Research Experience

07/2024-04/2026

M.Sc.Thesis

Title: Optimisation of Bioethanol Production from Selected Agricultural Wastes Using Co-Culture of Aspergillus niger and Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Supervised by: Dr Baha`uddeen Salisu Dandashire and Dr Kamaluddeen Kabir

• Investigated bioethanol production from corncob, corn silk, and mango blossom using fungal–yeast co-culture fermentation.

• Conducted proximate analysis and acid pretreatment (3% H₂SO₄) of lignocellulosic biomass substrates.

• Performed enzyme screening (amylase and cellulase) in Aspergillus niger and stress tolerance profiling of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

• Implemented simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) and optimized key parameters (pH, temperature, fermentation time) using the OFAT approach.

• Achieved up to 25.5% ethanol yield (77% purity) from corncob under optimized conditions.

• Characterized bioethanol using FTIR and GC–MS for functional group and compound confirmation.

• Applied statistical analysis and data visualization to evaluate fermentation performance and optimization outcomes.

10/2022-02/2023

B.Sc. Thesis 

Title: Sensitivity Pattern of Bacterial Isolates from Hand Touch Surfaces of Umaru Musa Yar’adua University Katsina School Buses.   

Supervised by: Prof. Aminu Ado

Achievement: Isolated and characterized antibiotic resistance patterns of pathogenic bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis, Citrobacter freundii, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Micrococcus luteus) on university public transport surfaces, providing evidence of their potential role in infection transmission and antimicrobial resistance spread.

• Assessed bacterial contamination and antibiotic resistance profiles of hand-touch surfaces in public transport systems.

• Isolated and characterized six different bacterial species using cultural characteristics, Gram staining, and biochemical assays.

• Performed antibiotic susceptibility testing using the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method following CLSI guidelines.

• Analyzed multidrug resistance patterns and calculated Multiple Antibiotic Resistance (MAR) indices, and assessed public health risk.

07/2024–04/2026

Graduate Research Assistant                                                                                            

Umaru Musa Yar'adua University                                                                                             

Department of Microbiology

• Supervised and mentored 10 undergraduate research projects under faculty oversight.

• Guided students in topic development, literature review, experimental design, laboratory procedures, and data interpretation.

• Supported scientific writing, seminar presentations, thesis preparation, and oral defense.

• Strengthened departmental research capacity through academic mentorship and independent scientific inquiry.

Undergraduate Supervision

2025–2026

1. Biofertilizer Production Using Rhizosphere Bacteria Isolated from Cultivated and Uncultivated Fields in Katsina Metropolis

2. Production of Biofertilizer Using Bacteria Isolated from Animal Waste

3. Production of Biofertilizer Using Fungi Isolated from Organic Waste

4. Isolation and Identification of Antibiotic-Producing Bacteria from Wastewater

5. Fungal and Aflatoxin Contamination of Tomatoes and Onions Sold in Katsina Central Market, Katsina State

2024–2025

1. Development and Evaluation of Natural Plant-Based Oil Blends for Their Antimicrobial Activity Against Skin and Hair Pathogens

2. Mycological Quality Assessment of Some Commonly Administered Syrups

3. Optimization of Biogas Production Using Co-Fermentation of Chicken Droppings and Cow Dung

Research Project

12/2025                                                                                          

Title: Exploring RNA-Seq Derived Biomarkers for Colorectal Cancer Classification via Machine Learning       

Achievement: Developed a stability-aware machine learning framework for RNA-Seq–based colorectal cancer biomarker discovery, identifying robust transcriptomic biomarkers with high diagnostic accuracy while ensuring reproducibility and reducing overfitting.

• • Processed 144 RNA-seq samples (GSE156451) and identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs)

  • Performed GO and KEGG enrichment analyses and characterised DEG functions.

  • Applied two-stage feature-selection pipeline (LASSO + SVM-RFE) and Identified candidate biomarkers.

  • Assessed biomarker robustness using bootstrap and cross-validation-based stability metrics.

  • Evaluated diagnostic performance using ROC-AUC under 5-fold cross-validation.

12/2025

Title: Identifying Molecular Biomarkers Linking Cardiovascular Disease and Breast Cancer via Bioinformatics 

• • Analysed microarray datasets using R (QC, RMA normalization, annotation, DEG analysis).

  • Performed PCA, GO/KEGG enrichment, and MSigDB-based pathway interrogation.

  • Identified shared molecular pathways relevant to cancer progression and cardiometabolic risk.

  • Applied machine learning clustering and feature selection, and refined candidate biomarkers.

03/2025                                                                                                           

Title: Assessment of Antibacterial Potential of Cochlospermum tinctorium against Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Isolated from Raw Chicken Meat

Achievement: Demonstrated the potential of Cochlospermum tinctorium root extract as a natural therapeutic agent against MDR pathogens.

• •  Conducted phytochemical screening and identified bioactive compounds of the root extracts.

  • Isolated and identified antibiotic-resistant bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella sp., Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus).

  • Performed antibiotic susceptibility test and determined MIC & MBC values.

  • Published manuscript in UMYU Journal of Microbiology Research (Conference Special Issue, 2025).

11/2024

Title: Identification of Phosphate-Solubilizing Bacteria from Agricultural Soils of Modoji, Batagarawa, and Umaru Musa Yar'adua University of Katsina Metropolis 

• • Collected and processed rhizospheric soil samples from four agricultural locations (Modoji, Batagarawa, and UMYU Katsina) using serial dilution and pour plate techniques.

  • Isolated 12 bacterial strains and screened for phosphate solubilization on NBRIP and Pikovskaya (PVK) media.

  • Performed Gram staining and biochemical tests (catalase, oxidase, indole, citrate, starch hydrolysis, gelatin hydrolysis).

  • Identified Pseudomonas sp. (91.7%) and Bacillus sp. (8.3%) as effective phosphate solubilizers.

  • Measured phosphate solubilization clearance zones ranging from 14.5 mm to 27.0 mm.

  • Concluded that isolates have potential as plant growth-promoting agents and biofertilizers for sustainable agriculture.

  • Findings published in UMYU Journal of Microbiology Research, Vol. 10(1), pp. 12–20 (2025).

Internship/Fellowship      

07/2025–12/2025

Intern — AI and Biotechnology/Bioinformatics [GitHub]                                                               

• • Analysed microarray datasets using R/Bioconductor pipelines (QC, RMA normalisation, annotation, DEG analysis).

  • Conducted functional enrichment analysis (GO, KEGG, MSigDB, GSEA).

  • Applied machine learning models (RF, SVM, ANN) and advanced feature selection (Boruta, RFE).

  • Implemented predictive modelling and evaluated performance (Confusion Matrix, AUC, ROC).

8/2025–11/2025

Intern — Public Health Afrique                                                                                                               

• • Reviewed and contributed to internal policies on SEAH, fraud, and confidentiality

  • Developed ethics-focused newsletter article on equitable healthcare access.

07/2025–10/2025   

Graduate Fellow— Bashir Bala Data Science, Lumilab Innovation Hub (Onsite) [view]                                 

• • Developed a supervised machine learning model predicting breast cancer from public health datasets.

  • Built interactive analytics dashboards in Power BI and Excel.

  • Strengthened data-driven clinical decision-making skills.

02/2025–06/2025

Intern — NextGen Antimicrobial Stewardship Initiatives (Remote) [view]                                      

• • Conducted metagenomics and phylogenetic analysis (FastQC, Kraken2, MEGAHIT, Krona).

  • Performed R-based statistical analysis and bioinformatics visualization.

  • Developed an R-based machine learning model that predicted student participation in extra-curricular activities.

  • Trained in research ethics, dissertation writing, and referencing techniques.

 06/2021-09/2021

Mai Dabino Investment Limited                                                                  

• Conducted industrial water treatment procedures under supervision

•  Assisted in performing yeast fermentation and Yoghurt production

• Monitored quality control parameters during production processes

01/2020–03/2020

Student Intern — Heritage Specialty Clinic & Diagnostic Centre Katsina (Onsite) [view]                

• • Conducted diagnostic assays (malaria, HIV, urine/stool microscopy).

  • Isolated, identified, and characterized bacterial strains from clinical samples.

  • Performed antibiogram to determine resistance profiles.

Teaching Role

To strengthen my expertise in data analysis, in-silico tools, translational research, and data-driven biomedical science, I have completed a series of advanced professional training programs and laboratory-based workshops in both wet-lab and computational research methods. 

My training has been obtained through internationally recognized institutions and research organizations, including the Genomac Institute Inc., Maryam Abacha American University, Mount Kenya University, and Umaru Musa Yar’adua University. Through these programs, I gained hands-on experience in areas such as DNA sequencing technologies, comparative genomics, functional annotation, phylogenetic analysis, CRISPR-based discovery, epidemiological analysis, and AI-assisted biomedical research.