Before the widespread of Covid-19, the world was advancing at a high pace, but due to the pandemic situation humanity was deadly struck and almost everything remains halted for more than two years across the globe.
These views were expressed by the acting Vice Chancellor University of Karachi Professor Dr Nasira Khatoon while inaugurating the first session of the two-day long BioCon-1’ 2022 on Wednesday.
The KU department of biotechnology organized the first international conference of biotechnology here at the Salimuzzaman Siddiqui Auditorium HEJ.
The Covid-19 pandemic had seized life but the only place where the workload, pace, and intensity increased except for the hospitals were the labs and biotechnologists who were tirelessly striving to find a way for humanity to fight back, and then everyone saw how we accomplished it.
Although it took some time but thankfully life is nearly back to normal now due to the resiliency of biotechnologists.
The acting KU VC Professor Dr Nasira Khatoon said that the world was moving very fast and at the same time its problems were increasing rapidly and shared that collective efforts were required to address them.
She mentioned that creative and innovative ideas have made science and technology produce historic progress over the centuries and that is why an idea is considered a most powerful and constructive weapon.
Meanwhile, the chairperson of the department of biotechnology Dr Saifullah said that biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that plays a pivotal role in developing industrial, medical, environmental, and agricultural sectors.
He mentioned that this conference is aimed to showcase the advancements in the industrial sector in collaboration with the scientific research that can boost our economy.
On the other hand, Professor Stem Cell Research Lab at Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation Dr Tashmeen Razzaqi said industries could expand their businesses by adopting biotechnological benefits.
She mentioned that the evolution of molecular biology and biotechnology spans several decades, and many problems were solved by integrating other scientific disciplines with biotechnology. She urged researchers and students to observe the importance of biotechnology in all fields.
The conference was attended by Indonesian University Scholar Dr Nancy Dewey Yuliana, Professor Emeritus Dr Robert Wortport from the University of the Netherlands, Syed Adnan Ali Shah of Malaysian University, Professor Dr Kamran Azeem from Muhammad Ali Jinnah University, Dr A.
Keukhan of Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering University, KU Dr Afshin Aman, SM Kamranullah of Center of Excellence in Science and Technology Islamabad, Dr Fazal Akbar from Swat KU’s Darakhshan Gohar, Dr Anila Taj, Dr Sajida Afzal, Dr Ghufran Saeed, and others presented their dissertation on the importance of biotechnology and its importance including agriculture, medicine, and recent epidemics and the importance of biotechnology.
Meanwhile, national and international speakers emphasized the importance of promoting biotechnology and said that the recent outbreak has further increased its importance and there is an urgent need to work at the government level to promote it as biotechnology has helped in preventing the worldwide spread of the coronavirus.
