Akhtar Ali

Akhtar Ali is a Professor of Virology in the Department of Biological Sciences at The University of Tulsa, affiliated with the College of Health & Natural Sciences. He has been a faculty member since 2007 and leads the Akhtar Virology Lab, focusing on diverse viral systems including plant, human, animal, and fungal viruses.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Plant Virology, University of Adelaide, Australia (1999)
• M.Sc. (Hons) in Biological Sciences, KP University, Peshawar, Pakistan
• B.Sc., KP University, Peshawar, Pakistan

His research spans the etiology, epidemiology, and evolution of viruses, with a focus on quasispecies variation, genetic bottlenecks, virus-vector interactions, and the molecular characterization of plant and mycoviruses. He also investigates virus-like diseases and the identification of novel mycoviruses from pathogenic fungi.

Dr. Ali teaches Introduction to Virology and Biology of Cancer at both undergraduate and graduate levels, covering major human and animal pathogens such as HIV, hepatitis, herpes, influenza, smallpox, and oncogenic viruses.

His scientific honors include the Zelimir Schmidt Outstanding Researcher Award (2023) and the U.S. Fulbright Scholar Award (2017–2018), during which he conducted mycovirus research at the University of Okayama, Japan. He also received the STA Fellowship in Japan and the ADCOS Open Merit Scholarship from AusAID.

Dr. Ali has conducted postdoctoral research in Japan, Australia, and the U.S.A., and continues to expand virology education and research at TU. He is actively engaged in lab-based research and has contributed significantly to understanding virus diversity and host interactions across kingdoms.