Rafique (PI)
Genetic predictors of XDR and pre-XDR tuberculosis among MDR-TB patients: a molecular and clinical correlation study in PakistanUniversity of the Punjab · 2025–26 · PKR 0.3 million · Dr. Samia Afzal (PI)
Identification and comprehensive analysis of competing endogenous RNA networks in HIV infection and treatment responsesNational Institute of Health, Islamabad · NHCG-22/R2-60 · 2022–2025 · PKR 3.79 million · Dr. Muhammad Shahid (PI)
Expression profile of circular RNAs circCORO1C, circETFA and circURB2 in hepatocellular carcinoma for identification of biomarkers in the Pakistani populationUniversity of the Punjab · 2025–2026 · PKR 300,000 · Dr. Muhammad Shahid (PI)
Expression and methylation analysis of TNF-α, CXCL10, CCL5 and CTGF as blood-based biomarkers for HCV-induced hepatocellular carcinomaUniversity of the Punjab · 2025–2026 · PKR 300,000 · Dr. Iram Amin (PI)

Completed projects

Establishment of molecular (PCR-based) diagnosis of infectious and genetic diseases laboratory at the Centre for Applied Molecular BiologyMinistry of Science & Technology PC-1 · 2001–2004 · PKR 39.46 million · Dr. M. Idrees (PI)
Identification and transcriptome profiling of novel microRNAs in hepatitis C virus-induced liver diseases by next-generation sequencing of small RNA cDNA librariesNRPU · Project 20-2098 · 2013–2016 · PKR 3.37 million · Dr. M. Idrees (PI)
Genomic analysis of the NS3 gene of local HCV 3a isolate and development of a detection kitIPFP, HEC · 2012 · PKR 0.5 million · Dr. Shazia Rafique (PI)
Studies on streamlined molecular approaches to hepatitis C: implications for patient management and public healthNRPU · 2015–2018 · PKR 4.52 million · Dr. M. Idrees (PI)
Development of dengue assays based on ELISA and PCR diagnosis systems for reproducible and early detection of dengue virusUniversity of the Punjab lump-sum provision for research · 2016–17 · PKR 1.0 million · Dr. M. Idrees (PI)
Streamlined analysis of dengue virus genome, serotypes, genotypes and heterogeneity: application to molecular epidemiology and clinical studiesUniversity of the Punjab · 2015 · PKR 0.2 million · Dr. M. Idrees (PI)
Studies on serum IL-8 levels and mutational analysis in the E2-PePD and NS5A-PKR-BD regions in interferon-α responsive and non-responsive HCV patientsPak-US Cooperation on Science & Technology · 2003–2005 · PKR 11.72 million · Dr. M. Idrees (Co-PI and Principal Researcher)
Role of IL-8 and mutations in E2 and NS5A genes of hepatitis C virus in resistance to antiviral therapyEMRO-COMSTECH, WHO · 2004–2005 · USD 1,500 · Co-PI and Principal Researcher
Prevalence of bovine tuberculosis in human and animal populations and animal food productsHEC · 2004–2006 · PKR 2.573 million · Dr. M. Idrees (Co-PI)
Modifier chemical cocktail and its role in skin tissue regeneration in mammalsHEC · 2010 · PKR 0.50 million · Dr. Sherkhli (PI); Dr. M. Idrees (Co-PI)
Isolation, amplification and characterisation of the complete envelope gene sequences of all four dengue virus serotypes prevalent in Pakistan: a first step towards tetravalent vaccine developmentHEC · 2014 · PKR 0.50 million · Dr. Amjad Ali (PI); Dr. Muhammad Idrees (Co-PI)
Expression and mutational analysis of the p53 gene in breast cancer patients of PakistanHEC · 2016 · PKR 0.50 million · Dr. Haleema Sadia (PI); Dr. Muhammad Idrees (Co-PI)
Studies on the efficiency of newly developed direct-acting antiviral drugs (DAAs) in chronic HCV patientsHEC · 2016 · PKR 0.50 million · Dr. Sajjad Ullah (PI); Dr. Muhammad Idrees (Co-PI)
Identification and characterisation of novel fusion transcripts in neuroblastoma cell lines using transcriptome sequencing dataHEC · 2016 · PKR 0.50 million · Dr. Hafiza Fakhera Ikram (PI); Dr. Muhammad Idrees (Co-PI)
Expression of different immunoreactive forms of the hepatitis C virus NS5A recombinant protein and their use for development of an ELISA assayHEC · 2016 · PKR 0.50 million · Dr. Amjad Ali (PI); Dr. M. Idrees (Co-PI)
Studies on efficient molecular approaches to hepatitis C and their implications for patient managementNRPU · Project 20-3708 · 2015–2018 · Dr. M. Idrees (PI)
Robust production of recombinant collagen proteins in serum-free adapted 293T cell line using ubiquitous chromatin opening elements containing lentiviral vectorsNRPU, HEC · 2017–2018 · PKR 4.2 million · Dr. Shazia Rafique (PI)
Development of a single chimeric dengue virus DNA vaccine and study of its immunogenicity and response against local dengue serotypesProject 8458 · 2018 · PKR 7.56 million · Dr. Samia Afzal (PI)
An evaluation of dengue envelope (E) antigen for dengue serotype 2NRPU 8853, HEC · 2017–2020 · PKR 6.2 million · Dr. Samia Afzal (Co-PI)
Development of detection assays based on ELISA and PCR diagnosis systems for reproducible and early detection of dengue virusUniversity of the Punjab · 2016–2018 · PKR 1 million · Dr. Samia Afzal (Co-PI and Principal Researcher)
Innovative strategic plans to improve public health in the East Mediterranean Region during outbreaks of emerging and re-emerging zoonotic infectionsWHO/EMRO · 2022–2023 · PKR 2.8 million · Dr. Samia Afzal (PI)
Polymorphisms in interferon-induced genes and their impact on immune changes: an approach to predict the treatment outcome in hepatitis C virus-infected patientsPERIDOT, Franco-Pakistani Hubert Curien Partnership (PHC) · 2019–2021 · PKR 3.6 million · Dr. Samia Afzal (PI)
Poster for the CEMB Molecular Diagnostics Facility (Molecular Virology and Infectious Diseases Lab), listing PCR test rates for HCV, HBV and dengue and contact details for Dr. Samia Afzal, Dr. M. Shahid and Dr. Iram Amin

Molecular Diagnostics Facility

PCR testing open to the public.

Accurate, reliable and economical PCR-based diagnostics for the most prevalent infectious diseases, offered at highly subsidised rates.

  • HCV and HBV qualitative tests: Rs 2,500
  • HCV and HBV quantitative tests: Rs 3,800
  • HCV genotyping: Rs 4,000 · Dengue qualitative: Rs 2,500
Dr. Samia Afzal · Dr. M. Shahid · Dr. Iram Amin

Molecular Virology and Infectious Diseases Lab

0312 4211935 · 0345 4544446 · 0335 4938177
Rate list & sample guidelines View poster

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