World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!

D-Index & Metrics

Molecular Biology

D-Index
56
Citations
12005
World Ranking
2201
National Ranking
147

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2019 - German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina - Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina – Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften Biochemistry and Biophysics
  • Member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO)
  • Member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO)

Overview

Asifa Akhtar is affiliated with the Max Planck Society in Germany and specializes in the field of Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology, with a strong focus on Molecular Biology. Their research spans related subfields including Immunology, Genetics, Cancer Research, and Hematology.

The scientist's work encompasses a range of main topics, notably:

  • Epigenetics and DNA Methylation
  • Genomics and Chromatin Dynamics
  • RNA Research and Splicing
  • Ubiquitin and proteasome pathways
  • CRISPR and Genetic Engineering
  • Acute Myeloid Leukemia Research
  • Immune cells in cancer

Among their recent publications are:

  • Modulation of cellular processes by histone and non-histone protein acetylation, 2022, Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology
  • Functional mechanisms and abnormalities of the nuclear lamina, 2021, Nature Cell Biology
  • Intergenerationally Maintained Histone H4 Lysine 16 Acetylation Is Instructive for Future Gene Activation, 2020, Cell
  • Chemotherapy-induced transposable elements activate MDA5 to enhance haematopoietic regeneration, 2021, Nature Cell Biology
  • Epigenetic Regulators as the Gatekeepers of Hematopoiesis, 2020, Trends in Genetics

Publication venues where Asifa Akhtar has frequently contributed include:

  • Nature Cell Biology
  • Nature
  • Science Advances
  • Life Science Alliance
  • Cell

Collaborations have been established with several frequent co-authors, including:

  • Maria Shvedunova
  • Janine Seyfferth
  • Cecília Pessoa Rodrigues
  • Herbert Holz
  • Gerhard Mittler

Awards granted to Asifa Akhtar include membership in the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina with a focus on Biochemistry and Biophysics, awarded in 2019. The scientist is also a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO).

Best Publications

  • High-resolution TADs reveal DNA sequences underlying genome organization in flies.

    Fidel Ramírez;Vivek Bhardwaj;Vivek Bhardwaj;Laura Arrigoni;Kin Chung Lam

  • DHX9 suppresses RNA processing defects originating from the Alu invasion of the human genome

    Tuğçe Aktaş;İbrahim Avşar Ilık;Daniel Maticzka;Vivek Bhardwaj;Vivek Bhardwaj

  • Activation of Transcription through Histone H4 Acetylation by MOF, an Acetyltransferase Essential for Dosage Compensation in Drosophila

    Asifa Akhtar;Peter B Becker

  • The nuclear envelope and transcriptional control.

    Asifa Akhtar;Susan M. Gasser

  • Chromodomains are protein–RNA interaction modules

    Asifa Akhtar;Daniele Zink;Peter B. Becker

  • Nuclear pore components are involved in the transcriptional regulation of dosage compensation in Drosophila

    Sascha Mendjan;Mikko Taipale;Jop H Kind;Herbert Holz

  • Considerations when investigating lncRNA function in vivo

    Andrew R Bassett;Asifa Akhtar;Denise P Barlow;Adrian P Bird

  • hMOF Histone Acetyltransferase Is Required for Histone H4 Lysine 16 Acetylation in Mammalian Cells

    Mikko Taipale;Stephen Rea;Karsten Richter;Ana Vilar

  • Dosage compensation in Drosophila melanogaster : epigenetic fine-tuning of chromosome-wide transcription

    Thomas Conrad;Asifa Akhtar

  • Nuclear Pore Proteins Nup153 and Megator Define Transcriptionally Active Regions in the Drosophila Genome

    Juan M. Vaquerizas;Ritsuko Suyama;Jop Kind;Kota Miura

  • The dMi-2 chromodomains are DNA binding modules important for ATP-dependent nucleosome mobilization.

    Karim Bouazoune;Angelika Mitterweger;Gernot Längst;Axel Imhof

  • The histone H4 acetyltransferase MOF uses a C2HC zinc finger for substrate recognition.

    Asifa Akhtar;Peter B Becker

  • Revealing long noncoding RNA architecture and functions using domain-specific chromatin isolation by RNA purification

    Jeffrey J Quinn;Ibrahim A Ilik;Kun Qu;Plamen Georgiev

  • Genome-wide analysis reveals MOF as a key regulator of dosage compensation and gene expression in Drosophila.

    Jop Kind;Juan M. Vaquerizas;Philipp Gebhardt;Marc Gentzel

  • The histone acetyltransferase hMOF is frequently downregulated in primary breast carcinoma and medulloblastoma and constitutes a biomarker for clinical outcome in medulloblastoma.

    Stefan Pfister;Stephen Rea;Mikko Taipale;Frank Mendrzyk

  • Tandem stem-loops in roX RNAs act together to mediate X chromosome dosage compensation in Drosophila.

    Ibrahim Avsar Ilik;Jeffrey J. Quinn;Plamen Georgiev;Filipe Tavares-Cadete

  • Rapid evolutionary turnover underlies conserved lncRNA–genome interactions

    Jeffrey J. Quinn;Qiangfeng C. Zhang;Plamen Georgiev;Ibrahim Avsar Ilik

  • The Nonspecific Lethal Complex Is a Transcriptional Regulator in Drosophila

    SUNILl Jayaramaiah Raja;Iryna Charapitsa;Thomas Conrad;Juan M. Vaquerizas

  • Dosage Compensation of the X Chromosome: A Complex Epigenetic Assignment Involving Chromatin Regulators and Long Noncoding RNAs

    Maria Samata;Asifa Akhtar

  • Males absent on the first (MOF): from flies to humans.

    S Rea;G Xouri;A Akhtar

Frequent Co-Authors

Nicholas M. Luscombe
Nicholas M. Luscombe The Francis Crick Institute
Rolf Backofen
Rolf Backofen University of Freiburg
Juan M. Vaquerizas
Juan M. Vaquerizas Max Planck Society
Dominic Grün
Dominic Grün Max Planck Society
Peter B. Becker
Peter B. Becker Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Oliver Kretz
Oliver Kretz Universität Hamburg
Howard Y. Chang
Howard Y. Chang Amgen (United States)
Stephen Cusack
Stephen Cusack European Bioinformatics Institute
Anne C. Ferguson-Smith
Anne C. Ferguson-Smith University of Cambridge
Douglas R. Higgs
Douglas R. Higgs University of Oxford

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