She also learned laboratory techniques such as ELISA and PCR to carry out her thesis on the association of human histo-blood group antigens with rotavirus infections.  Dr. Ahmed joined icddr,b in 2014 and has been actively involved in phase I, II and III of various clinical vaccines trials like oral cholera vaccine, ETEC vaccine and typhoid vaccine as well as non-inferiority trial of locally manufactured meningococcal vaccine. She was also actively involved in typhoid surveillance study which aims to characterize the burden of enteric fever at an urban site in Dhaka, Bangladesh. She also took lead during mass oral cholera vaccination campaign in Dhaka. Currently, she is one of the core responsible physicians in enrolling patients, analyzing data and managing project on “COVID-19: longitudinal immune correlates study” which is a prospective cohort study in Bangladesh. She has also initiated the collaboration between icddr,b and INSERM, France which has now grown in to a joint research on blood group antigens related to Covid-19. Dr. Ahmed works with great enthusiasm to carry out her designated tasks of supervision, monitoring, vaccination, surveillance, reporting and periodic training of field staffs. As a young researcher, she is proficient and well equipped to develop research concepts and has also co-authored in several scientific papers which has been published in peer reviewed journals.

Selected Publications

1. Akhtar, M., Chowdhury, M.I., Bhuiyan, T.R., Kaim, J., Ahmed, T., Rafique, T.A., Khan, A., Rahman, S.I., Khanam, F., Begum, Y.A. and Sharif, M.Z., 2019. Evaluation of the safety and immunogenicity of the oral inactivated multivalent enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli vaccine ETVAX in Bangladeshi adults in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled Phase I trial using electrochemiluminescence and ELISA assays for immunogenicity analyses. Vaccine, 37(37), pp.5645-5656.
2. Qadri F, Akhtar M, Bhuiyan TR, Chowdhury MI, Ahmed T, Rafique TA, Khan A, Rahman SIA, Khanam F, Lundgren A, Wiklund G, Kaim J, Löfstrand M, Carlin N, Bourgeois AL, Maier N, Fix A, Wierzba TF, Walker RI, Svennerholm AM. Evaluation of the safety and immunogenicity of the oral inactivated enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli vaccine ETVAX in Bangladeshi children and infants in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled Phase I/II trial (2019, in press, Lancet Infectious Diseases).
3. Chowdhury F, Akter A, Rahman Bhuiyan T, Tauheed I, Ahmed T, Ahmmed F, Ahmed F, Karim M, Mainul Ahasan M, Rahman Mia M, Mohammad Ibna Masud M, Wahab Khan A, Masum Billah M, Nahar Z, Khan I, Rahad Hossain M, Ariful Islam AZM, Panday AS, Muktadir Rahman Ashik M, Qadri F. A non-inferiority trial comparing two recombinant vaccines (Hepa-B vs. Engerix-B) for hepatitis B among adults in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Vaccine. 2021 Oct 15;39(43):6385-6390. Epub 2021 Sep 22. PMID: 34561142.
4. Akter A, Ahmed T, Tauheed I, Akhtar M, Rahman SIA, et al. (2022) Disease characteristics and serological responses in patients with differing severity of COVID-19 infection: A longitudinal cohort study in Dhaka, Bangladesh. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases 16(1): e0010102.

Im J, Khanam F, Ahmmed F, Kim DR, Kang S, Tadesse BT, Chowdhury F, Ahmed T, Aziz AB, Hoque M, Islam MT. Prevention of Typhoid Fever by Existing Improvements in Household Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene, and the Use of the Vi Polysaccharide Typhoid Vaccine in Poor Urban Slums: Results from a Cluster-Randomized Trial. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. 2022 Mar 7;1(aop).