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Abdullah Bashar Sami

Postdoctoral Fellow


  • Sami is a postdoctoral fellow in our lab. He completed his undergraduate and master’s degrees in Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology at the University of Dhaka, and obtained a PhD in Molecular and Cellular Life Sciences from the University of Wyoming. He joined the Zanic lab in May 2023. Since then he has been investigating microtubule network architecture and the role of microtubule-associated proteins in microtubule network remodeling. He is also interested in understanding the microtubule-actin crosstalk and its implications in a cellular context. Outside the lab, he is passionate about sports, particularly cricket and soccer, and he enjoys spending quality time with his family and engaging in outdoor activities such as hiking.

Fellowships and Grants

2013-2014

  • National Science and Information and Communication Technology Fellowshipthe Ministry of Science & ICT, Government of the People’s Republic of
    Bangladesh

Honors and Awards

2023

  • CDB Destination Postdoc Award, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, School of Medicine, Vanderbilt University

2019

  • 1st place Green Fluorescent Protein Video Contest (Science Outreach)American Society for Cell Biology, News link:
    https://www.uwyo.edu/uw/news/2020/02/uwmolecularbiologystudentsvideowinsnationalhonors,featuredbynihdirector.html.
  • Honorable Mention Small World in Motion Competition (Nikon Small World), Nikon Instruments Inc. Link:
    https://www.nikonsmallworld.com/galleries/2019smallworldinmotioncompetition/microtubuleasterconfinedinaphotopatternedmicrocontainer.

External Presentations

2023

  • Mechanics of microtubule aster rotation under confinement. Vanderbilt Center on Mechanobiology (VCOM) Annual Retreat, Vanderbilt University

2021

  • Emergence of microtubule aster rotation under confinement and its implications for aster positioning mechanics. Front Range Cytoskeleton Meeting, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

2020

  • Characterizing the Emergent Phenomenon of Aster Rotation. Spindle Working Group Meeting organized by The Biophysical Modeling Group of the Center for Computational Biology, Flatiron Institute, New York

Teaching and Outreach

Course Instructor, Vanderbilt University

  • Biological Microscopy Course (graduate level) (Spring’ 2024).
    • Teaching the specific part of the course class (TIRF microscopy), preparing course
      materials.

Teaching Assistant, Dept. of Molecular Biology, University of Wyoming

  • Biochemistry 3: Molecular Mechanics (both graduate and undergraduate level)
    (Spring’ 2018).
    • Taught classes in absence of main instructor, proctored exams, prepared course materials, checked exam scripts, completely responsible for graduate section of the class (e.g., preparing question, taking exam and checking scripts), taught weekly review classes.
  • Quantitative Microscopy (both graduate and undergraduate level) (Fall’ 2018
    & 2019).
    • Taught both theoretical and practical part of the class, preparing both course materials and practical section

Organization Involvement

Early Career Member, Biophysical Society: Rockville, MD, US (January 2024 till date).

Postdoc Member, American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB): Bethesda, MD, US
(September 2022 – present).

Executive Member of 202425 Executive Committee, Bangladesh Association of
Nashville (BAN), Nashville, TN, US (January 2024 – present)

Publications

  • Sami, A. B., & Gatlin, J. C. (2022). Dynein-dependent collection of membranes define the architecture and position of microtubule asters in isolated, geometrically confined columns of cell-free extracts. Molecular Biology of the Cell, 33(11), br20.
  • Sami, A. B., Stein, D., Sulerud, T., Oakey, J., Shelley, M., & Gatlin, J. (Under preparation). Mechanics of microtubule aster rotation.
  • Sulerud, T., Sami, A. B., Li, G., Kloxin, A., Oakey, J., & Gatlin, J. (2020). Microtubule dependent pushing forces contribute to longdistance aster movement and centration in Xenopus laevis egg extracts. Molecular biology of the cell, 31(25), 27912802.
  • Shelley, M., Kabacaoglu, G., Stein, D., Sami, A., & Gatlin, J. (2021). Spiraling galaxies of microtubules. Bulletin of the American Physical Society.
  • Gatlin, J., Sulerud, T., Sami, A., Geisterfer, Z., & Oakey, J. (2020). Controlling ‘cell’ size and shape to elucidate the mechanics of microtubule aster positioning. Bulletin of the American Physical Society, 65.
  • Ahmed, D., Nahid, M. A., Sami, A. B., Halim, F., Akter, N., Sadique, T., … & Rahman, M. M. (2017). Bacterial etiology of bloodstream infections and antimicrobial resistance in Dhaka, Bangladesh, 20052014. Antimicrobial Resistance & Infection Control, 6(1), 2.
  • Nahid, M. A., Sadique, T., Mazumder, R., Abdullah, A., Sami, A. B., Rahaman, M. A., … & Ahmed, D. (2015). Listeria monocytogenes infection in a 56yearold female cancer patient: a case report. JMM Case Reports, 2(4).
  • Fariba, M. H., Sami, A. B., Bhattacharjee, D., Saha, S. K., Bachar, S. C., Uddin, M. A., & Kuddus, R. H. (2017). Change in Antibiotic Susceptibility Pattern of Clinical Bacterial Isolates from Two Hospitals in Dhaka, Bangladesh over a Period of Three Years. Microbiology Research Journal International, 110.
  • Sami, A.B., Islam, M., Halim, F., Akter, N., Sadique, T., …& Ahmed, D. (2015). Follow up trends of Bacterial etiology of Diarrhoea and Antimicrobial Resistance in Urban Areas of Bangladesh. Avicenna Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infection, 2(4).
  • Mahmud, J., Chowdhury, M. K., Sami, A. B., Akhand, A. A., & Ahsan, N. (2016). Co-resistance to Chromium and Antibiotics in Bacteria Isolated from Tannery Wastes. Dhaka University Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 14(2), 193197.