Amjad Khalaf

Amjad Khalaf is a PhD student in the Tree of Life Programme at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, working under Dr. Mara Lawniczak and Prof. Mark Blaxter, with a focus on genomics, genome assembly algorithms, and evolution. Concurrently, Amjad is a student researcher in the Department of Zoology at the University of Cambridge, studying various UK butterfly species and utilizing imaging techniques and modelling software. Past experience includes research on mitochondrial dynamics in Drosophila at the Gurdon Institute and investigating KRAB-zinc finger proteins in human tissues using RNA-seq data in the Department of Genetics. Additional research experience spans the Department of Plant Sciences, assessing aphid behavior on CMV-infected tomato plants, and laboratory assistant roles at MedLabs Consultancy Group and Biolab, performing medical analyses and molecular biology techniques. Amjad holds a Bachelor's degree in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge and is pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy in Genetics at the same institution.