Education
- PhD in Biomedical Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham (2020–2024) — Fulbright Scholar; Dissertation: Role of RING-Box E3 Ligases in RUNX2 and SP7 Protein Turnover During Osteoblast Differentiation; Advisor: Dr. Amjad Javed
- MS in Healthcare Biotechnology, National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Pakistan (2013–2015) — Thesis: Anticancer Mechanism of Ascorbate in Huh7 Cell Line
- BSc (Hons) in Biotechnology, University of Health Sciences, Lahore (2008–2012)
Teaching Experience
- University of Alabama at Birmingham, Javed Lab: Graduate Research Assistant (2021–2024)
- University of Alabama at Birmingham: Graduate Research Rotations (2020)
- Various institutions, Faisalabad, Pakistan: Instructor & Science Teacher (2016–2019)
Biography
Abeera Sikandar is a biomedical scientist whose research investigates the molecular mechanisms of bone formation, with a focus on ubiquitin- and SUMO-mediated regulation of the transcription factors RUNX2 and SP7 during osteoblast differentiation. As a J. William Fulbright Scholar, she completed her PhD in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham under Dr. Amjad Javed, Associate Dean for Research at the UAB School of Dentistry, following an MS in Healthcare Biotechnology from NUST, Pakistan.
Her doctoral research elucidated Rbx1- and Rbx2-mediated ubiquitination pathways governing bone-formation transcription factors and established new regulatory mechanisms with implications for therapeutic targeting in skeletal disease. She has presented her work at the AADOCR/IADR Annual Meeting and the ASBMR Annual Meeting, and was awarded the Dean’s Travel Award (First Place) to present at AADOCR/IADR 2024. Prior to her doctoral studies, Abeera taught science at several institutions in Faisalabad, Pakistan.
Publications
- Sikandar, A., Ali, H., Javed, A., Javeed, F., & Javed, A. “RING-Box E3 Ligase Target N-Terminal Lysine 55 to Regulate Turnover of Sp7 Protein,” Journal of Cellular Biochemistry, 126(9) (2025): e70066
- Avery, T., Ali, H., Farooqi, J., Sikandar, A., & Javed, A. “Cullin-RING Ubiquitin Ligase Complex in Skeletal Development and Disease,” Journal of Cellular Biochemistry (Submitted)
- Rao, F., Rao, A., & Sikandar, A. “Response of Phytomicrobiomes to Nanopollution,” in Phytomicrobiome and Stress Regulation, Ch. 13 (Elsevier, 2025)
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