ARSHAD Mahmood KHAN, PhD
Dr. Arshad M. Khan received his PhD in Neuroscience at the University of California at Riverside in 2002. He was a postdoctoral fellow, and later a Research Assistant Professor, at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where he trained in the fields of neuroendocrinology and functional neuroanatomy. He joined the faculty at The University of Texas at El Paso in 2011, where he currently directs the UTEP Systems Neuroscience Laboratory.
Dr. Khan’s research focuses on brain mechanisms underlying the control of motivated, goal-directed behaviors such as feeding and drinking. He also is interested in neural systems that control fear, addiction and stress. For these topics, he is mapping new brain circuits using computational tools and digital brain atlases. His work involves creating standardized maps for the neuroscience community that can be used to experimentally target novel brain circuits to examine how they contribute to normal and abnormal brain function. His research spans the molecular, cellular, systems and behavioral scales of study. Dr. Khan also collaborates on neuroinformatics and computer science projects related to the modeling, management, and migration of neuroscientific data. He maintains active research interests in the history of neuroscience, comparative neurobiology and genomics.
Dr. Khan is strongly committed to classroom and laboratory instruction in the life sciences (biology, biochemistry, neuroscience) at the university level. As part of this effort, he also collaborates on science education studies and training initiatives to improve undergraduate and graduate student learning outcomes and to instill equity in educational practices, especially for STEM students within underrepresented minorities. He has supervised the research of several undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and junior research faculty; and teaches classes in neuroscience and animal behavior at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Dr. Khan’s Jama’at service includes having served as President of the Association of Ahmadi Muslim Scientists USA (AAMS-USA) and in various capacities for Majlis Khuddamul Ahmadiyya, including as Qaid of the Los Angeles East MKA chapter. He is currently assisting in the editing and typesetting of new publications for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA, including a forthcoming commemorative edition showcasing the missions and mosques of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.
In his personal life, he seeks to cultivate creativity for his research through the study and enjoyment of the arts and humanities. He is an avid bibliophile and enjoys getting lost in second-hand bookshops whenever he can. He especially loves spending time with his family, reading and collecting books, and listening to music.
More about Dr. Khan’s publications at his UTEP webpage.