Prof. Umar Katsayal is a member of several professional organizations including the Botanical Society of Nigeria, Nigerian Society of Pharmacognosy, West African Society of Pharmacology, African Society of Toxicological Sciences, Biotechnology Society of Nigeria, Neuroscience Society of Nigeria, Nigeria Malaria Network, International Society of Infectious Diseases, International Brain Research Organization, International Research and Development Institute, Association of Good Clinical Practice in Nigeria, Association of the Civic Enlightenment of Nigerians and the prestigious National Institute (mni), Kuru-Nigeria. Prof. Umar Katsayal has been with the Department of Pharmacognosy and Drug Development, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria since 1998 as an Academic Staff and a Researcher, where his primary research interest is drug development from medicinal plants for treatment of Tropical diseases with special interest in malaria. Hon. Umar Katsayal attended numerous conferences both at National and International levels. He served as a member of Ahmadu Bello University Senate and the Editorial Board of the Nigerian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Hon. Umar Katsayal answered the call of the people of his Federal Constituency (Daura/Mai’adua/Sandamu Federal Constituency) to represent them at the Federal House of Representatives during the Seventh Assembly. He won the election under the defunct Congress for Progressives Change (CPC) and was in the House of Representatives but for only six months as the wish of his people was truncated by removing him from office together with seven other members and two other Senators all from Katsina State as a result of internal party crises, which the CPC suffered. However, while in the House of Representatives for that short period of time Hon. Umar Katsayal sponsored six Bills and participated in sponsoring four other Bills, nine of which were passed into law. Immediately after his removal from the office of House of Representatives in January 2012, Prof. Umar Katsayal was requested to go back to Ahmadu Bello University by the then Vice Chancellor and continued his constitutional academic responsibilities of teaching and research.

Prof. Umar Katsayal chaired the Interim Management Committee for the smooth take-off the Federal University of Transportation, Daura before he became its pioneer Vice-Chancellor.