Niazur Rahman, Ph.D

Assistant Professor

Abu Dhabi Campus

+971 2 6193011

s.rahman@aau.ac.ae

Biography

Dr. Niazur Rahman is a biomedical scientist and medical educator with over 15 years of experience in health sciences education, biomedical research, and clinical practice across diverse academic and healthcare settings in the United States, Canada, Malaysia, and Bangladesh.

Prior to joining the College of Dentistry, Al Ain University, he served as a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Houston College of Medicine, where he taught integrated pre-clerkship courses and served as Co-Director of the Clinical Anatomy and Human Development course and Vice-Chair of the Evaluation and Assessment Subcommittee. He also contributed to the curriculum committee, faculty recruitment, and university-level strategic initiatives. He was actively involved in the Student Success Initiative (SSI), providing student mentoring and academic support, for which he received recognition for his contributions.

Previously, he taught anatomy and related biomedical sciences at the University of Toronto and Queen’s University in Canada, AIMST University in Malaysia, and Holy Family Red Crescent Medical College in Bangladesh. His contributions to teaching have been recognized with several awards, including the Teaching Excellence Award from the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. He also serves as Executive Director and Lead Mentor at the Center for Biomedical Research and Training (CBRT), a global research training platform.

His primary research focuses on immunity and inflammation in obesity-associated diabetes, with broader interests in human anatomy, histology, and medical education. He has published more than a dozen times in peer-reviewed journals and presented internationally at many conferences.

Education

PhD in Physiology; Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Canada

MSc in Anatomical Sciences; Queen’s University, Canada

Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS); University of Dhaka, Bangladesh

Research Interests

Obesity || Type 2 Diabetes || Insulin Signaling and Action || Islet Biology || Immunometabolism || Human Anatomy || Histology || Medical Education

Selected Publications

  • Munoz AE, Mendoza M, Janakiram MKS, Chakravarthy S, Rahman SMN. An Axillary Arch Muscle Variant with Potential Neurovascular Implications. Journal of Morphological Sciences, 2026; 43: 14-17.
  • Rivers SL, Tsakiridis N, Vlavcheski F, Pereira S, Rahman SMN, Li JX, Cash SB, Tan YF, Tsiani E, Cummins CL, Giacca A: Hepatic p38α at the forefront of high fat diet-induced insulin resistance, hepatic steatosis, and liver-periphery cross-talk. American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2026; 330 (1): E47-E59. [Impact Factor: 4.4/ Q1] https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpendo.00199.2024 
  • Rahman SMN, Yung JHM, Volchuk A, Goldenberg NM, Giacca A: Metabolic phenotype due to expression of Lyz2 Cre recombinase. Frontiers in Immunology, 2025; 16 (1499858). [Impact Factor: 7.0/ Q1]. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2025.1499858 

  • Ivovic A, Yung JHM, Oprescu AI, Vlavcheski F, Mori Y, Rahman SMN, Wenyue Y, Eversley JA, Wheeler MB, Woo M, Tsiani E, Giacca A. β-cell insulin resistance plays a causal role in fat-induced β-cell dysfunction in vitro and in vivo. Endocrinology, 2024; bqae044. [Impact Factor: 4.9/ Q2]. https://doi.org/10.1210/endocr/bqae044 
  • Rahman SMN and Giacca A. β cell stress pathways in diabetes: potential targets for therapy? Endocrinology, 2023; bqac211. [Impact Factor: 4.9/ Q2] https://doi.org/10.1210/endocr/bqac211 
  • Akter KM, Umar BU, Rahman SMN. Recent updates on microRNA as potential biomarkers for diagnosis of gestational diabetes mellitus. Journal of Medicine. 2022; 23(2): 146-50. [Scopus indexed] https://doi.org/10.3329/jom.v23i2.60632

  • Rahman SMN, Karim CF, Alam T, Shirin L, Anwar KS. Dissecting cadaver in Anatomy: medical undergraduates’ impression as they perceived. Journal of the Anatomical Society of India. 2016; 65: S62-S64. [Impact Factor: 0.4/ Q4] https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasi.2016.05.003

  • Rahman SMN. The High You Fly, the Drier you are: Tips for the Frequent and Long Haul Flyers. Journal of Medicine. 2016; 17(2): 109. [Scopus indexed] https://doi.org/10.3329/jom.v17i2.30074

  • Alam T, Rahman SMN, Alam T, Habib N, Umar BU, Banna QR, Shirin L, Begum R. Effect of Physical Exercise on Some Hematological Parameters in Female Athletes in Bangladesh. Journal of Nepal Medical Association. 2014; 52 (195): 892-96. [Impact Factor: 0.5/ Q3] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26982662/

Conferences

Conference Publications (Peer-Reviewed):

● Rahman SMN, Garcia M, Sun K, Park J, Giacca A. Nod1 Deletion in Skeletal Muscle Protects Against Palmitate-Induced Insulin Resistance. Diabetes, 2025; 74 (Supp. 1): 134-OR. [Impact Factor: 9.3/ Q1] [Conference Abstract]. https://doi.org/10.2337/db25-134-OR

 ● Rahman SMN, Tsakiridis N, Garcia M, Park J, Tan YF, Giacca A. Nod1 Plays a Causal Role in Western-Diet Induced Insulin Resistance and Glucose Intolerance in Microbiota-deficient Conditions. Diabetes, 2024; 73 (Supp. 1): 282-OR. [Impact Factor: 9.3/ Q1] [Conference Abstract]

https://doi.org/10.2337/db24-282-OR

 ● Tsakiridis N, Rahman SMN, Tsiani L, Giacca A. Carnosic Acid Protects against Diet-induced Insulin Resistance. Diabetes, 2024; 73 (Supp. 1): 1521-P [Impact Factor: 9.3/ Q1] [Conference Abstract] https://doi.org/10.2337/db24-1521-P

 ● Rahman SMN, Zaidi S, Muturi HM, Najjar SM, Giacca A. Effect of aging on insulin clearance in mice. Diabetes, 2023; 72 (Supp. 1): 1515-P [Impact Factor: 9.3/ Q1] [Conference Abstract] https://doi.org/10.2337/db23-1515-P

 ● Rahman SMN, Yung JHM, Zhang Y, Giacca A. Role of Macrophage NOD1 in Fat-induced ß-cell Dysfunction. Diabetes, 2022; 71 (Supp. 1): 1322-P [Impact Factor: 9.3/ Q1] [Conference Abstract] https://doi.org/10.2337/db22-1322-P

 ● Tsakiridis N, Ivovic A, Rahman SMN, Tan Y, Giacca A. A RIPK2 inhibitor protects against saturated-fat induced glucose intolerance in mice. Diabetes, 2022; 71 (Supp. 1): 1329-P [Impact Factor: 9.3/ Q1] [Conference Abstract] https://doi.org/10.2337/db22-1329-P

 

Presentations

● 2026/06: Invited Speaker: Muslim Ummah of North America (MUNA) Networking Event, Sugarland, Texas

● 2026/01: Keynote Speaker: Muslim Coogs Alumni Network (MCAN) Healthcare Summit, Houston, Texas

● 2025/10: Invited Speaker: Biomedical Sciences Fall Networking, University of Houston, USA

● 2025/06: Oral Presenter: 85th Scientific Sessions of American Diabetes Association, Chicago, USA

● 2024/06: Oral Presenter: 84th Scientific Sessions of American Diabetes Association, Orlando, USA

● 2023/06: Poster: 83rd Scientific Sessions of American Diabetes Association, San Diego, USA

● 2023/05: Poster: 32nd Annual Scientific Day-Banting & Best Diabetes Center, Toronto, Canada

● 2022/06: Poster: 82nd Scientific Sessions of American Diabetes Association, New Orleans, USA

● 2021/10: Oral Presenter: BBDC Trainee Seminar Series, University of Toronto, Canada

● 2021/05; Oral Presenter: FIP Research Symposium: University of Toronto, Canada

● 2021/04; Poster Presenter: Scientific Symposium; Insulin 100, University of Toronto, Canada

● 2019/03; Facilitator: Workshop on Curriculum Design; DBMS, Queen’s University, Canada

● 2017/03; Facilitator: Workshop on OMR & Item Analysis, AIMST University, Malaysia

● 2016/11; Poster Presenter: Regional Meeting of American Association for Anatomists, USA

● 2015/07; Poster Presenter: Physiology 2015- The Physiological Society, Cardiff, UK

● 2015/03; Poster Presenter: 2nd International Conference on Innovation in Education, Thailand

Professional Experience

  • 2026 - Cont,: Assistant Professor, College of Dentistry, Al Ain University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
  • 2025 - 2026: Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine, University of Houston, Texas, USA
  • 2020 - 2025: Lab Instructor, Division of Anatomy, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Canada
  • 2020 – Cont.: Executive Director & Lead Mentor (Flextime), Center for Biomedical Research and Training (CBRT), Bangladesh
  • 2018 – 2020: Instructor & Teaching Assistant, Dept. of Biomedical & Molecular Sciences, Queen’s University, Canada
  • 2013 – 2017: Instructor, Anatomy Unit, Faculty of Medicine, AIMST University, Malaysia
  • 2007 – 2013: Lecturer, Dept of Anatomy & Physiology, Holy Family Red Crescent Medical College, Bangladesh
  • 2005 – 2006: Trainee Physician (Intern), Holy Family Red Crescent Medical College Hospital, Bangladesh

Teaching Courses

  • Human Anatomy;
  • Clinical Anatomy and Human Development;
  • Medical Physiology (General and Systemic);
  • Integrated Biomedical Sciences;
  • Scientific Foundations of Medicine;
  • Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship;
  • Physicians, Patients, and Population

Memberships

  • American Association of Clinical Anatomist (AACA)
  • American Diabetes Association (ADA)
  • European Association for Study of Diabetes (EASD)
  • British Association of Clinical Anatomist (BACA)
  • The Physiological Society-UK
  • The Anatomical Society, UK
  • American Association for Anatomy
  • Human Anatomy & Physiology Society (HAPS)
  • Malaysian Anatomical Association
  • Bangladesh Medical Association