Dr Maleeha Waqar
PhD student
School of Biomedical Sciences
Book Chapter
Senescall, Victor, Budusan, Elena, Knezic, Adriana, Waqar, Maleeha, Butcher, Neville, Khan, Nemat, McCarthy, Claudia, Widopp, Robert, Karatt-Vellat, Aneesh and Rash, Lachlan D. (2024). Targeting acid-sensing ion channels in disease. Ion channels as targets in drug discovery. (pp. 303-355) edited by Gary Stephens and Edward Stevens. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-52197-3_10
Journal Articles
Nathan, Vaishnavi, Akbar, Heena, McInerney-Leo, Aideen, Gilroy, Deborah, Henders, Anjali, Naresh, Reema, Choudhury, Nahid, Waqar, Maleeha, Shah, Sonia, Yanes, Tatiane, on behalf of the South Asian Genes and Health in Australia (SAGHA) research team, Atherton, John, Greaves, Kim, McGaughran, Julie, Mehta, Divya, Villani, Rehan Marie, Wallis, Katharine and Wray, Naomi R. (2026). “There’s no representation”: a qualitative study of attitudes and motivations towards genomic research participation among Australian South Asians. European Journal of Human Genetics, 1-10. doi: 10.1038/s41431-026-02129-3
Redd, Meredith A, Yoshikawa, Yusuke, Khan, Nemat, Waqar, Maleeha, Saez, Natalie J, Outhwaite, Jennifer E, Russell, Jake S, Hanna, Amy D, Chiu, Han S, Er, Sing Yan, Butcher, Neville J, Mardon, Karine, Fraser, John F, Smythe, Mark L, Rash, Lachlan D, Thomas, Walter G, King, Glenn F, Reichelt, Melissa E and Palpant, Nathan J (2024). Acid-sensing ion channel 1a blockade reduces myocardial injury in rodent models of myocardial infarction. European Heart Journal, 45 (17), 1571-1574. doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehad793
Waqar, Maleeha and Batool, Sidra (2017). In silico analysis of binding interaction of conantokins with NMDA receptors for potential therapeutic use in Alzheimer's disease. Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases, 23, 42. doi: 10.1186/s40409-017-0132-9
Batool, Nisha, Waqar, Maleeha and Batool, Sidra (2016). Comparative genomics study for identification of putative drug targets in Salmonella typhi Ty2. Gene, 576 (1 Pt 3), 544-59. doi: 10.1016/j.gene.2015.11.007
Waqar, Maleeha and Batool, Sidra (2015). In silico analysis of binding of neurotoxic venom ligands with acetylcholinesterase for therapeutic use in treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 372, 107-17. doi: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2015.02.028
Waqar, Maleeha, Kamal, Mohammad Amjad and Batool, Sidra (2015). In silico analysis of binding interaction of mamba toxins with M4 and M2 muscarinic acetylcholine receptors for therapeutic use in alzheimer's disease. CNS and Neurological Disorders - Drug Targets, 14 (8), 1031-40.
Conference Papers
Waqar, Maleeha, Rash, Lachlan, Khan, Nemat and Butcher, Neville (2026). ASIC1a is involved in pro-inflammatory role of astrocytes in EAE. MS Australia's 10th Progress in MS Research Conference, Brisbane, QLD Australia, 3-5 December 2025. London, United Kingdom: Sage Publications.
Rash, Lachlan, Waqar, Maleeha, Khan, Nemat and Butcher, Neville (2026). ASIC1a contributes to axonal degeneration via necroptosis in EAE. MS Australia's 10th Progress in MS Research Conference, Brisbane, QLD Australia, 3-5 December 2025. London, United Kingdom: Sage Publications.
Rash, Lachlan, Waqar, Maleeha, Butcher, Neville and Khan, Nemat (2025). Acid-sensing ion channel 1a may contribute to both axonal necroptosis and astrogliosis in the pathophysiology of multiple sclerosis. 41st Congress of the European-Committee-for-Treatment-and-Research-in-Multiple-Sclerosis (ECTRIMS), Barcelona, Spain, 24-26 September 2025. London, United Kingdom: Sage Publications.
Waqar, Maleeha, Khan, Nemat, Butcher, Neville and Rash, Lachlan (2024). Insights into the role of acid sensing ion channels in the pathophysiology of multiple sclerosis. Multiple Sclerosis Australia: Progress in MS Research Conference (MS), Perth, WA, Australia, 29 November-1 December 2023. London, United Kingdom: Sage Publications.
Rash, Lachlan, Waqar, Maleeha, Butcher, Neville and Khan, Nemat (2024). Development of venom peptide inhibitors of acid-sensing ion channel 1 as novel therapeutics for multiple sclerosis. Multiple Sclerosis Australia: Progress in MS Research Conference (MS), Perth, WA, Australia, 29 November-1 December 2023. London, United Kingdom: Sage Publications.
Waqar, Maleeha, Rash, Lachlan, Butcher, Neville and Khan, Nemat (2024). Understanding the role of acid sensing ion channels as targets of neuroprotection in the pathophysiology of multiple sclerosis. 40th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS), Copenhagen, Denmark, 18-20 September 2024. London, United Kingdom: Sage Publications. doi: 10.1177/13524585241269220
Khan, Nemat, Waqar, Maleeha, Butcher, Neville and Rash, Lachlan (2024). Developing novel acid-sensing ion channel inhibitor as a neuroprotective lead for multiple sclerosis. 40th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS), Copenhagen, Denmark, 18-20 September 2024. London, United Kingdom: Sage Publications. doi: 10.1177/13524585241269220
Theses
Waqar, Maleeha (2026). Novel Venom Peptides targeting Acid Sensing Ion Channels: Insights into their role in the Pathophysiology of a model of Multiple Sclerosis. PhD Thesis, School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland. doi: 10.14264/78dc6da
Waqar, Maleeha (2019). Characterization of novel synthetic analgesics selectively targeting α3 glycine receptors. MPhil Thesis, Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland. doi: 10.14264/uql.2019.676