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Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Johns Hopkins Medical Institute, US
Mahnoor Shafi, MBBS
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Johns Hopkins Medical Institute
I am a postdoctoral resarch fellow currently at Johns Hopkins University, working in the Spinal Fusion Laboratory within the Department of Neurosurgery. My journey in medicine began with a keen interest neurological surgery during my time in medical school. I frequently rotated through the Department of Neursourgery at Khyber Teaching Hospital, where I gained extensive clinical exposure. Despite the predominantly clinical environment, I was driven to explore beyond traditional medical boundaries. This lead me to delve into genomic research at the Khyber Medical University Public Health Reference Laboratory, in collaboration with Monash Univerity in Malaysia, despite facing resistance in a clinical-centric setting.
Upon graduating from Khyber Medical Univeristy in 2022, I sought further research opportunities in the United States and was recruited by the Computational Neurosciences Outcome Centre (CNOC) at Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School. My time with CNOC provided me with invaluable experiences and laid the groundwork for my research endeavours. Subsequently, I accepted a position as a Research Temporary Professional at the Mayo Clinic, working in a neurosurgery translational lab focusing on developing novel approaches for tissue engineering and regeneration of bone and cartilage for the treatment of spinal pathologies. During this period, I was involved in numerous projects and mantained my collaborative ties with CNOC.
The skills honed during the year spent at Mayo Clinic facilitated my transition to Johns Hopkins University, where I now lead the Spinal Fusion Laboratory. I continue to collaborate with Mayo Clinic and CNOC, leveraging our collective expertise to advcance research in neurosurgery. My ultimate goal is to participate in the residency match for neurosurgery, combining my clinical acumen with research insights to become a proficient surgeon-scientist. I am deeply committed to advancing the medical field and contributing to the welbeing of humanity. It is a privilege to collaborate with some of the world's leading institutions, and I eagerly anticipate contributing to the future of medicine.