Research Interests

My research interests are in Bioinformatics, using High-Performance Computing (HPC), especially Next Generation Sequence (NGS) based Genome/Metagenome Assembly and Annotation, ncRNA analysis, Comparative Genomics, Functional Genomics, data warehouse development​, see for example KAUST Metagenomic Analysis Platform (KMAP), https://www.cbrc.kaust.edu.sa/aamg/kmap.start/ 

A recent focus is towards tracking infectious disease agents such as SARS-CoV-2, see https://www.cbrc.kaust.edu.sa/covmt

Professional Profile

  • 2010-2015: Research Scientist KAUST
  • 2008-2009: Senior Bioinformatician, Almac Diagnostics, Belfast, UK
  • 2005-2008: Research Associate, University of Manchester, UK

Scientific and Professional Membership

  • ​International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB)

Education Profile

  • Ph.D. Bioinformatics, University of Bielefeld, Germany, 2004
  • M. Phil. Molecular Biology, University of Punjab, Pakistan, 2000

Selected Publications

Alam, I., Kamau, A., Gugi, D., Gojobori, T., Duarte, C., & Bajic, V. (2020). KAUST Metagenomic Analysis Platform (KMAP), Enabling Access to Massive Analytics of Re-Annotated Metagenomic Data. Journal is Scientific Reports, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-90799-y
Alam, I., Radovanovic, A., Incitti, R., Kamau, A. A., Alarawi, M., Azhar, E. I., & Gojobori, T. (2021). CovMT: an interactive SARS-CoV-2 mutation tracker, with a focus on critical variants. The Lancet Infectious Diseases. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1473-3099(21)00078-5
Alam, I., Aalismail, N., Martin, C., Kamau, A., Guzmán-Vega, F. J., Jamil, T., … Duarte, C. M. (2020). Rapid Evolution of Plastic-degrading Enzymes Prevalent in the Global Ocean. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.09.07.285692
Alam, I., Kamau, A. A., Kulmanov, M., Jaremko, Ł., Arold, S. T., Pain, A., … Duarte, C. M. (2020). Functional Pangenome Analysis Shows Key Features of E Protein Are Preserved in SARS and SARS-CoV-2. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2020.00405
Alam, I., Antunes, A., Kamau, A. A., Ba alawi Wail, Kalkatawi, M., Stingl, U., & Bajic, V. B. (2013). INDIGO – INtegrated Data Warehouse of MIcrobial GenOmes with Examples from the Red Sea Extremophiles. PLoS ONE, 8(12), e82210. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0082210