Dr. Asifa Akhtar
Curriculum Vitae
Asifa Akhtar was born in Karachi and earned her PhD in 1997 at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund in London, UK, investigating the mechanisms of gene regulation at Richard Treisman’s laboratory. She continued her research in chromatin regulation as a postdoctoral fellow at Peter Becker’s lab at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg and at the Adolf Butenandt Institute in Munich. In 2001, she returned to EMBL Heidelberg as a group leader, before moving her lab to the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg in 2009. Since 2013, Asifa Akhtar has been a Scientific Member and Director at the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg. Since 2022, she has additionally served as Honorary Professor of the Medical Faculty at the University of Freiburg, and since 2020 Vice President of the Biology and Medicine Section of the Max Planck Society.
Research Interests
Asifa Akhtar’s research focuses on investigating the molecular mechanisms of epigenetic processes, particularly the role of chromatin structure, histone modifications, and long noncoding RNAs in controlling gene activity. Her lab utilizes cutting-edge technology combining biochemical, genetic, and bioinformatic approaches to understand epigenetic regulation in fly, mouse and human models.
Selected Awards
Asifa Akhtar was elected member of the European Molecular Biology Organization in 2013 and member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina in 2019. In 2021, she was awarded the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize by the German Research Foundation for her work in cell biology on the mechanisms of epigenetic gene regulation. She was also a recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 2023. In 2025, the Federation of European Biochemical Societies and the European Molecular Biology Organization honored Asifa Akhtar with the Women in Science Award for her pioneering research in the field of epigenetics.