National Academies Education Fellow in the Life Sciences, Apple Teacher, Inclusive STEM Teaching Project, Fundamentals of Online Teaching
Education:
Ph.D., Anatomy and Cell Biology, SUNY Upstate Medical University B.S., Biology, St. John Fisher University
Teaching
BIOL 109C - P4 Human Genetics
BIOL 199C - RW Research-Based Writing
BIOL 311 - Cell Biology
BIOL 311L - Cell Techniques
BIOL 318 - Genetics
BIOL 319 - Histology
BIOL 416 - Biological Imaging
Research
Dr. Noveera Ahmed is an associate professor in the Department of Biology at St. John Fisher University. She also serves as the Chair of the Division of Life Sciences. Dr. Ahmed has been teaching at the university since 2008, initially joining as a visiting professor before transitioning to a full-time faculty role in 2009. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology from St. John Fisher University in 1999. She then went on to complete her Ph.D. in Anatomy and Cell Biology at SUNY Upstate Medical University in 2007, where she remained as a postdoctoral associate investigating proteins associated with outer arm dynein assembly.
At Fisher, Dr. Ahmed is dedicated to teaching across multiple areas of biology, ranging from introductory lab courses to advanced seminars. Her teaching portfolio includes Human Genetics, General Biology I w/Lab, Research-Based Writing, Cell Biology, Cell Biology Techniques, Genetics, Histology, Biological Imaging, and Senior Seminar. She incorporates evidence-based, inclusive, and modern pedagogy into her classes, supported by her designations as a National Academies Education Fellow in the Life Sciences, a certified Apple Teacher, and her completion of the Inclusive STEM Teaching Project.
In addition to her classroom instruction, Dr. Ahmed runs an active research laboratory focusing on motile flagellar assembly and flagellar motility mutants. Utilizing the model organism Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, her work examines the transport and targeting of proteins within the flagellar compartment. Her lab also investigates the optimization of growth conditions for biomass and lipid accumulation in microalgae to explore practical applications in biodiesel synthesis. Dr. Ahmed’s lab is a highly collaborative environment that serves as a cornerstone of undergraduate mentorship at Fisher. Since joining the faculty, she has mentored dozens of undergraduate researchers through independent studies, Science Scholar programs, and Summer Science Fellowships.
Dr. Ahmed’s scientific research, pedagogy, and student-success initiatives are backed by extensive external funding. She serves as the Principal Investigator on a $1,993,085 National Science Foundation (NSF) Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (S-STEM) Track 2 grant (2025–2030) dedicated to building career readiness, belonging, and self-belief among low-income science and math students. She is also the Principal Investigator on a $649,994 NSF S-STEM Track 1 grant (2018–2024) that utilizes community research and cognitive reframing to improve STEM retention. Beyond these federal grants, her laboratory’s projects have been funded by a Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) supply grant and numerous internal St. John Fisher Faculty Development Grants.
An active leader on campus and within her professional community, Dr. Ahmed served as the elected Chair of the Biology Department starting in 2020 and co-chaired the university’s Middle States Accreditation Self-Study for Standard V from 2023 to 2025. Nationally, she is the Beta Beta Beta NE-3 District Advisor, overseeing annual regional conventions and research fund allocations. She has also served as an elected member of the Genetics Society of America (GSA) Education Committee, leading key national efforts to revise the Genetics Learning Framework. In the local community, she is the elected President of the Women’s Auxiliary of the Rochester chapter of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and a former Board of Trustees member for Our Lady of Mercy School for Young Women.
Dr. Ahmed’s exceptional commitment to academic excellence, leadership, and mentorship has earned her several notable distinctions. She was awarded the 2023 Beta Beta Beta District NE-3 Outstanding Advisor Award and the 2015 Science & Technology Alumni Rising Star Award from St. John Fisher University. Furthermore, her early-career co-authored research on outer row dynein assembly was selected and reviewed by the prestigious Faculty of 1000 in 2008.
Publications
"Successful failure: Leveraging mindfulness and growth oriented reframing to build undergraduate research resilience", Confronting failure: Approaches to building confidence and resilience in undergraduate researchers, 2022. Co-authored with S.G. Goodman, M. Goodwin, K. Picardo, and M. Erklenz-Watts.
NoveeraAhmedAssociate Professor and Academic Division Chair, Life SciencesISHS 207nahmed@sjf.edu(585) 899-3819/media/sized-image-library/headshots-160-x-160/headshots-a-c/Ahmed_Noveera.jpgTeaching
BIOL 109C - P4 Human Genetics
BIOL 199C - RW Research-Based Writing
BIOL 311 - Cell Biology
BIOL 311L - Cell Techniques
BIOL 318 - Genetics
BIOL 319 - Histology
BIOL 416 - Biological Imaging
Research
Dr. Noveera Ahmed is an associate professor in the Department of Biology at St. John Fisher University. She also serves as the Chair of the Division of Life Sciences. Dr. Ahmed has been teaching at the university since 2008, initially joining as a visiting professor before transitioning to a full-time faculty role in 2009. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology from St. John Fisher University in 1999. She then went on to complete her Ph.D. in Anatomy and Cell Biology at SUNY Upstate Medical University in 2007, where she remained as a postdoctoral associate investigating proteins associated with outer arm dynein assembly.
At Fisher, Dr. Ahmed is dedicated to teaching across multiple areas of biology, ranging from introductory lab courses to advanced seminars. Her teaching portfolio includes Human Genetics, General Biology I w/Lab, Research-Based Writing, Cell Biology, Cell Biology Techniques, Genetics, Histology, Biological Imaging, and Senior Seminar. She incorporates evidence-based, inclusive, and modern pedagogy into her classes, supported by her designations as a National Academies Education Fellow in the Life Sciences, a certified Apple Teacher, and her completion of the Inclusive STEM Teaching Project.
In addition to her classroom instruction, Dr. Ahmed runs an active research laboratory focusing on motile flagellar assembly and flagellar motility mutants. Utilizing the model organism Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, her work examines the transport and targeting of proteins within the flagellar compartment. Her lab also investigates the optimization of growth conditions for biomass and lipid accumulation in microalgae to explore practical applications in biodiesel synthesis. Dr. Ahmed’s lab is a highly collaborative environment that serves as a cornerstone of undergraduate mentorship at Fisher. Since joining the faculty, she has mentored dozens of undergraduate researchers through independent studies, Science Scholar programs, and Summer Science Fellowships.
Dr. Ahmed’s scientific research, pedagogy, and student-success initiatives are backed by extensive external funding. She serves as the Principal Investigator on a $1,993,085 National Science Foundation (NSF) Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (S-STEM) Track 2 grant (2025–2030) dedicated to building career readiness, belonging, and self-belief among low-income science and math students. She is also the Principal Investigator on a $649,994 NSF S-STEM Track 1 grant (2018–2024) that utilizes community research and cognitive reframing to improve STEM retention. Beyond these federal grants, her laboratory’s projects have been funded by a Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) supply grant and numerous internal St. John Fisher Faculty Development Grants.
An active leader on campus and within her professional community, Dr. Ahmed served as the elected Chair of the Biology Department starting in 2020 and co-chaired the university’s Middle States Accreditation Self-Study for Standard V from 2023 to 2025. Nationally, she is the Beta Beta Beta NE-3 District Advisor, overseeing annual regional conventions and research fund allocations. She has also served as an elected member of the Genetics Society of America (GSA) Education Committee, leading key national efforts to revise the Genetics Learning Framework. In the local community, she is the elected President of the Women’s Auxiliary of the Rochester chapter of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and a former Board of Trustees member for Our Lady of Mercy School for Young Women.
Dr. Ahmed’s exceptional commitment to academic excellence, leadership, and mentorship has earned her several notable distinctions. She was awarded the 2023 Beta Beta Beta District NE-3 Outstanding Advisor Award and the 2015 Science & Technology Alumni Rising Star Award from St. John Fisher University. Furthermore, her early-career co-authored research on outer row dynein assembly was selected and reviewed by the prestigious Faculty of 1000 in 2008.
Publications
"Successful failure: Leveraging mindfulness and growth oriented reframing to build undergraduate research resilience", Confronting failure: Approaches to building confidence and resilience in undergraduate researchers, 2022. Co-authored with S.G. Goodman, M. Goodwin, K. Picardo, and M. Erklenz-Watts.
ODA16 aids axonemal outer row dynein assembly through an interaction with the intraflagellar transport machinery, Journal of Cell Biology, 2008. Co-authored with C. Gao, B. Lucker, D.G. Cole, and D.R. Mitchell.
Oda16p, a Chlamydomonas flagellar protein needed for outer arm dynein assembly, Molecular Biology of the Cell, 2005. Co-authored with D.R. Mitchell.
Ph.D., Anatomy and Cell Biology, SUNY Upstate Medical UniversityB.S., Biology, St. John Fisher UniversitySTEM Education & Student SuccessNational Academies Education Fellow in the Life Sciences, Apple Teacher, Inclusive STEM Teaching Project, Fundamentals of Online Teaching
