‘Pakistan planning to invite foreign experts to train young scholars’

Pakistan is working on an international programme to invite foreign experts for the training of Pakistani young scholars under the joint supervision of PhD scholars.

International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), Karachi University, Director Prof Dr Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary stated this during the concluding ceremony of the 7th International Symposium-cum-Training Course on Molecular Medicine and Drug Research held at the Dr Panjwani Centre for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research (PCMD), KU.

He said that organising regular international symposiums and conferences would help the government to create real bridges between Pakistan and other counterparts.

Over 700 scientists, including 100 scientists from Turkey, Iran, Iraq, China, Egypt, Syria, Italy, Nigeria, Greece, USA, UK, Germany, France, Australia, Canada, Brazil, Sweden, New Zealand, Hungry, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Ethiopia, Sudan, Thailand, Oman, Cameron, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal, attended the four-day-long event.

Choudhary said it was the need of the time to train young scholars. The international centre was working on the international programme under the joint supervision of PhD scholars. The ICCBS had invited foreign experts for the training of young scholars in the country, he said, adding that a number of foreign scholars had accepted the invitation to be adjunct faculty at the centre.

He informed the gathering that the conference was aimed to extend understanding and appreciation of the emerging field of molecular medicine and drug research in Pakistan.

Italian scholar Prof Dr Luciana Dini told the participants of the conference to be proud of their country as it was one of the oldest lands on the planet. She pointed out that Pakistan’s land was as old as Italy’s land.

French scholar Prof Dr Georges Massiot said that the Dr Panjwani Centre had become a centre of excellence for quality research on molecular medicine. It had hastened the pace of development in the field of molecular medicine.

Australian scientist Prof Dr Barry Noller appreciated the efforts made by the Dr Panjwani Centre to organise such a fruitful conference. The symposium coordinator, Prof Dr Asmat Salim, thanked all participants and said that one of the prime objectives of the symposium was to bring the leading experts in the field of molecular medicine together.

The ICCBS director said the KU had identified several new compounds and therapeutic drugs with strong anti-cancer activities. He said cancer was a major health challenge with the second leading cause of death all across the world. He pointed out that the natural flora remained the richest source of novel drug development. During the last four decades, the international centre had been focusing on the discovery of chemical constituents from medicinal plants. The centre had surveyed 24 districts of Sindh during the period of 2010-12. Under the programme of the survey, very useful information about plant-based remedies was compiled in the form of a monograph, and the selected plants were scientifically evaluated also.

Sindh had a wealth of traditional knowledge about indigenous flora and its utilisation, he said, adding that the local population relied on medicinal plants for their health-related issues. People used medicinal plants to treat themselves due to lack of medicines, non-availability of doctors and fear of side effects associated with modern medicine, he said.

Prof Choudhary distributed certificates among the participants and position holders of the poster competition and concluded the event.