Asgar Zaheer

Asgar Zaheer is a neuroscientist and retired Professor of Neurology at the University of Missouri at Columbia and the Emeritus Associate Professor at the University of Iowa.

Zaheer was previously a Research Career Scientist at the Department of Veterans Affairs for 33 years. His research examines the role of Glia Maturation Factor (GMF) in neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration, with a focus on mechanisms associated with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Parkinson's disease (PD), Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). He has published in journals including Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA, Journal of Biological Chemistry, Journal of Neurochemistry, Brain Research, Biochemistry, Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, and Frontiers in Neuroscience.

Education Zaheer completed his Bachelor's degree at Marathwada University from 1966 to 1970 and pursued a Master's degree there from 1970 to 1972. He subsequently earned his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Bombay University (Tata Memorial Hospital, Cancer Research Institute) between 1973 and 1979.

Research Zaheer, widely focused on the field of neuroscience, has worked on elucidating the role and mechanisms of Glia Maturation Factor (GMF) within the central nervous system, thereby contributing to the understanding of neurodegenerative diseases. His research findings about GMF, a protein that plays a key role in neuroinflammation, has contributed to the understanding of neurodegenerative diseases like Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Parkinson's (PD), Alzheimer's (AD), and Traumatic brain Injury (TBI). He has explored how an increased expression of GMF in cells can contribute to neuroinflammation, which in turn can activate pro-inflammatory gene expression, leading to neural damage and ultimately cause neuronal death.

A considerable body of Zaheer's work has focused on understanding how GMF induction and activation in neuroglial cells contribute to the pathogenesis of brain disorders and injuries.

Through his research, he has identified GMF as a significant and less-explored factor impacting the progression of neurodegenerative diseases. Highlighting the role of GMF in neuroinflammation, his studies have explored how GMF exacerbates neuron damage in neurodegenerative diseases through promoting oxidative stress and apoptosis, the process of programmed cell death that can lead to neurodegeneration. His work has also identified GMF as a modulator of various signaling pathways in the brain, thereby presenting opportunities for therapeutic intervention. Favorably modulating GMF activity or inhibiting its overexpression could potentially alleviate symptoms or slow the progression of various neurodegenerative disorders.

Zaheer has made contributions to other aspects of neuroscience, particularly his work related to the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying brain injuries.

Awards and honors 1995 – Special Contribution Award, Department of Veterans Affairs 2004-2007, 2008-2012, 2014–2018 – VA Merit Review Award, Department of Veterans Affairs 2004-2009, 2009-2013, 2011–2016 – NIH RO1 Award, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke 2015-2020 – NIH RO1 Award, National Institute of Aging

Selected articles Lim, R., Miller, J. F., & Zaheer, A. (1989). Purification and characterization of glia maturation factor beta: a growth regulator for neurons and glia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 86(10), 3901-3905. Thangavel, R., Van Hoesen, G. W., & Zaheer, A. (2008). Posterior parahippocampal gyrus pathology in Alzheimer's disease. Neuroscience, 154(2), 667-676. Zaheer, S., Wu, Y., Sahu, S. K., & Zaheer, A. (2010). Overexpression of glia maturation factor reinstates susceptibility to myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein-induced experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in glia maturation factor deficient mice. Neurobiology of disease, 40(3), 593-598. Kempuraj, D., Khan, M. M., Thangavel, R., Xiong, Z., Yang, E., & Zaheer, A. (2013). Glia maturation factor induces interleukin-33 release from astrocytes: implications for neurodegenerative diseases. Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology, 8, 643-650. Khan, M. M., Zaheer, S., Nehman, J., & Zaheer, A. (2014). Suppression of glia maturation factor expression prevents 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+)-induced loss of mesencephalic dopaminergic neurons. Neuroscience, 277, 196-205. Raikwar, S. P., Thangavel, R., Dubova, I., Selvakumar, G. P., Ahmed, M. E., Kempuraj, D.... & Zaheer, A. (2019). Targeted gene editing of glia maturation factor in microglia: a novel Alzheimer’s disease therapeutic target. Molecular neurobiology, 56, 378-393. Ahmed, M. E., Selvakumar, G. P., Kempuraj, D., Raikwar, S. P., Thangavel, R., Bazley, K.... & Zaheer, A. (2020). Glia maturation factor (GMF) regulates microglial expression phenotypes and the associated neurological deficits in a mouse model of traumatic brain injury. Molecular Neurobiology, 57(11), 4438-4450. Selvakumar, G. P., Ahmed, M. E., Iyer, S. S., Thangavel, R., Kempuraj, D., Raikwar, S. P.... & Zaheer, A. (2020). Absence of glia maturation factor protects from axonal injury and motor behavioral impairments after traumatic brain injury. Experimental neurobiology, 29(3), 230.