Ms. Kiran Ijaz

Biography

Kiran Ijaz is a Lecturer at the Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Khyber Medical University (KMU), Peshawar, where she is also pursuing her Ph.D. A native of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, she earned her Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm-D) from the University of Peshawar in 2017 and her M.Phil. in Pharmacology from KMU in 2023, building her academic and professional career within the province she calls home.

Her research focuses on pharmacogenomics and personalized medicine, with particular emphasis on the genetic determinants of chronic disease and individual variation in drug response. Her M.Phil. research examined the effect of the GRK5 variant (rs10886471) on the therapeutic response to repaglinide in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, conducted under a project funded by the Higher Education Research Endowment Fund (HEREF) . As a Research Assistant and subsequently in-charge (2022–2024) of the Pharmacogenomics Laboratory, University of Peshawar, she contributed to genetic variant association studies within the Pashtun population, developing expertise in genotyping, PCR-based techniques, and case-control study design, while mentoring junior researchers in manuscript preparation, project design, and statistical analysis. Her broader research interests include cancer genetics, the pharmacogenomics of hypertension, and the molecular genetics of chronic disease.

She has co-authored seven publications in peer-reviewed journals, including three in impact-factor venues such as PLOS ONE and the Pakistan Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, addressing genetic variants associated with amlodipine response, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and type 1 diabetes within the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa population. She was first author on a study establishing the association between the GRK5 variant and repaglinide response in patients with type 2 diabetes. In April 2026, she was an invited speaker at the 2nd International Conference on Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Discovery Against Cancer and Other Diseases (MCDDCD-2026), University of Swabi, where she presented her work on machine learning-based evaluation of antihypertensive therapy response.

Ms. Kiran teaches Pharmaceutical Chemistry-I (Organic Chemistry) in the PharmD Program, and contributes to curriculum development, student assessment, and the supervision of laboratory-based practical sessions. She has organized CME-credited workshops on computational drug designing and 16S rRNA microbial diversity analysis (QIIME 2) for the Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences. She also manages academic administrative operations on the SAP software system, including course entries and timetable scheduling for both semester and annual system programs.

Research Interests

Pharmacogenomics and Personalized Medicine, Diabetes Pharmacogenomics

Publications

• Pharmacogenomic insights into amlodipine response: the role of CACNA1D, CACNA1C, and TRIB3 variants in hypertensive patients — Wahby M Babaresh, Zakiullah, Sohaib Ahmad Sohail, Alija Baig, Malik Faisal, Aiman Begum, Haseenullah Shah, Zia Ul Hassan, Kiran Ijaz, Syed Muhammad Mukarram Shah, Aftab Ullah , Journal (2025)
• Association of Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) Class II Alleles of DQB1 (DQB1*03:02) (DQB1*06:02) and DRB1 (DRB1*04:01) with Type-1 Diabetes Patients of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan — Aiman Begaum Qudsia Hina, Zakiullah, Haji Bahadar, Haseenullah Shah, Mohammad Sajjad Afridi, Sobia Kulsoom Awan, Maqsood Ali, Kiran Ijaz, Hira Siyar , Journal (2024)
• Screening of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for SLC30A8 (rs13266634) Variant Associated with Disease Susceptibility. — Zakiullah 4. Syed Shaukat Ali, Haji Bahadar, Haseenullah Shah, Sajid Ali, Monasib Khan, Fazli Khuda, Kiran Ijaz, Mohsin Raziq , Journal (2024)
• Screening of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for SLC30A8 (rs13266634) Variant Associated with Disease Susceptibility: SLC30A8 Variant Screening in … — Syed Shaukat Ali, Haji Bahadar, Haseenullah Shah, Sajid Ali, Monasib Khan, Fazli Khuda, Kiran Ijaz, Mohsin Raziq , Journal (2024)