Saima Shahid

Dr. Saima Shahid is a Lecturer at the University of Sheffield’s School of Biosciences and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Oklahoma State University. Her research focuses on interspecies RNA communication, epigenetic regulation, and transposable elements in parasitic plant interactions. She holds a PhD from The Pennsylvania State University (2017) and has held postdoctoral positions at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center and Ohio State University. Her work explores how mobile small RNAs influence host-parasite interactions, with implications for crop resistance.

Research Interests:

• Mobile small RNAs in plant-plant communication
• Epigenetic memory in parasitic plants
• Transposable element dynamics in host-parasite systems
• RNA-based solutions for crop parasite resistance

Education:

• PhD, The Pennsylvania State University (2017)
• MSc, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Dhaka (2009)
• BSc, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Dhaka (2008)

Laboratory and Collaborations: Shahid Lab at the University of Sheffield, affiliated with the Plants, Photosynthesis and Soil Cluster and the Sheffield Institute for Nucleic Acids. Collaborates with institutions like Penn State and University of Virginia on parasitic plant research.