Samina Akbar, Ph.D.

Bio

Samina Akbar, Ph.D. joined the department of biomedical sciences at Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine as an assistant professor of microbiology in 2013. She received her promotion to associate professor and tenure in 2016 and was promoted to full professor in 2023. Dr. Akbar is an experienced microbiologist with fifteen years of experience as an osteopathic educator focusing on human infections caused by bacteria and viruses.

Dr. Akbar earned her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from the department of microbiology at University of Karachi, Pakistan. She received her Ph.D. in microbiology and molecular biology from University of California Davis. Her dissertation was on genetic analysis of the signal transduction network that activates the transcription factor B of Bacillus subtilis in response to adverse environmental conditions.

Prior to joining MU-COM, Dr. Akbar was a faculty member in the department of microbiology and immunology at Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine. After finishing her Ph.D., Dr. Akbar worked at Harvard Medical School for three years as a postdoctoral fellow in the department of microbiology and molecular genetics working on virulence gene regulation in Salmonella Typhimurium.  She then moved to University of British Columbia, Center for Disease Control (Canada) where she was a research associate examining the presence of a Type III secretion system in Chlamydia trachomatis.

Dr. Akbar has been a member of the Indiana Academy of Sciences (IAS) since 2013 and was appointed chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee of the IAS in 2021 for a four-year term. The committee put together a DEI statement and strategic plan for the Academy. As part of the strategic plan, the DEI committee requested and received a grant of $15,000 from the IAS to invite proposals for projects that focus on DEI issues from academic institutions across Indiana. The committee awarded six grants to graduate students and faculty from different universities in Indiana. In Iowa, Dr. Akbar served as the Iowa Science Foundation chairperson as well as Grant Reviewer as well as the treasurer of the Northcentral branch of the American Society for Microbiology. She has been a member of the American Society for Microbiology since 1990 and became a member of the Indiana branch of the ASM in 2014.  She has been an NBOME and an NBPME Item Writer and reviewer since 2008. Dr. Akbar was appointed NBOME National Faculty in Clinical Microbiology and Immunology in 2013.

Dr. Akbar’s broad research interests include genetic and molecular analysis of gene regulation in both Gram positive and Gram negative pathogenic bacteria as well as molecular analysis of host-pathogen interactions. The research projects in her lab focus on studying multiple antibiotic resistance in bacteria from different sources including humans, animals, and the natural environment. Currently, her lab is focusing on the isolation and characterization of multiple drug resistant bacteria from fresh bodies of water in greater Indianapolis area.

Investigator Page

Background

Ph.D. from University of California Davis, 1997 in Microbiology and Molecular Biology. Postdoctoral research with Dr. Cathy Lee, Harvard Medical School, 1999-2002. Post graduate research at University of British Columbia Center for Disease Control, Vancouver Canada, 2002-2007.

Clinical/Research Interests

I am interested in bacterial pathogenesis and the role of antibiotic resistance in bacterial virulence. The model organism I have studied this in is Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. Antibiotic resistance (specifically multiple drug resistance) in bacteria represents a notable problem but if carried on plasmid their spread could become a significant threat to public health. Plasmids in members of the Enterobacteriaceae family and in particular Salmonella and Escherichia coli strains have been implicated in the spread of antibiotic resistance genes. However, the mechanisms involved in the transfer of plasmid-borne resistance genes are not fully understood. We have utilized bacterial genetics, molecular biology and tissue culture techniques in our laboratory to analyze the ability of Salmonella enterica strains to transfer multiple drug resistance to other bacteria.  We also want to determine if these large plasmids play an additional role in the virulence of the strains that carry them. The long-term outcome of this research is that knowledge of the dissemination mechanisms for multiple drug resistance in these bacteria will contribute to the development of strategies for effective treatment and control of enteric diseases.

A second research project that is ongoing in the lab is the isolation and characterization of multiple drug resistant bacteria from the environment. The rationale of this project is that unregulated dumping practices by both hospitals and farms in Indiana are resulting in increase in antibiotics in fresh bodies of water. Our hypothesis is that this practice results in increase in bacteria that have acquired resistance to multiple antimicrobial agents. In the pilot phase of this project, my research group has collected water sample from the Nina Mason Pulliam EcoLab on Marian University campus. The White River watershed runs for thousands of miles and provides drinking water to residents of central Indiana. The Nina Mason Pulliam Ecolab (NMPE) at Marian University is part of this watershed. Assessing water samples from the NPME will help identify pathogens and provide insight into the prevalence of multidrug resistance in Indiana waterways. The goal is that the results from this research will help promote regulatory changes in the state of Indiana on how waste from healthcare settings and agriculture is dumped into waterways.

In addition, I collaborated with Dr. Ahmad, formerly of the department of biology on a couple of projects. The focus of one of these studies centered upon identifying soil bacterial communities that play a critical role in the development and growth of invasive plant species. Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maacckii) growth in the forest soil was used as a model to understand its growth effects on native plant species. An article describing the bacterial community composition in the rhizosphere of Lonicera maackii (LM) compared with that of control plots with no LM growth, has been published.

Another project dealt with environmental monitoring of important fish pathogen, Aeromonas salmonicda subsp. salmonicida, that is responsible for causing furunculosis, a devastating disease for fish hatcheries and aquaculture in Indiana. This paper has also been published and provides evidence of the presence of A. salmonicida species in the aquifers of Indiana. Indiana exports significant fish grown in open pond systems to neighboring States and therefore a regular monitoring of water source for these ponds must be established to avoid any extensive economic losses due to furunculosis and other fish disease.

Publications

Ahmad, A., and S. Akbar. 2021. Molecular characterization of bacterial community composition in the rhizosphere of invasive plant species amur honeysuckle (lonicera maackii) in an urban wetland forest. Advances in Microbiology. 11(9): 469-487.

Ahmad, A., and S. Akbar. 2021. Detection of aeromonas spp. in environmental DNA from fish production ponds in southern Indiana using 16s rDNA gene sequence analyses. Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Sciences. 130 (1):24-31.

Erika N Biernbaum, A. Gnezda, S. Akbar, R. Franklin, P. A. Venturelli, and J. L. McKillip. 2021. Lactoferrin as an antimicrobial against Salmonella enterica and Escherichia coli O157:H7 in raw milk. JDS Communications. 2 (3): 92-97.

Thad E. Wilson, M. Mulye, and S. Akbar. 2020. Opportunistic physiology: inserting physiology and pathophysiology content into virtually delivered clinical rotations. Advances in Physiology Education. 44:545-549.

Kempf, A.J., Hulsebus, H.J., and S. Akbar. Multiple Plasmids contribute to Antibiotic resistance and Macrophage survival in CMY2-bearing Salmonella enterica. 2016. 13 (7): 398-404.

Hamilton, R.D., H.J. Hulsebus, S. Akbar, and J.T. Gray. Increased Resistance to Multiple Antimicrobials and Altered Resistance Gene Expression in CMY-2-Positive Salmonella Following a Simulated Patient Treatment with Ceftriaxone. 2012. Appl. Env. Microbiol. 78:8062-8066.

Schechter, L. M., S. Jain, S. Akbar, and C. A. Lee. 2003. The small nucleoid-binding proteins H-NS, HU, and Fis affect hilA expression in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. Infect. Immun. 71:5432-5.

Akbar, S., C. P. Lostroh, L. M. Schechter, and C. A. Lee. 2003. HilD has a direct role in the activation of invasion gene expression in Salmonella typhimurium. Mol. Microbiol. 47:715-28.