Since the last three decades, my research has been focussed on understanding how plants survive, function, and adapt in extreme environments, particularly in saline and arid ecosystems. I work primarily on halophytic grasses and perennial shrubs from coastal salt marshes, inland salt deserts, and subtropical drylands, using an integrative approach that combines plant ecology, physiology, and biochemistry. A central theme of my work is to unravel how environmental stressors such as high salinity, intense light, and temperature extremes interact to shape plant growth, photosynthesis, and resource use efficiency.

As an ecophysiologist, my research examines traits such water ion and untrient relations, photosynthetic performance, chlorophyll fluorescence, and carbon fixation pathways, alongside enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant defense mechanisms in ROS regulation. I am particularly interested in the plasticity of photosynthetic systems and stress tolerance strategies across C₃, C₄, and succulent halophytic species. These studies aim to bridge cellular and leaf-level processes with whole-plant performance, population dynamics, and ecosystem functioning in the context of climate change.

Through field studies, controlled experiments, and interdisciplinary collaborations, my research aims to contributes to addressing challenges related to food security, land degradation, and climate change in arid and semi-arid regions.

Ph.D. (Botany), University of Karachi

MSc. (Botany), University of Karachi

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

2023 - onward: Professor, Institute of Sustainable Halophyte Utilization, University of Karachi.
2021 - 2024: Director, Institute of Sustainable Halophyte Utilization, University of Karachi.
2013 - 2023: Associate Professor, Institute of Sustainable Halophyte Utilization, University of Karachi.
2012 - 2013: Post-Doctoral Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
2009 - 2013: Assistant Professor, Institute of Sustainable Halophyte Utilization, University of Karachi.
2006 - 2009: Assistant Professor, Department of Botany, University of Karachi.
2004 - 2006: Assistant Professor of Botany, Government Superior Science College, Shah Faisal Colony, Karachi.
1997 - 2004: Lecturer, Department of Botany, Government Superior Science College, Shah Faisal Colony, Karachi.

• Zia, A., Gulzar, S. and Ruban, A. 2024. Enhanced photochemical efficiency of PSII in Prosopis juliflora suggests contribution to invasion advantage over native C3 xero-halophytes under salt stress. Functional Plant Biology 51, FP23272.
  
• Ahmed, M.Z., Hussain, T., Gulzar, S., Adnan, M.Y., & Khan, M. A. (2021). Calcium improves the leaf physiology of salt treated Limonium stocksii: A floriculture crop. Scientia Horticulturae, 285: 110190.
  
• Chan, M.W.H., Akram, J., Gulzar, S., Zafar, U., Aslam, S., Siddiqui, P.J.A., Khan, S.A. and Rasheed, M. 2021. Comparative study on antimicrobial activities of mangroves growing in polluted and non-polluted sites of northern Arabian Sea. Pak. J. Bot., 53(2): DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.30848/PJB2021-2(25)
  
• Gulzar, S., Hussain T., Gul, B., and Hameed A. (2020). Photosynthetic Adaptations and Oxidative Stress Tolerance in Halophytes from Warm Subtropical Region. In: Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020. M.-N. Grigore (ed.), Handbook of Halophytes, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-17854-3_52-1. 1.
  
• Rasool, S.G., Gulzar, S., Hameed, A., Edwards, G.E., Khan, M.A. and Gul, B. 2019. Maintenance of photosynthesis and antioxidant defense system play key role for survival of Halopeplis perfoliata (family Amaranthaceae) under saline environment. Plant Biology. 21: 1167-1175. https://doi.org/10.1111/plb.13033
  

Gerald E. Edwards (USA); Bernardo Duarte (Portugal); H.-W. Koyro (Germany); Xiaojing Liu (China); Ahmad Zia (KSA); Abdul Hameed Baloch (Pakistan).