AIOU Holds Day-long National Symposium On Biology

Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published January 25, 2017 | 01:40 PM

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Jan, 2017 ) : A day-long national symposium on theme Frontiers in Biology, From Discovery to Applications held here at Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) to create awareness about the recent advancements in key-research areas of biological importance.

This event was organized for the students and participants to enhance their knowledge regarding latest trends in Biology, said a news release on Wednesday. Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Shahid Siddiqui said on the occasion that the University will encourage and facilitate the students to undertake applied research that benefits the society.

In this connection, a comprehensive incentive package for the Faculty members has already been announced. He hoped that they will avail the opportunity by conducting valuable and beneficial research.

Furthermore Dr. Siddiqui appreciated the effort of the Department and advised to organize more such events for 2-3 days duration. The symposium arranged by the University's Biology and Environmental science Department was addressed by the representatives of various Universities and Research-related Departments including Institute of Bio Medical and Genetics Engineering, PARC, NUST and QAU.

In their talks, they shared their knowledge and experience in their relevant disciplines for the benefit of young scholars. The speakers including Dr. M. Ismail, Dr. Rani Faryal, Dr. Khalid Naeem, Dr.

Husnain A. Janjua, Dr. M. Ansar, Dr. Rizwana Kousar deliberated upon various topics including Nano-biotechnology, Recent trends in Medical Microbiology, One Health initiatives to control infection diseases, Synthetic Biology, Identification of disease causing genes and Genome editing tools.

A documentary, developed by a faculty member Ms. Samar Naseer on awareness of Neagleria fowleri was also screened on the occasion. According to Dr. Hina Fatimah, the University was working on a plan to undertake M.

Phil and PhD programmes in Biology and Environmental science and these have already been approved by the University's Academic bodies. Necessary laboratory facility will be available soon to launch these programmes.