Rate My Professor Zakia Sultana

Dr. Zakia Sultana serves as the Haggarty Research Fellow in the School of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Newcastle, Faculty of Health and Medicine. A mid-career researcher in the Mother and Babies Research Program, she obtained her Bachelor of Pharmacy (Honours) and Master of Pharmacy from Rajshahi University, Bangladesh, and her Doctor of Philosophy in Reproductive Medicine from the University of Newcastle in August 2018. During her PhD, she investigated potential biomarkers for oxidative damage and aging in placentas from pathologic pregnancies, developing in vitro models with human placental tissue explants and cell lines to elucidate mechanisms of oxidative damage and premature aging, and identifying therapeutic targets for high-risk pregnancies. Her PhD findings were published in high-impact journals and secured her an Early Career Research fellowship.

Dr. Sultana's current research interests include aging and aging-related disorders, utilizing her skills in molecular biology and medical biochemistry. She leads projects on placental aging, UV radiation-induced skin damage, and oxidative damage in brain aging, while co-supervising two PhD students. Her technical expertise encompasses cell and tissue culture, real-time qPCR, CRISPR-Cas9, siRNA gene silencing, protein analysis, immunohistochemistry, western blotting, ELISA, confocal microscopy, and animal studies. Professionally, she progressed from Research Assistant (2018-2020) in the School of Medicine and Public Health to Haggarty Early Career Research Fellow (2020-present) and now Haggarty Research Fellow. Notable awards include the Society for Reproductive Investigation Travel Award (2019), University of Newcastle International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (2014), and University of Newcastle Research Central 50/50 Scholarship (2014). Key publications feature "Involvement of oxidative stress in placental dysfunction, the pathophysiology of fetal death and pregnancy disorders" (Reproduction, 2023), "Extracellular vesicles – crucial players in human pregnancy" (Placenta, 2023), "Human placenta releases extracellular vesicles carrying corticotrophin releasing hormone mRNA into the maternal blood" (Placenta, 2024), "Oxidative stress, placental ageing-related pathologies and adverse pregnancy outcomes" (American Journal of Immunology, 2017), and "Evidence that fetal death is associated with placental aging" (American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, 2017). Her work advances insights into obstetric complications and stillbirth etiology.