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M. Anwar Iqbal, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Cytogenetics and FISH Testing
Molecular Cytogenetics

URMC Labs
601 Elmwood Ave., Rm 1-6436
Rochester, NY 14642-8626
Tel: (585) 275-1077
Fax: (585) 273-3360

Anwar_Iqbal@urmc.rochester.edu

Dr. Iqbal is Associate Director of the Cytogenetics Laboratory. He has extensive experience and expertise in molecular cytogenetics, including a novel technology, array Comparative Genomic Hybridization (array CGH). This approach is more rapid and quantitative than conventional cytogenetics. He is working on implementing this technology at the URMC Labs.

Qualifications

Ph.D., Genetics, Osmania University, India 1983
Postdoctoral Fellow, Cell Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine 1982-85
Board Certification, American Board of Medical Genetics 1987

Research Overview

Dr. Iqbal's research is in the area of clinical and molecular cytogenetics. He has a particular interest in the application of cytogenetic and FISH testing in the diagnosis of neoplastic as well as genetic disorders. His interests include the molecular cytogenetics of renal cell carcinoma, small round cell tumors, the cytogenetics of leukemia and lymphomas, and prenatal cytogenetic diagnostics. He has special interest in cryptic rearrangements involving subtelomere regions of human chromosomes in genetic disorders and leukemia.

Human chromosomes have an extraordinary homology at their subtelomere regions due to the presence of repeat sequences (TTAGGG). These regions are also very rich in genes; cryptic subtelomere rearrangements (CSTR) due to abnormal pairing at meiosis can lead to various types of gene abnormalities, namely, deletions, duplications, inversions, translocations, and so on. A significant proportion of patients referred for pre- and post-natal chromosome analysis are reported normal. A group of these chromosomally normal patients have been shown to be due to CSTR which are detected by subtelomere FISH testing. Recently, we have shown similar CSTR in fetuses with multiple ultrasonographic abnormalities. ArrayCGH is a more recent molecular cytogenetic tool which can be utilized to diagnose both known and unknown chromosome disorders including CSTR with a high precision. 

Publications

Owaidah TM, Al Beihany A, Iqbal MA, Elkum N, Roberts GT. Cytogenetics, molecular and ultrastructural characteristics of biphenotypic acute leukemia identified by the EGIL scoring system. Leukemia. 2006 Apr;20(4):620-6.

Iqbal MA, Al-Omar HM, Owaidah T, Al-Humaidan H, Bhuiyan ZA, Sahovic E. Del(6)(p23) in two cases of de novo AML: A new recurrent primary chromosome abnormality. Eur J Haematol (in press).

Hellani A, Al-Hassan S, Iqbal M, Coskun S. Y chromosome microdeletions in infertile men with idiopathic oligo- or azoospermia. J Exp Clin Assist Reprod. 2006 Jan 30;3(1):1 [Epub ahead of print]

Iqbal MA, Ramadan S, Ali FA, Kurdi W. Complex de novo cryptic subtelomeric rearrangements in a fetus with multiple ultrasonographic abnormalities and a normal karyotype at amniocentesis. Prenat Diagn. 2005 Dec;25(12):1142-9.

Al-Mutair A, Iqbal MA, Sakati N, Ashwal A.Cytogenetics and etiology of ambiguous genitalia in 120 pediatric patients. Ann Saudi Med. 2004 Sep-Oct;24(5):368-72.

Al-Qurashi FH, Owaidah T, Iqbal MA, Aljurf M. Trisomy 4 as the sole karyotypic abnormality in a case of acute biphenotypic leukemia with T-lineage markers in minimally differentiated acute myelocytic leukemia. Cancer Genet Cytogenet. 2004 Apr 1;150(1):66-9.

Nounou R, Al-Zahrani H H, Ajarim DS, Martin J, Iqbal A, Naufal R, Stuart R, Roberts G, Gyger M. Extramedullary myeloid cell tumours localised to the mediastinum: a rare clinicopathological entity with unique karyotypic features. J Clin Pathol. 2002 Mar;55(3):221-5. Review.

Boumah CE, Meyer B, Aljurf M, Bertilsson PA, Pyle RH, Al-Hussein KA, Iqbal A, Gyger M. Monitoring of donor/recipient T-cell engraftment kinetics in myeloablative allogeneic stem cell transplantation using short tandem repeat amplification from cell lysates. Leuk Lymphoma. 2002 Jun;43(6):1281-7.

Raziuddin S, Iqbal MA, Khalil S, Siraj AK, Butt AI, Al-Sedairy S. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-10 secretion in precursor B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia: functional significance of interleukin-12. Lab Hematol 8:59-59, 2002.

Iqbal MA, Akhtar M, Ulmer C, Al-Dayel F, Paterson MC. FISH analysis in chromophobe renal-cell carcinoma. Diagn Cytopathol. 2000 Jan;22(1):3-6.