Saheed Imam
About Saheed Imam
Saheed Imam is an Associate Principal Scientist at LifeMine Therapeutics, specializing in predictive models and computational analysis of fungal genomes. He has extensive experience in strain development, next-generation sequencing, and has held various research positions at notable institutions.
Current Role at LifeMine Therapeutics
Saheed Imam serves as an Associate Principal Scientist at LifeMine Therapeutics, a position he has held since 2021. In this role, he focuses on utilizing predictive models that integrate data from various biological networks to understand cellular responses. His work involves computational analysis of fungal genomes to identify novel therapeutics, contributing to the company's mission of advancing drug discovery.
Previous Experience at Synthetic Genomics
Prior to his current role, Imam worked as a Senior Scientist at Synthetic Genomics from 2015 to 2021. During his six years there, he applied his expertise in strain development and next-generation sequencing. This experience enhanced his skills in genomic analysis and biotechnology, which he continues to utilize in his current position.
Education and Expertise
Saheed Imam holds a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he studied from 2009 to 2014. He also earned a Master of Science in Biotechnology from the University of Pennsylvania in 2008. His educational background includes a Bachelor's degree in Applied Biochemistry from Enugu State University of Science and Technology, completed in 2005. His expertise includes transcriptional regulatory network inference and analysis, as well as improving yields of biomass and triacylglycerols in algal species for renewable fuel production.
Research Experience at Academic Institutions
Imam has a diverse research background, having worked in various academic settings. He was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute for Systems Biology from 2014 to 2015. Prior to that, he was a Research Assistant and later a Research Specialist at the University of Pennsylvania's Pohlschroder Lab from 2008 to 2009. Additionally, he served as a Graduate Researcher in the Donohue Lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 2010 to 2014, where he focused on cellular and molecular biology research.
Early Career and Internships
Saheed Imam began his career with an internship at GlaxoSmithKline in Lagos, Nigeria, from 2003 to 2004. He also worked briefly as an Executive Assistant at Zenith Bank Group in 2007. These early experiences provided him with foundational skills that he later applied in his scientific career.