Dr. Afsana Bhuiyan Toma

Assistant Professor
Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology

Faculty

Faculty of Sciences and Engineering

Address

A/2, Jahurul Islam Avenue
Jahurul Islam City, Aftabnagar
Dhaka-1212, Bangladesh

Office

Ext: || Room No#
afsana.toma@ewubd.edu

Academic Background

PhD, Aquatic Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, The University of Tokyo, Japan.
MS, Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh.
BSc, Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Dr. Afsana Bhuiyan Toma is a faculty member in the Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology at East West University, Bangladesh. Her academic and research interests encompass molecular biology, biotechnology, bioinformatics, and next-generation sequencing. She earned her doctoral degree in Aquatic Molecular Biology and Biotechnology from the University of Tokyo, Japan. Her research focuses on genomic repeat sequences, molecular mechanisms underlying disease, microbial biotechnology, and environmental biotechnology.

Professional Experience

Assistant Professor (Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, East West University) October 2023 to Present.
Research Assistant (The University of Tokyo and Tokyo University of Agriculture) 2021 to 2023.
Teaching Assistant (The University of Tokyo) 2021 to 2023

Research Interest

Molecular Biology
Biotechnology
Bioinformatics
Environmental biology

Received Research Grants:

Principal Investigator. Research grant from the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST R&D), Govt. of Bangladesh, in the financial year 2025-2026. Project title: Investigating the Oncogenic Susceptibility Conferred by ERCC1-rs11615 Polymorphism: A Genetic Association Study in Breast and Colorectal Cancer among the Bangladeshi Population.

Principal Investigator. Research grant from the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST R&D), Govt. of Bangladesh, in the financial year 2024-2025. Project title: Comparison of extracellular Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (ePGPR) and intracellular PGPR (iPGPR) from the rhizosphere of Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) on soil fertility and crop productivity.

Bhuiyan, A. and Asakawa, S. (2023) Synthesis and cloning of long repeat sequences using single-stranded circular DNA. Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol. 11:1115159. (DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2023.1115159)
Elbialy, A., Sulidan, K., Bhuiyan A., Igarashi, Y., Yoshitake. K., Yamanouchi. D., Junsu. K, Asakawa. S., Watabe. S., Kinoshita. S. (2022) Induction of endoplasmic reticulum stress markers in an acromegaly model. Journal of Cellular Biochemistry. PMID: 35734917; (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jcb.30301)
Bhuiyan A. (2024) Therapeutic approaches for repeat expansion diseases: a comprehensive review. Explor Neuroprot Ther. 2024;4:485–96. (DOI: https://doi.org/10.37349/ent.2024.00095)
Das, A., Bhuiyan, A. (2026) Functional dynamics of lncRNAs and miRNAs in cancer metabolism and neuroinflammation. Mol Biol Rep 53, 778. (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-026-11964-y)

Jannat A, Asfar F, Bhuiyan A, Nusrin S, Mahbub MM. Potential of Rhizobacteria from Cowpea Nodules and Roots as Biofertilizers for Sustainable Crop Production. Poster presentation 39th BSM Annual Conference, Dhaka, Bangladesh, December 2025.
Aziz KA, Sakib A, Chakraborty P, Bhuiyan A, Mahbub MM, Nusrin S. Isolation, functional and molecular profiling of plant growth-promoting Rhizobacteria from legume rhizospheres for sustainable agriculture in degraded agroecosystems of Bangladesh. Poster presented at the 6th International Conference on Biotechnology in Health and Agriculture (ICBHA)-2025 Dhaka, Bangladesh, September 2025.
Masud MB, Asfar F, Bhuiyan A, Das A, Nusrin S, Mahbub MM, Chakraborty P. Characterization of PGPR from legume rhizosphere in Bangladesh to assess growth-promoting traits and their role in enhancing crop productivity and sustainable agriculture. Poster presented at the 6th International Conference on Biotechnology in Health and Agriculture (ICBHA)-2025 Dhaka, Bangladesh, September 2025.
Masud MB, Asfar F, Bhuiyan A, Das A, Nusrin S, Mahbub MM. Isolation and Characterization of Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) from Pea Rhizosphere of different fields of a district of Bangladesh for soil fertility and crop productivity. Oral presentation at the 3rd International Conference on Life Sciences 2025, MBSTU, Tangail, Bangladesh, January 2025.
Asfar F, Bhuiyan A, Das A, Nusrin S, Mahbub MM. Characterization of Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) from leguminous plants rhizosphere to assess growth-promoting activity and impact on sustainable agriculture in Bangladesh. Poster presented at the 38th BSM Annual Conference, Dhaka, Bangladesh, December 2024.
Bhuiyan A. Repeat Expansion Diseases: Approaches & Promises. Seminar speaker at East West University, Dhaka, Bangladesh, November 2023.
Bhuiyan A, Kondo M, Mizobata H, Yoshitake K, Asakawa S. Long repeat sequence synthesis by single-stranded circular DNA. Poster presented at the European Human Genetics Conference, Scotland, UK, June 2023.
Bhuiyan A, Yoshitake K, Asakawa S. Parkin knock out medaka showed rheumatoid arthritis like symptoms. Poster presented at the 45th Annual Meeting of the Molecular Biology Society of JapanChiba, Japan, December 2022.
Bhuiyan A, Asakawa S, Kobayashi NB, Yoshida T. Localization of KK13 peptide and their potential against ALS. Poster presented at the American Society of Human Genetics 2022 Annual Meeting LA, California, USA, October 2022.
Bhuiyan A, Lanza A, Asakawa S. Cloning of highly repeat sequence in a stepwise and directed manner. Poster presented at the 44th Annual Meeting of the Molecular Biology Society of Japan, Yokohama, Japan, December 2021.
Bhuiyan A, Sumit AF, Ahsan N, Akhand AA. Association of the use of Smokeless Tobacco with hearing impairment in Bangladeshi population. Poster presented at the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology for Life Sciences, Dhaka, Bangladesh, December 2016.