New York University, New York, NY, USA
Ph.D., Biology, August 2019- Present
Thesis Advisor: Michael Purugganan
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD,
USA
Sc.M. , Molecular Microbiology & Immunology, 2015
Thesis Advisor: Sabra Klein
Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
B.Sc., Biological Science, 2013
International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh
(icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh
Scientific Writer, March 2022- Present
New York University, New York, USA
Graduate Teaching Assistant
Applied Genomics, Spring 2022, 2023
Principles of Biology I, Fall 2021
Nature Portfolio, Springer Nature, New York, USA
Editorial Fellow, June 2021- August 2021
Independent University, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh
January 2016- August 2019
a. Lecturer, School of Life Sciences. Primarily
Microbiology, Immunology, Introductory Biology, and Readings in
Biochemistry
b. Research Associate, Center for Health, Population,
and Development
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland,
USA
Research Associate, Sabra Klein’s Lab, September 2014-
May 2015
Michael Purugganan’s Lab at New York University, May 2020-
Present
Studying the demographic and adaptive history of domesticated Asian rice
(Oryza sativa), using next-generation sequencing and population genetics
methods
Center for Health, Population, and Development (CHPD), Independent
University, Bangladesh, January 2016- August 2019
Contributed to study design and field work planning for large-scale
epidemiological studies, and led the Bangladeshi arm of a project on the
social impact of the 1947 Partition of British India
Sabra Klein’s Lab at Johns Hopkins, January 2014- May 2015
Investigated the effects of testosterone on the outcome of influenza
infections in a mouse model
David Gilbert’s Lab at Florida State University, January 2012- May
2013
Performed molecular cloning of a gene relevant to the study of
replication timing in embryonic stem cells
He Q, Tang S, Zhi H, Chen J, Zhang J, Liang H, Alam O, Li H, Zhang H, Xing L, Li X, Zhang W, Wang H, Shi J, Du H, Wu H, Wang L, Yang P, Xing L, Yan H, Song Z, Liu J, Wang H, Tian X, Qiao Z, Feng G, Guo R, Zhu W, Ren Y, Hao H, Li M, Zhang A, Guo E, Yan F, Li Q, Liu Y, Tian B, Zhao X, Jia R, Feng B, Zhang J, Wei J, Lai J, Jia G, Purugganan M, Diao X. A graph-based genome and pan-genome variation of the model plant Setaria. Nat Genet. 2023 Jun 8. doi: 10.1038/s41588-023-01423-w. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37291196
Alam O, Yusuf R, Rahman O. The Impact of Partition on East Pakistan: Toward a More Nuanced Central Narrative. In: Leaning J, Bhadada S. The 1947 Partition of British India: Forced Migration and Its Reverberations. New Delhi, India: SAGE Spectrum; 2022. p. 129-156
Choi JY, Dai X, Alam O, Peng JZ, Rughani P, Hickey S, Harrington E, Juul S, Ayroles JF, Purugganan MD, Stacy EA. Ancestral polymorphisms shape the adaptive radiation of Metrosideros across the Hawaiian Islands. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021 Sep 14;118(37):e2023801118. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2023801118. PMID: 34497122; PMCID: PMC8449318
Alam O, Gutaker RM, Wu CC, Hicks KA, Bocinsky K, Castillo CC, Acabado S, Fuller D, d’Alpoim Guedes JA, Hsing YI, Purugganan MD. Genome Analysis Traces Regional Dispersal of Rice in Taiwan and Southeast Asia. Mol Biol Evol. 2021 Oct 27;38(11):4832-4846. doi: 10.1093/molbev/msab209. PMID: 34240169; PMCID: PMC8557449
Vom Steeg LG, Vermillion MS, Hall OJ, Alam O, McFarland R, Chen H, Zirkin B, Klein SL. Age and testosterone mediate influenza pathogenesis in male mice. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2016 Dec 1;311(6):L1234-L1244. doi: 10.1152/ajplung.00352.2016. Epub 2016 Nov 4. PMID: 27815260; PMCID: PMC5206399
Complete list on Google Scholar
Probabilistic Modeling in Genomics 2023. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York, NY, USA. Poster
Center for Genomics and Systems Biology Symposium XI, 2023. New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, UAE. Poster
New York Area Population Genetics 2023. Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA. Poster
Evolution 2022. Cleveland, OH, USA. Talk
Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution 2021. Virtual. Talk
8th Annual Research on Aging Showcase, 2015. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA. Poster
Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Awards Symposium, 2012. Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA. Talk
Research Highlights. Nature Genetics. August & September 2021
Genomic
windows into ancient climate change. Molecular Ecologist. 2021
More in Molecular Ecologist: https://www.molecularecologist.com/?s=ornob+alam
Unbraiding
the Neanderthal knot in human evolutionary history. Nature Ecology
& Evolution Community. 2022
More in Nature Ecology & Evolution Community: https://ecoevocommunity.nature.com/users/ornob-alam
Unmasking an ancient scourge. Small Things Considered. 2021
Research highlights and explainers for icddr,b. Example:
icddr,b
scientists help reveal a striking geographical pattern of influenza
virus epidemics in Bangladesh. 2022
More for icddr,b: https://www.icddrb.org/component/search/?searchword=ornob&ordering=&searchphrase=all
Designed, curated, and edited a blog featuring science communication
articles by undergraduates in the School of Life Sciences at Independent
University, Bangladesh, March 2017- March 2019
http://herebedragonssls.blogspot.com
Eugene Bell Award at the New York University Biology Graduate program. 2021
Quantitative Biological Systems Training (QBIST) Grant, NIH Project Number: 1T32GM132037-01. 2020
1st place winner (Student category) of 8th Annual Research on Aging Showcase Poster Competition. 2015
Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Award. 2012
Facilitator, Respect is a Part of
Research (RPR) Workshop, New York University. 2020 & 2022
RPR is a peer-to-peer workshop for first-year PhD students in the
Biology department that serves as a space for open discussions on the
best steps to take when members experience or witness disrespectful
behavior in a workplace or workplace-adjacent context
Mentor, Summer
Undergraduate Research Program (SURP), June 2021- August 2021
Designed and supervised a project on visualizing and analyzing human
ancient genetic data, led by talented undergraduate Temima Yellin over
the summer (and the subsequent academic year)
R; R Shiny. Example: paleoRice
Python
Bash scripting
Building bioinformatics pipelines using Nextflow
Next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics:
- DNA extractions from herbarium/historical specimens
- Library prep
- Variant calling
- Differential gene expression analyses
Population genetics analyses:
- Population structure analyses and clustering
- Admixture graph modeling
- Estimating population size and separating history
- Coalescent and forward simulations
- Demographic inference
- Approximate Bayesian computation (ABC)
- Ancestral recombination graph inference
- Selection scans and analyses
- Gene-environment association analyses