Prof. Habib graduated from Delhi University and pursued her PhD at NII, New Delhi. She has explored processes and proteins unique to the malaria parasite, contributing to understanding mechanisms of translation, replication and repair of organelle genomes, [Fe-S] biogenesis and transport, and identifying targets for drug design. She has also investigated human genetic polymorphisms and their influence on susceptibility to severe falciparum malaria in populations residing in disease-endemic regions of India. She leads a programme for the development of a novel antimalarial.
Prof. Habib has been elected as Fellow of all the three Science Academies of India, and is a JC Bose National Fellow.