aziz Ahmad Aziz
Professor - Department of Agricultural Sciences and Engineering
College of Agriculture

Contact Information
Office Location: 202C Farrell-Westbrook Complex
Telephone:  615-963-1595 (o), 615-963-5130 (lab)
Lab location: 121 Farrell-Westbrook Building
Email: aaziz@tnstate.edu

Research Areas
Biotechnology, Sorghum Genetics, Biofuel Feedstock

Publications
Refereed Journal Articles 32
Books/Bulletins 3
Intl. Conference Proceedings 34
Technical reports 1
Research abstracts 32
 Conference Presentations and Invited Lectures 51

Most Significant Publications
 Dilovan K. Yahya, Matthew W. Blair, Aron M. Felts, Ahmad N. Aziz. 2024. Individual Microspore Genotyping in Sorghum (S. bicolor) Cultivars Using a KASP Panel of Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Markers. Annals of Plant Sciences.13(3): 6199-6211, ISSN 2287-688X. https://annalsofplantsciences.com/index.php/aps/article/view/1129.

Aron Felts, Bharat Pokharel, Dilovan Yahya and A. Naseer Aziz. 2022. Whole Genomic DNA Amplifications from Individually Isolated Sweet Sorghum Microspores. Applications in Plant Sciences. 10(6): e11501. https://doi.org/10.1002/aps3.11501.

Binod Gyawali, M. Younas Khan Barozai and A. Naseer Aziz. 2021. Comparative Expression Analysis of MicroRNAs and Their Targets in Emerging Biofuel Crop Sweet Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.). Plant Gene. 26, 100274, ISSN 2352-4073, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plgene.2021.100274.  (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352407321000044)

A. Naseer Aziz. 2019. Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism based Phylogenetic Relationships of Heirloom Tomato and Dark Green Vegetable Accessions. In: Dilip Nandwani (editor), Genetic Diversity in Horticultural Crops. Springer International Publishing AG, Cham, Switzerland. ISBN10 3319964534, ISBN13 9783319964539. pp300.

Aron Felts, Deependra Bhatta, Sarabjit Bhatti and Ahmad N. Aziz. 2019. Comparative Profiling of Gossypol Enantiomers and Seed Traits’ Related Transcripts in Cotton Lines. Pure and Applied Biology. 8:(2): 1850-1860.

M. Younas Khan Barozai and A. Naseer Aziz. 2018. Recent Plant Growth and Stress Management Related Significant Advancements in Epigenetics. Annals of Agrarian Science. 16 (4): 416-421.

A. Naseer Aziz, Abdul Mujeed Yakubu and Sherya Singh Hamal. 2017. Genotyping of Individually Isolated Gametes from Gossypium hirsutum Chromosome Substitution Lines. Single Cell Biology. 6:3, DOI: 10.4172/2168-9431.1000169.

Diwas K. Silwal, Nsoki Phambu, Bharat Pokharel and A. Naseer Aziz. 2017. Identification of Hydrated and Dehydrated Lipids and Protein Secondary Structures in Seeds of Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) Lines. Pure and Applied Biology. 6(3): 965-975. http://dx.doi.org/10.19045/bspab.2017.600102 .

A. Naseer Aziz, Fisseha Tegegne, Jason de Koff and Roger Wiemers. 2017. Biofuel Training Workshops for Diverse Stakeholders Ranging from Pre-College Students to Educators. Natural Sciences Education. 46 (1). doi:10.4195/nse2016.11.0033.

H Ali, MYK Barozai, M Din and AN Aziz. 2016. A review on the Sorghum for Biofuel and microRNAs. Pure and Applied Biology. 5(4): 1064-1100. http://dx.doi.org/10.19045/bspab.2016.50131.

G. C. C. Tai, J. E. A. Seabrook and A. N. Aziz. 2000. Linkage Analysis of Anther-Derived Monoploids Showing Distorted Segregation of Molecular Markers. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 101: 126-130.

Teaching
AGSC 3210 General Agricultural Botany
AGSC 3710 Biotechnology and Society
BIOL 4100 Special Topics, Section 2, Bioinformatics
AGSC 6620 Research Ethics in Agricultural Sciences 
AGSC 7010 Advancement in Agricultural Biotechnology
AGSC 7030 Gene Expression and Regulation in Higher Plants

Extension
Conducted biotechnology training and outreach for underserved communities in selected Tennessee counties as well as various clientele in Ghana (Africa). Also remained engaged in biofuel and environmental education-related outreach activities as well as anti-agro-terrorism training at TSU. Also developed three interactive educational phyto-forensics activities as DNA-fingerprinting courses for secondary school educators towards virtual availability on http://www.mobileag.org/curriculum.php (V. The Connection Between Agriculture and Technology- Lesson Plans for Grades 9-12).

Research Grants
 Innovative Pre-Breeding of Corn to Find New Genes for Adaptation to Growing Conditions in Middle Tennessee. 2024. Tennessee Corn Promotion Board Award.

Creating a bank, transformation and regeneration system for sorghum microspores. 2022. Bayer Crop Science

Center of Excellence in Natural Resources, Sustainable Energy, and the Environment: A Climate Smart Approach. 2022. USDA/NIFA

Mobile Experiential Learning towards Creating a High School Pipeline in Middle Tennessee through Integrated Research on Crops’ Wild Relatives. 2020. USDA/NIFA.

Cochran and Borlaug Fellowship Programs: Hosting Scientists from Ethiopia, Kenya, Morocco, Malaysia and Pakistan. 2017, 2016, 2014 & 2013. USDA Foreign Agricultural Service

Genome-Wide microRNAs and Single Gamete Based Genetic Profiling of Sweet Sorghum Varieties for Biofuel Production. 2015. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

Biofuel Education and Training Program with Infusion of Foundation Concepts and Outreach. 2013. USDA/NIFA.

Establishing a Professional Science Master’s Program to Develop Future Biotechnology Workforce with Business Skills for Sustainable Agriculture. 2011. USDA

Agricultural Biotechnology: Assessing Perceptions of Farmers and Consumers and Providing Training Workshops for Stakeholders in Ghana. 2008. USDA Foreign Agricultural Service.

Integrating Agriculture, Bioscience and Biotechnology Concepts in School Curriculum: Preparing Students for Careers in Agriculture. 2006. USDA 1890 Institution Capacity Building Grant.

Consortium for Bio-informatics Instruction. 2005. USDA 1890 Institution Capacity Building Grant.

A Science-based Training Program to Enhance Capacity in Food and Agricultural Bio-Security. 2005. USDA 1890 Institution Capacity Building Grant.

Enhancement of Tennessee State University’s Master of Science Program in Agricultural Biotechnology. 2004. USDA 1890 Institution Capacity Building Grant.

Honors and Awards
Travel Grant Award for the 'CRISPR in the Classroom' Workshop, University of Houston, TX 2023.
Poster Award on the Innovation and Feasibility Evaluations, Association of Pre-Professional Life Scientists 2013.
Travel Grant Award, for the CSREES Grantsmanship Workshop, North Carolina State University, NC, 2009.
Gold Medalists, first position among all undergraduates across campuses in the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad (Pakistan), 1988.

Education
B.Sc. (Hons.) Agriculture- 1988, Barani Agricultural College, Rawalpindi (Pakistan).
M.Phil. (Molecular Biology)- 1991, Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad (Pakistan).
Ph.D. (Molecular Genetics)- 1998, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton (Canada).

Date joined staff:  March 2000





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