Scholarship Award: DAAD EPOS Fully Funded Scholarship for emerging professionals.

Master's Thesis Project (Currently Running): Genomic drivers of coat pattern in West African leopards

• Developing automated image analysis pipelines in R (utilizing the colordistance package and computer vision) on historical photographic datasets from the AMNH and FMNH to determine whether there are differences in rosette size and density in West African leopards.
• Extracting coat-color-related genes (MC1R, ASIP, TYR, TYRP1, and SLC45A2) and generating gene trees to investigate whether there are mutational differences between West and Central African leopards.
• Conducting Principal Component Analyses (PCAs) incorporating habitat type and genotype, alongside Admixture plots, to determine whether there is population genetic structure in adaptive regions between West and Central African leopards.

Relevant Specialized Coursework: Evolutionary Ecology, Conservation and Behavior, Experimental Plant Ecology, Remote Sensing, Vegetation Ecology, Principles of Landscape Ecology; Nature Conservation Economics; Ethics and Environment; Climate Change.

Scholarship Award: National Science and Technology (NST) Fellowship Award for thesis work

Thesis: Genomic and Post Genomic Analysis of Labeo calbasu (Kalibaus) from Halda River

• Executed comprehensive end-to-end genomic workflows, beginning with wet-lab DNA extraction and initial Whole-Genome Sequencing (WGS) data preparation, including raw read quality assessment using FastQC and k-mer analysis with Kmergenie.
• Developed robust de novo genome assemblies using advanced assembly pipelines such as ABySS, Platanus, and SOAPdenovo2, in addition to performing targeted mitochondrial genome assembly with NOVOPlasty.
• Subsequent analyses included assembly quality evaluation using QUAST, mitochondrial sequence annotation with MITOS, and repeat element identification using RepeatMasker.
• Performed downstream bioinformatic analyses, including evolutionary and phylogenetic investigations using MEGA X, comparative genomic analyses with OrthoVenn2, and genomic data visualization using OGDRAW.

Relevant Specialized Coursework: Completed major courses on aquatic animals, their environments, production, disease control, bio and physicochemical analysis, etc.

Scholarship Award: IDF-PKSF Scholarship for Undergraduate Research.

Undergraduate Project Research (Thesis): Study on The Embryonic, Larval And Fry Development of Carps Spawn From Halda River

• Executed comprehensive field-to-laboratory aquaculture workflows, beginning with the direct collection of fertilized carp spawn from riverine environments using traditional dingi boats and 7 mm mesh nets, followed by controlled developmental rearing in comparative artificial systems, including mud scoops and cemented hatcheries.
• Implemented continuous morphological monitoring protocols through systematic sample preservation in 70% ethanol and high-resolution observation using multiple microscopy platforms, including ocular, electric compound, and dissecting microscopes.
• Developmental stages were further documented through detailed photographic records using a Canon 12× zoom camera.
• Conducted detailed developmental and environmental assessments, including embryological and larval staging (cleavage, blastula, gastrula, and pro-larva), alongside continuous monitoring of key physicochemical water quality parameters using instruments such as the Hach HQ40D Portable Multi Meter and the 2100Q Portable Turbidimeter to evaluate comparative growth outcomes.

Relevant Specialized Coursework: Completed theoretical and practical courses on animals (every phylum), their environments, Systematics, Embryology, Cytology, Histology, Genetics, Physiology, Ethology, Ecology, Evolution, Biodiversity, Zoogeography, Paleontology, Oceanography, Applied Zoology, Human Reproduction, Human Diseases, Research Methodology, Botany, Microbiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Biophysics, Biostatistics, Bioinformatics, Biotechnology, and Genetic Engineering.