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• 1 2023-08-18T15:18:12+00:00 Dr. Aftab Ahmed 8 plain 2023-09-06T16:40:54+00:00 Email: aahmed@chapman.edu
  Website: https://www.chapman.edu/our-faculty/aftab-ahmed
  College: College of Pharmacy
  
  Overview of scholarly research/creative activity:
  This research focuses on purifying and characterizing the amino acid sequence of plant proteins with a potential anticancer property. These medicinal herbs and spices used in daily life include ajwain and black seeds. Hands-on experience in electrophoresis, FPLC/HPLC, and mass spectrometry.
  
  Specific projects working on:
  Hemp (Cannabis sativa) has been a versatile plant for thousands of years. Recreational and medicinal use of cannabis surged in the United States but was outlawed in 1937. Cannabis was filed as a schedule 1 controlled substance. The war on drugs made quality research extremely difficult. Hemp itself is not psychoactive; however, the flowers containing THC are. The present poster is focused on analyzing cannabis seeds proteome employing top-down proteomics in union with; size exclusion chromatography, high-resolution ESI QTOF LC/MS/MS, and De Novo protein sequencing bioinformatics tools. Cannabis sativa seeds were ground and defatted in hexane, and proteins were extracted in PBS buffer for two days at 4°C. The extracted proteins were precipitated in 80% ammonium sulfate, dialyzed using MWCO 3500 dialysis tube in water, and lyophilized. Protein fractions were carried out using gel filtration chromatography with a HiLoad 16/600 Superdex-200 pg column and an automated FPLC system. Fractions were analyzed using 10% Tris/tricine SDS-PAGE electrophoresis. Protein modification was performed using performic acid oxidation succeeded by tryptic digestion at room temperature and 37°C. The tryptic digest of hemp seeds was reviewed using high-resolution Q-TOF LC/MS/MS. De Novo protein sequences and database search were established using PeakStudio-X. Bioinformatic analysis was conducted using the SwissProt Viridiplantae database, with a false discovery rate <1% .
  
  Number of students looking to work with:
  1-2
  
  When students are needed:
  Fall 2023
  Interterm 2024
  Spring 2024
  Summer 2024
  
  What students need to work with Dr. Ahmed:
  No specific requirements
  
  What students would be doing:
  Lab experiments
  
  Time commitment for students:
  Meet once/week, expected time commitment dependent upon credit hours selected.
  
  Additional information:
  Relevant publication from Ahmed lab:
  https://bmccomplementmedtherapies.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12906-019-2804-1
  https://bmccomplementmedtherapies.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12906-022-03616-y
  https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/pharmacy_articles/760/