Student Spotlight – Mahmud Iqbal

Mahmud Iqbal has loved microbes and the invisible role they play in the world since he was a junior high school student in Alberta, Canada. “Microbes are the living mass of the world,” he explains. “They play a role in everything from geophysical processing to brain function.” Yet, as he matured in his studies, Mahmud wanted his work to be more relatable to human health.

Now, a MPH student in the Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Mahmud studies infectious diseases and how they evolve. That work includes a dual focus on the role that interactions with chronic disease have on microbial diseases as well as antimicrobial resistance.

Last summer Mahmud worked in Bangladesh on a study of diabetes and tuberculosis comorbidity. He assisted in developing a survey and doing data analysis for data from some 600 patients from 11 sites. While it was no surprise that outcomes for TB patients were reduced when Type 2 diabetes was present, says Mahmud, “it was a surprise that prediabetes was also associated with delayed treatment outcomes.”

In addition to his studies, Mahmud has been a volunteer mentor for the New Haven Science Fair Project in New Haven where he relishes the enthusiasm of third graders and their uninhibited questions about science. He also plays with the Yale Graduate Rugby Club and is on the board of the Tandem Language Cafe, a Yale student group that pairs students to foster intercultural communication through enhanced foreign language conversation.