Member Name: Tariq Butt

Title: Lecturer of Life Sciences

Qualifications: Ph.D, NCEMB Punjab University
M.Sc, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad

Phone: + 92 (42) 356 08000 Ext: 4548

Fax: + 92 (42) 356 08303

E-Mail: tariqmahmood@lums.edu.pk

Research Interests: To gain knowledge of the molecular mechanism of Actomyosin Motility in causing Neurosensory Disorders. This will involve multiple roles played, both alone and in combination with other interacting proteins using single-molecule TIRF microscopy technique.

Biography: Dr Tariq Butt has obtained his doctoral degree in Molecular Biology in 2008 from Centre of Excellence in Molecular Biology, Punjab University Lahore & M.Sc. Biology (Biochemistry & Molecular Biology) from Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. Dr. Tariq Butt worked as a postdoctoral research associate with Dr. Shahid Khan, on a project aimed at studying molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying myosin motor powered transport of proteins.

During his postdoctoral research a completely new finding was made, that actin filaments become self-aligned by the action of myosin motors in an in vitro motility assay at surface densities of filamentous actin similar to those found in the living cell. His findings have profound implications on understanding of cell motility (Butt et. al. JBC. ePub M109.044792, 2009). Dr Tariq Butt’s Ph.D research was on human genetics which involved mapping of disease loci and mutational analysis. During his research work he identified two novel mutations and a new locus for autosomal recessive congenital cataract.

Dr Butt has recently been awarded a HEC research grant of PKR 5.2 million as a PI. The title of his project is “Studies on the Molecular Basis of Deafness disorders caused by Myosin-VI variants”. The major objective of this project is to investigate cooperative mechanisms of myosin-VI motor protein transport.

Recent Publications: Butt, T., Mufti, T., Humayun, A., Rosenthal, P.B., Khan, S., Khan, S., Molloy, J.(2009) Myosin motors drive long-range alignment of actin filaments. J. Biol. Chem. 285,4964-74

Riazuddin, S. A., Kurdistani, L.A., Kaul, H., Butt, T., Yao, W., Xiaodong, J., Riazuddin, S., Hejtmancik, J. F. (2009) Novel SIL1 mutations in consanguineous Pakistani families mapping to chromosomes 5q31.Mol Vis 15:1050-1056.

Butt, T., Yao, W., Kaul, H ., Xiaodong, J., Gradstein, L., Zhang, Y., Husnain, T., Riazuddin, S., Hejtmancik, J. F, Riazuddin, S. A. (2007) Localization of autosomal recessive congenital cataracts in consanguineous Pakistani families to a new locus on chromosome 1p. Mol Vis 13: 1635-40

Xiaodong, J., Yao, W., Riazuddin, S. A., Butt, T., Yasmeen, A., A, Li., Zhang, Y., Riazuddin, S., Hejtmancik, J. F. (2006) Mutations in ßB3-crystalline, GALK1, HSF4 are associated with autosomal recessive cataract in Pakistani families. Arvo.07-A-5631-ARVO