Dr Ihsan Nazurah Zulkipli

My PhD work was mainly investigating the dynamics of the mitotic spindle in cell division that directs cell division orientation, in non-polarised model cell systems. Techniques utilized included standard cell biology and molecular biology techniques, and high resolution microscopy.

I am interested to continue my work in cell division, particularly in investigating the potential effects of plant extracts on cell division as this may identify potential anti-cancer bioactivities. Naturally derived compounds with anticancer activity have also been used as the basis for original synthetic analogs, forming their own novel class of chemical compounds.

Mitosis is an important stage of the cell cycle, which is deregulated in cancer, leading to uncontrolled cancer growth. An important facilitator of mitosis is the microtubule cyto- skeleton. Mammalian microtubules appear to be a common target for naturally occurring toxic molecules produced by a large number of flora, presumably with the original intent of self-defense.

Currently, we are investigating the effects of compounds extracted from the medicinal plants of Brunei on cell division and microtubules.

EDUCATION

I completed by undergraduate degree at the University of Bristol, with a BSc in Biochemistry with Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, after which I completed a Masters of Science in Human Molecular Genetics at Imperial College London. For my PhD, I am a cell biologist by training, and completed my degree in July 2014 at the Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, under the supervision of Dr Viji Draviam.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Cancer cell biology, anti-cancer effects of medicinal plants, microtubules and cell division, life-style diseases

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Zulkipli IN, Rajabalaya R, Idris A, Sulaiman NA, David SR., 2017 Clinacanthus nutans : a review on ethnomedicinal uses, chemical constituents and pharmacological properties. Pharm Biol, 55(1):1093–113

Lim YC, Rajabalaya R, Lee SHF, Tennakoon KU, Le Q-V, Idris A, Zulkipli IN, Keasberry N, David SR., 2016, Parasitic Mistletoes of the Genera Scurrula and Viscum: From Bench to Bedside. Molecules, 21(8), 1048

Zulkipli IN, David SR, Rajabalaya R, Idris A., 2015, Medicinal plants: A potential source of compounds for targeting cell division. Drug Target Insights, 9, 9-19

Corrigan A*, Shrestha R*, Zulkipli IN*, Hiroi N, Liu Y, Tamura N, Yang B, Patel J, Funahashi A, Donald A and Draviam VM, 2013, Automated tracking of mitotic spindle pole positions shows that LGN is required for spindle rotation but not orientation maintenance, Cell Cycle, 12, 2643-2655
* denotes equal contribution authors

Bellamy S.R.W., Kovacheva Y.S., Zulkipli I. &Halford S.E., 2009, Differences between Ca2+ and Mg2+ in DNA binding and release by the SfiI restriction endonuclease: implications for DNA looping, Nucleic Acids Research, 37, 5443-5453

TOP PUBLICATIONS

Zulkipli IN, Rajabalaya R, Idris A, Sulaiman NA, David SR., 2017 Clinacanthus nutans : a review on ethnomedicinal uses, chemical constituents and pharmacological properties. Pharm Biol, 55(1):1093–113

Lim YC, Rajabalaya R, Lee SHF, Tennakoon KU, Le Q-V, Idris A, Zulkipli IN, Keasberry N, David SR., 2016, Parasitic Mistletoes of the Genera Scurrula and Viscum: From Bench to Bedside. Molecules, 21(8), 1048

Zulkipli IN, David SR, Rajabalaya R, Idris A., 2015, Medicinal plants: A potential source of compounds for targeting cell division. Drug Target Insights, 9, 9-19

Corrigan A*, Shrestha R*, Zulkipli IN*, Hiroi N, Liu Y, Tamura N, Yang B, Patel J, Funahashi A, Donald A and Draviam VM, 2013, Automated tracking of mitotic spindle pole positions shows that LGN is required for spindle rotation but not orientation maintenance, Cell Cycle, 12, 2643-2655
* denotes equal contribution authors

Bellamy S.R.W., Kovacheva Y.S., Zulkipli I. &Halford S.E., 2009, Differences between Ca2+ and Mg2+ in DNA binding and release by the SfiI restriction endonuclease: implications for DNA looping, Nucleic Acids Research, 37, 5443-5453

GRANT DETAILS

University Brunei Darussalam research grant - “Investigating the effects of Clinacanthus nutans on cancer cell division” (Principal Investigator, BND$20 000, Feb 2015 to Feb 2017)
ISESCO research grant - “Investigating the effects of Clinacanthus nutans on cancer cell division” (Co Investigator, USD$10 000, Jan 2016 to Jan 2018)