(Hybrid event)

Commemorating the 80^th Birthday of
Legendary Scientist
Prof. Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman, FRS
22^nd September, 2022, Karachi, Pakistan
Organized by:
International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS) and COMSTECH Secretariat, Islamabad
at the:
International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), Karachi, Pakistan

INVITATION

It is a great pleasure to invite you to “International Symposium on Excellence in Science”, whichwill be held on 22^nd September 2022, at the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan. The symposium is being organized to commemorate the 80^th birthday of one of the most distinguished natural product chemists of the world, Prof. Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman, FRS.

The objective of celebrating this event on a mega level is to commemorate the personality and achievements of this legendary scientist of the developing world, who made phenomenal contributions in the S&T capacity building of Pakistan, and other developing countries.  This is indeed a tribute to the towering personality of Prof. Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman, FRS and a token of appreciation to his unparalleled services.

I will look forward to welcoming you all at the ICCBS to join us with his colleagues, students and peers, who continue to cherish and benefit from his passion, his dedication to research and science, and his vast knowledge of the subject.

Prof. Dr. M. Iqbal Choudhary
Mustafa (pubh) Prize Laureate, H.I., S.I., T.I.
Director, ICCBS / Coordinator General COMSTECH
Distinguished National Professor / UNESCO Chair

INTRODUCTION

Late Prof. Salimuzzaman Siddiqui FRS described Prof. Atta-ur- Rahman in the following words: “I have often referred to Prof. Atta-ur- Rahman as my greatest discovery and I am glad to say that his contributions in the field of natural product chemistry and his efforts in the development of H.E.J. Research Institute of Chemistry have proved me right —- His vision of science of the future will undoubtedly take the institute to still greater heights.” The contributions of Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman have also been greatly appreciated by many Nobel Laureates who have paid glowing tributes to his outstanding services to science. These are available at: https://atta-ur-rahman.com/nobel_laureates.php

Prof. Rahman was elected as Fellow Royal Society (London) in 2006 and signed the famous 360-year-old book of the Royal Society with a feather pen, once signed by Sir Issac Newton and Charles Darwin. Only 3 scientists from the Muslim world had previously received this honor in the last 360 years. He is the first scientist from the Muslim world to have won the prestigious UNESCO Science Prize (1999) in the 35-year-old history of the Prize. He was elected Honorary Life Fellow of Kings College, Cambridge University, UK, in 2007, a unique honor. Research Institutions have been established in his name in China (“Academician Professor Atta-ur-Rahman One Belt and One Road TCM Research Center” at the Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, Hunan, China), Malaysia (“Atta-ur-Rahman Institute for Natural Product Discovery (AuRIns)” University of Technology Mara, UiTM, Malaysia) and several institutions in Pakistan.

History rarely witnesses the emergence of personalities whose monumental achievements change the course of science, and higher education beyond the borders of their own countries. Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman FRS is one of such towering personalities whose contributions are multi-dimensional, and far-reaching. Since over half a century, he has advanced our understanding of natural products, bioorganic chemistry as well as NMR spectroscopy and inspired several generations of young scientists to choose these branches of chemical sciences for their future endeavors. His students came and joined him from all corners of the globe to learn natural product and medicinal chemistry. Thus, his enthusiasm for research and learning has spread far and wide.

His research journey began with the development of synthetic approaches to complex anti-tumor alkaloids. He discovered over a thousand natural products many of which proved to be novel with exciting biological properties. More than 1,108 publications, 83 international patents and over 161 books (9 authored, 152 edited) published by major international publishers, are evidence of his enormous contributions in the field of natural product chemistry. His work has been universally acclaimed, and he was awarded numerous honorary doctorate degrees by many top universities including the University of Cambridge.
The Austrian government honored Prof. Rahman with its highest civil award (“Grosse Goldene Ehrenzeischen am Bande”) (2007) in recognition of his eminent contributions in the field of science and technology. Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman also awarded with the most prestigious “International Science and Technology Cooperation Award of China” by President Xi Jinping in 2019. He is the most decorated scientist of Pakistan having won 4 Civil Awards (Nishan-i-Imtiaz, Hilal i-Imtiaz, Sitara i-Imtiaz, and Tamgha i-Imtiaz).

The contributions of Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman FRS go far beyond his achievements in the field of chemical sciences. His leadership as the Minister for Science and Technology, Information Technology and later as Founding Chairman Higher Education Commission completely transformed the landscape of higher education, science and technology of Pakistan during 2000-2008. This resulted in several universities in Pakistan were ranked among the top 400 universities of the world. COMSTECH (OIC Ministerial Committee on S & T) too was transformed to a dynamic institution during 1996-2012 when Prof. Rahman was Coordinator General. The establishment of the Pak Austrian Fachhochschule in Haripur Hazara is just one example of his illustrious career. This brief overview represents a small glimpse of his glittering career.

SCOPE AND OBJECTIVES

This important commemorating event will not only be a small token of thanks to a great scientist of the world who make notable contributions for the development of science and technology in Pakistan and in developing world but also provide an opportunity to discuss with him affairs and existing problems of S&T not only in Pakistan but globally, especially in the OIC world.

SYMPOSIUM CONTENT
The program will include a series of plenary, keynote lectures and discussion sessions related to the major scientific contributions of Professor Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman FRS, in science and his efforts and achievement for bringing revolutionary changes in the higher education sector landscape of Pakistan. The event also includes a plenary lecture of Professor Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman FRS with his recommendations including mechanism of actions to overcome education crisis in Pakistan.

Patron
Prof. Dr. Nasira Khatoon
Vice Chancellor, University of Karachi,
Karachi, Pakistan

Chief Organizer
Prof. Dr. M. Iqbal Choudhary
Mustafa (pubh) Prize Laureat, H.I., S.I., T.I.
Director, ICCBS / Coordinator General COMSTECH
Distinguished National Professor / UNESCO Chair
E-mail: iqbal.choudhary@iccs.edu

For correspondence and further enquiries, kindly contact:
Prof. Dr. Sammer Yousuf

HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry,
ICCBS, University of Karachi
Email: dr.sammer.yousuf@gmail.com
Mr. Aftab H. Zaidi
Senior Director (HR & Admin),
COMSTECH Secretariat, Islamabad – Pakistan
Email: aftab.zaidi@comstech.org

For Rgistration:
Kindly follow the link:
https://bit.ly/3bdISOEIS
For physical participation short-listed candidates will be informed by 25th August, 2022

September 22 – 24, 2022, Karachi, Pakistan

Organized by
Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research (PCMD),
International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS),
University of Karachi
The International Papillomavirus Society
and
COMSTECH Virology Lab. Alliance

INVITATION
It gives us an immense pleasure to invite you to the “International Satellite Symposium on Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and Cervical Cancer”, to be held in Karachi, Pakistan, during September 22–24, 2022 as a Hybrid Event. Over 300 scientists and young researchers from 30 countries are expected to participate in this international meeting.

The co-organizer International Papillomavirus Society (IPVS) promotes the worldwide exchange of ideas, knowledge, and research materials among basic, clinical and public health research professionals concerned with human and animal papillomaviruses and their associated diseases. IPVS also strives to facilitate research, and to promote the translation of research results into new clinical applications and public health policies. IPVS serves as the organizational structure for the field of biomedical scientists, physicians and other health care providers engaged in all manner of papillomavirus research. The host institution Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research (PCMD) (Karachi, Pakistan), on the other hand, is a prestigious academic research institution, engage in research and graduate training in the fields of genomics and molecular biology of neglected and prevalent diseases. PCMD is an integral part of the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), a UNESCO and OIC center of excellence.

Pakistan is a country of cultural diversity, natural beauty, and rich history. Pakistan has been endorsed as one of the top tourism destinations by travelers. The vitality and the magical spirit of warm and beautiful city of Karachi will be conducive for exchange of scientific knowledge between scientists in the field of cervical cancer and human papillomavirus research from all over the world. It is hoped that this meeting will yield a strong impact and rise awareness about HPV and cervical cancer in Pakistan and other developing countries.

On behalf of the organizing committee, we wish to extend to you all, a very warm welcome to Karachi in September 2022.

VENUE
The event will be held at the beautiful premises of the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS) at the University of Karachi. The ICCBS is located at about 20-minute drive from the Jinnah International Airport, Karachi. Shopping malls, banks, post office, stores, restaurants, and airline offices are also located within short distances of the symposium venue. Evening bus shuttles will run during the event for the participants, staying on-campus, to take them to various shopping centers, and other attractions in the city.

SCOPE
The aim of the meeting is to bring together leading experts in the field of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) research from all around the world and forge global partnerships for research for the common benefit of humanity during the symposium. Following aspects of PV research will be covered:

• HPV-associated Cervical Cancer: Epidemiology, and Molecular Biology
• Incidence and Mortality of Cervical Cancer
• Screening tools for Cervical Cancer and its precursor lesions
• Prevention of Cervical Cancer by Vaccination against HPV

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

• It will serve as a platform for a large scale interactions and awareness about HPV and cervical cancer.
• This event will also expose Pakistani and developing countries researchers with the best of science in the important field of PV research.
• The event will provide a platform to exchange ideas, develop research linkages, and foster collaborations in the field of tumor virus research.

REGISTRATION
The registration fee of Rs. 6000 (local) and USD 250 (foreigner) includes entry to scientific lectures, poster sessions, industry symposia, full set of abstracts, a copy of the symposium program, daily lunches and refreshments (tea/coffee), symposium banquet, cultural/musical evening, welcome mixer and free transportation from hotels and guest houses to the venue of the symposium.
For registration, kindly visit the website: www.iccs.edu 
This symposium is partly sponsored by Hologic GmbH Germany, The Higher Education Commission Pakistan, Pakistan Academy of Sciences, and Pakistan Science Foundation.
Download, fill attached registration form and send to raheel@iccs.edu ; raheelhej@gmail.com (Download from here).
For Virtual Participation, Register at https://forms.gle/qzDCpwk8oGyhno1v8

TRAVEL
Karachi has an international airport, which provides connections to all major cities of the world. Many of the major airlines of the world have frequent flights to Karachi, since the city provides a major route linking with the Far East as well as with the Middle East, Europe, and North America. Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is the national flag career.

CLIMATE
Karachi is usually sunny and warm in September with average day temperature of 35 ^°C and the night temperature falling to 25-28 ºC. Kindly bring summer clothing.

VISA
You are requested to apply for a visa online well before the symposium. Citizens of over 80 countries can also apply for on­line visa (https://visa.nadra.gov.pk/). Participants from countries with no Pakistani diplomatic mission should also write to the symposium office in Karachi at least two months in advance. A formal invitation letter would be required from the Secretary, Organizing Committee (Prof. Dr. M. Iqbal Choudhary) for this purpose.

ACCOMMODATION
All plenary and invited speakers will be accommodated in the International Scholars Lodges of the ICCBS, which has excellent boarding and lodging facilities.

LANGUAGE
The official language of the conference will be English.

TRAVEL GRANTS
Limited number of travel grants will be provided to eligible participants from CAVL and CCOE (COMSTECH Consortium of Excellence)

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

CHAIRMAN
Prof. Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman, FRS, N.I., H.I., S.I., T.I.
Patron-in-Chief ICCBS

ORGANIZING SECRETARIES
(a). Prof. Dr. M. Iqbal Choudhary, H.I., S.I., T.I.
Director ICCBS, Karachi, Pakistan

(b). Prof. Dr. Thomas Iftner
Director, Institute for Medical Virology and Epidemiology of Viral Diseases,
University of Tuebingen, Germany

MEETING COORDINATORS
Prof. Dr. Atia-tul-Wahab
Dr. Saba Farooq
Ms. Khazima Muazim

FOR CORRESPONDENCE
UAN: (+92 21) 111-222-292, Ext. 179
Tel: (+92 21) 99261745      Fax: (+92 21) 99261713
E-mail: raheel@iccs.edu; raheelhej@comstech
Website: www.iccbsconferences.com

PROGRAM

September 22 2022

0830-0900            Registration

0900-1030            Inaugural ceremony;

• Prof. Dr. M. Iqbal Choudhary, Director, ICCBS
• Prof. Dr. Thomas Iftner, Director Medical Virology
• Dr. Holger Ziegeler, Consul General of Germany
• Prof. Dr. Suzanne Garland, President of the IPVS,
• Prof. Dr. Lawrence Banks Director General of ICGEB
• Prof. Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman, FRS, Patron-in-Chief ICCBS
• Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho, Minister of Health and Population Welfare Sindh

1030-1100            Press Conference

1100-1130            Tea Break

1130-1200            Felicitation Lecture by Prof. Dr. M. Iqbal Choudhary (“80th Birthday Celebration of Legendary Scientist Prof. Dr. Atta ur Rahman FRS”)

1200-1300            Lecture of Prof. Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman FRS, ICCBS, Pakistan on “Changing Landscape of Science and Technology and Higher Education in Pakistan”

1300-1400            Lunch and Prayer Break

1400-1440            Plenary Lecture-1 “Introduction into Human Papillomaviruses,” Prof. Dr. Lawrence Banks, Director General of ICGEB, Italy (on-line)

1440-1520            Plenary Lecture-2 “Cervical cancer elimination plan: learnings from Australia” Prof. Dr. Suzanne Garland, Director, Centre Women’s Infectious Diseases Research, Australia

1520-1620          Industry Symposium-1: Hologic Total Solution-Cervical Cancer screening trends from self-sampling to AI-guided cytology

1620-1700            Industrial Stall/ Booth and Tea

1720-1930            Sight Seeing Visit

September 23 2022

0930-1010            Plenary Lecture-1 “Evidence-based prevention tools for Cervical Cancer” Prof. Dr. Patti Gravitt, Center for Global Health, National Cancer Institute (NCI), USA

1010-1050          Plenary Lecture-2 virtual ” Estimates of the burden of cervical cancer in Pakistan/Middle West Asia “ Prof. Dr. Laia Bruni, Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO), Spain ICO, (on-line)

1050-1120          Tea break

1120-1150          Invited Lecture-1 “HPV Testing as secondary prophylaxis against cervical cancer,” Prof. Dr. Thomas Iftner, UKT, Germany

1150-1230          Invited Lecture-2 “HPV Screening in Low-Income Settings” Prof. Dr. Silvia de Sanjose, National Cancer Institute (NCI), USA. (on-line)

1230-1300          Invited Lecture-3 “HPV testing and its importance in cervical cancer and prevention

A neglected test in routine diagnosis,” Prof. Dr. Saeed Khan, DUHS

1300-1400          Lunch and Prayer break

1400-1500          Industry Symposium 2

1500-1530          Invited Lecture-3 “Integrating HPV Testing in Cervical Cancer Screening in Africa” NN Africa”

1530-1600          Introduction into the e-learning modules from the IPVS, Prof. Dr. Xavier Bosch/ Prof. Dr. Deborah Moreno, Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO), Spain.

(on-line)

1600-1700          Poster Presentations 

1700-1800          Visit to the ICCBS Labs

1900-2100          Cultural Evening/Gala Dinner

September 24, 2022

0930-1010          Plenary Lecture-1 Virtual “The Cervical Cancer prevention program in Malaysia” Prof. Dr. Ying Lin WOO, Asia-Oceania Research Organization in Genital Infection and Neoplasia (AOGIN), Malaysia. (on-line)

1010-1040          Invited Lecture-1 “HPV Screening: Current State of Art and Turkish Mega HPV Lab” Prof. Dr.  Murat Gultekin, Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Turkey

1040-1200          Round Table Discussion on “How to implement Cervical Cancer Screening in Pakistan”

1200-1300          Closing Session, Prof. Dr. M. Iqbal Choudhary and Prof. Dr. Thomas Iftner

1300-1400          Lunch and Prayer Break

1400-1800          Through interactive parallel workshops with Medical Doctors/Primary Women Care takers, Health Care Workers, Midwives, Nurses, Stakeholders and Delegates of the Conference to exchange information and to discuss obstacles for the implementation of an integrated approach using HPV vaccination and Cervical Cancer Screening. The objective is to investigate the feasibility of a multidisciplinary HPV `self-collect, test and treat’ intervention in partnership with community and district level stakeholders.

By
Dr. Zubair Khalid
Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering
Director, Smart Data, Systems and Applications Lab
School of Science and Engineering
Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Pakistan.

Date and Time: July 5, 2022 from 12:00-13:30 (Pakistan Standard Time)

Abstract:

The increased influx of the population from rural to urban areas in the developing world poses major economic, social, and environmental challenges. These challenges necessitate the development of policies and plans so as to improve urban infrastructure and basic services. One of The United Nation’s 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs), Goal 11: Sustainable, Green and Resilient Cities, – outlines the defining constructs of an emerging urban planning paradigm. With gaining global traction, the paradigm focuses on utilizing technological revolutions for innovations in urban design that will help and catalyze lifestyle changes.

In this webinar, Dr. Zubair will provide an overview of the use of technological innovations in data gathering, data analytics, data-driven decision making and policy design to address complex problems in three important and intertwined areas of an urban system that need to be tackled for sustainable development: (a) urban sprawl, (b) urban mobility, and (c) urban environment and health. The proliferation of mobile and electronic devices, the availability of publicly available sensing modalities, as well as the increasing digitalization of processes has enabled the generation of unprecedented amounts of data. This, coupled with unprecedented progress in computational power, provides us an opportunity to use artificial intelligence and machine learning methods for data-aided analysis, discovery, and decision-making to address the complex issues surrounding urban systems. We will provide an overview of our pilot projects in the aforementioned areas to establish a mesh of physical, social, and economic connections in the urban systems. In our approach, we feed the data, collected from a wide variety of modalities (such as remote satellite measurements, surveys, socio-economic indicators, on-ground sensing networks such as video feeds etc.), into cutting-edge machine learning techniques to model these connections and to derive useful insights for informed decision making, and to conceptualize a policy cycle for attaining public value.

Target Audience:

The webinar is open to students, researchers, young scientists, and academicians from the OIC member states, and other countries.

For Registration please visit: https://forms.gle/7BVKAhe3z47ZL5Xb6

Procedure to Join:  Zoom link will be shared with selected participants via email.

Profile of Speaker:

Dr. Zubair Khalid is an Associate Professor in the Electrical Engineering Department, School of Science and Engineering, Lahore University of Management Sciences. He received Ph.D. degree from the Australian National University funded by the prestigious Endeavour Scholarship. He received his undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology Lahore, Pakistan, where he was awarded three University Gold medals and two Industry Gold medals (Siemens and Nespak). He is also a recipient of Vice Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award 2021.

His research interests include the use of machine learning, data processing, computer vision, natural language processing and the development of novel information processing techniques in these areas for applications in cosmology, medical imaging, acoustics, speech processing and data-driven urban development. He has supervised 7 Ph.D. students and a large number of research projects both at the graduate and undergraduate levels. He has over 75 publications to date in refereed international journals and conferences.

He is a senior member of IEEE and is serving on the Editorial Board as an Associate Editor for the IEEE Signal Processing Letters. More details regarding his academic profile and his lab are available at www.zubairkhalid.org and http://sdsa.lums.edu.pk/  

Webinar Coordinator:

Muhammad Haseeb Ahmad
Program Officer
COMSTECH, Islamabad.
Email: Haseeb.ahmad@comstech.org
Phone: +92 51 9220681

Jointly organized by
Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research,
Royan Institute,
COMSTECH,
Mustafa(pbuh) Science and Technology Foundation
and
Sindh Innovation, Research, and Education Network (SIREN)

Introduction:
Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research (PCMD), International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi, in collaboration with Sindh Innovation, Research, and Education Network (SIREN) and COMSTECH regularly organizes popular lectures on the topics of general interest and need.
PCMD-Royan Institute Webinar Series (Hybrid) is being jointly organized by Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, Royan Institute, Iran, COMSTECH, MSTF, and SIREN. The webinar series is based on the current topics of Biomedical Sciences. The series will provide basic as well as advanced knowledge, skills and academic connections and expert opinions from renowned researchers of both institutes.

PCMD:
The Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research (PCMD) is a constituent center of the International Center for Chemical and Biological Science (ICCBS). The main objective of the Center is to is to develop an understanding regarding common diseases in Pakistan in order to develop effective diagnostic tools and affordable treatments by using molecular medicinal, chemical and computational methods and to train highly qualified manpower in the emerging new fields of molecular medicine and drug development.

Royan Institute:
The Royan Institute is an Iranian clinical, research and educational institute dedicated to biomedical, translational and clinical researches, stem cell research and infertility treatment. It is a public non-profitable organization affiliated to Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research. It was established in 1991 by the late Dr. Saeid Kazemi Ashtiani as a research institute for Reproductive Biomedicine and infertility treatments. In 1998 this institute was approved by Ministry of Health as Cell Based Research Center with over 46 scientific members and 186 lab technicians.

Third Webinar:
The third webinar of series is entitled:
“Genomic Characterization of Neuromuscular Disorders in Pakistan”

Who Should Attend?
All undergraduate and graduate students as well as scientists and researchers working in the fields of molecular biomedicine, stem cells and regenerative medicine, tissue engineering and other biomedical disciplines.

Speaker’s Profile:
Dr. Ishtiaq Ahmad Khan is working as an Associate Professor at the Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, ICCBS in the field of genomics. He obtained his Ph.D. from the H. E. J. Research Institute of Chemistry, ICCBS, University of Karachi, and post-doctoral training from the Beijing Genomics Institute, Shenzhen China, and the Sanger Wellcome Institute, Cambridge where he worked under the supervision of Prof. Chris Tylor Smith. His research group is working on microbial, viral, and human disease genomics using the latest next-generation DNA sequencing technologies and bioinformatics tools. During the current pandemic, his research group carried out genomic surveillance studies on SARS-CoV-2 and contributed to informed decision-making at the national level. Furthermore, his group is working on rare genetic diseases of neuromuscular nature and early age blood disorders. He has won several national and international research grants and has published 36 research papers in journals of international repute. He is also the in-charge of Sindh Forensic DNA and Serology Laboratory, Karachi which provides services to the judicial systems of the Sindh process in both civil and criminal cases.

Program Schedule: June 29, 2022
Day and Time: Wednesday 10.00 am Pakistan time: 9.30 am Tehran time
For registration (free): bit.ly/GCNDP-SIREN
Register by June 25, 2022
Venue: L.E.J. National Science Information Center, International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi, Karachi-75270.

For more information: Email: siren.lej@gmail.com; Call: 021-111-222-292 Ext: 267, 275.
Room No. 202, 2nd floor, L.E.J. National Science Information Center, International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi, Karachi-75270.

Jointly Organized by COMSTECH and The Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC) in collaboration with Islamic University in Uganda.
Venue: Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU), Kampala
Date: August 22-26, 2022

Deadline for applications: 15^th July, 2022

Introduction

In view of the diversity of several products, including processed food and other items of daily use in the present day, authentication and confirmation of their Halal nature is a growing challenge globally. Beside the environmental contaminants, both biological and chemical, addition of non-halal ingredients, which is prohibited for Muslims, are a matter of concern.  In recent years, awareness about Halal food and products has increased due to the cross contamination of several industrial products in our daily life. However, with increasing globalization, many Islamic countries import these products (or ingredients) from places which do not observe the Islamic religious laws. It is therefore, imperative for the Muslim countries to establish Halal testing laboratories which will ensure the ‘Halal’ status of the consumer products.

COMSTECH, SMIIC and other OIC institutions/organizations have been mandated by the Abu Dhabi Declaration (Second OIC Summit on Science & Technology, June 2021) to develop the capacity of Least Developed Countries of the OIC relevant to Halal (Clause # 32).

Course Objectives

The objective of this training courses is to encourage the harmonization of Halal Standards used in the OIC Countries and internationally by aiding in the adoption and use of the OIC/SMIIC Halal Standards. The training course is designed to train the participants from Africa LDC-OIC Member States regarding the procedures for adoption, implementation and use of the OIC/SMIIC Halal Food Standards, mainly:

1. OIC/SMIIC 1:2019 – General Requirements for Halal Food
2. Auditing of Testing Labs in line with OIC/SMIIC 35 – Conformity Assessment – General Requirements for the Competence of Laboratories Performing Halal Testing.
3. the Testing Procedures standards such as Test Method for detection of porcine in Food Products (meat, processed food and gelatin) which are being chosen at SMIIC TC1 Technical Committee for Halal food issues.

The aim is to transfer knowledge and skills, and to develop the human capital, while bridging the knowledge gap and enlightening the compliance requirements set forth by the regulatory bodies in the OIC Countries.

Practical session: The first 3 days will consist of lectures which will can also be attended via zoom. This will be followed by a practical session of 2 days which will be conducted for a limited number of selected participants to transfer hands-on knowledge in halal laboratory testing methods. 

In regards to the practical training program, participants should fulfill the following criteria:

• Chemists, Researchers and Test Specialists high level, no beginners
• At least 3 years of practical experience in Real-Time PCR
• Able to converse and write in the English language
• Hold a permanent position at their institute
• Daily work with the measuring equipment
• Good knowledge in GLP.
• Age between 27 – 45 years old
• Had not previously participated in any course under SMIIC and COMSTECH
• Number of participants is limited and selection is based on the relevancy of the applicant’s job scope to the objective of the programme. Furthermore, hands on training is only limited to applicants from Africa.

Who Should Attend?

The training course is designed to address the interest of scientists, research scholars, government officials, statutory policymakers, enforcement officers, and food safety auditors in OIC/SMIIC Halal Products Standards and Testing.

Travel & Local Hospitality:

COMSTECH will arrange local hospitality for selected participants. Travel support will be provided to the speaker/resource persons only. Participants are expected to get their travel funding from their parent organizations/country of origin.

Registration Process:

1. For physical participation register at the following link: Physical Registration Closed 
2. For virtual participation register at the following link:  https://forms.gle/vqX13dMcvM9fPgSi7
3. Read instructions in the application form carefully and submit a properly filled form along with your CV. Foreign participants must submit a scanned copy of passport.
4.  Selected candidates will be notified through email; hence, applicants are required to check their emails regularly.

Workshop Coordinators:

Muhammad Haris Akram
Program Manager
COMSTECH, Islamabad.
Email: haris@comstech.org
Phone: +92 51 9220681

Muhammad Haseeb Ahmad
Program Officer
COMSTECH, Islamabad.
Email: Haseeb.ahmad@comstech.org
Phone: +92 51 9220681

International Advanced Training Course on Intellectual Property

Date and Time: July 27-28, 2022, from 08:30-16:30 (Pakistan Standard Time)
Venue: COMSTECH Secretariat, Islamabad
Islamic Republic of Pakistan

(Flyer attached)

Overview:

Intellectual Property (IP) has been an integral part of every business organization whether SMEs, MNCs, or Institutions. Technology- based companies are built around and founded on intellectual property. Statistics show that the ROI in IP could be much higher than ROI on physical assets like building, land, and production plants. IP is an intangible asset which is neither exhausted by consumption nor subject to deterioration unlike physical assets.

The second COMSTECH Intellectual Property Summit, as a continuation of the previous Summit held in 2021, will be held in July 27-28, 2022 to aim enhancing knowledge and the ability of the IP experts of Islamic science and technology parks in the field of Intellectual Property Management accordingly.

Coverage:

• Introduction to the IP Management
• Fundamental principles of IP Administration, Patent Law, Trademark Law and IP-Management
• Patent Portfolio Generation and Management

Key Topics to be covered in this seminar:

• Intellectual Property Rights: A Management Perspective
• Patent Portfolio Management- Case Study
• Pakistani Innovation landscape
• Pakistani Patent Registration Procedure
• Pakistani Trademark Registration Procedure
• Patent Portfolio Generation and Management
• Patent protection in non-PCT countries
• Patent Registration- Case Study
• Introduction to the Madrid System for the International Registration of Trademarks

Speakers

Mitra Aminlou
KARAFAM Intellectual Property Consultancy
Talk Title:

• Intellectual Property Rights: A Management Perspective
• Patent Portfolio Management- Case Study

Mitra Aminlou has done her BSc in chemical Engineering in Tehran Poly Technique University. She moved to Management Of Technology in her MA, majoring Technology Transfer and continued her PhD in the same field, Majoring R&D Management in Allameh Tabatabaei University. Also by granting a WIPO scholarship, she has done a LLM in Intellectual Property in Turin University in Turin.

She has been working in Pasteur Institute of Iran for 16 years as head of Technology Development Office, Strategic Management Office and Board of Trusties secretariat. Establishing Pasteur IP Office (PIPO) 14 years ago is one of her prominent activities. Also initiating IP Policy Council in Health Ministry following a central IP Office in health ministry during last 5 years.

Promoting IP and Technology Management movement and activities, she is now working in National level with ministry of Health (MOHME), ministry of Science, research and education (NRISP) and IRAMOT

During last 15 years, she actively work on self-knowledge promotion on IP issues especially close connection to WIPO. Also tries her best in development and dissemination of IP Management culture in national level through educating, policymaking and regulation and proactive IP services via private sector.

Her Special focus in IP are: Patents, IP Management, Technological Cooperation (esp. TTOs)

Owais Hassan Shaikh
Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto University of Law
Talk Title:

• Pakistani Innovation landscape
• Pakistani Patent Registration Procedure
• Pakistani Trademark Registration Procedure

Dr. Owais H. Shaikh completed his PhD with Magna-cum-Laude from Ludwig Maximilians Universität (Munich University), Germany in 2016. He wrote his PhD dissertation at the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition in Munich. Owais also has a Master of Laws in Intellectual Property (LL.M) from Munich Intellectual Property Law Center.

Apart from these, he holds an MBA and a BBA from the Institute of Business Administration, Karachi. His teaching and research interests lie in IP, competition and technology laws. He is also a Tutor of Intellectual Property Management at the World Intellectual Property Organization Academy since 2015. He is also a member of the Scientific Committee of the IP & Innovation Researchers of Asia (IPIRA) Network and a guest lecturer at the Universitas Airlangga and at the National Agency of Research and Innovation (BRIN) Indonesia. He actively advises and mentors various technology startups. He is the Founder of Meydaan Ventures, a platform to connect early-stage startups with investors. He is also founder of a startup in stealth mode working at the intersection of Web 3.0 (Metaverse, NFTs) and IP. Previously he worked as Management Consultant in Germany as well as Assistant Director at the Intellectual Property Organization of Pakistan where he assisted the Registrar Trade Marks in Ex-parte hearings.

Leyla Zarei
IKAF. LLC
Talk Title:

• Patent Portfolio Generation and Management

Working in a private company (2009) that had planned to enrich its patent portfolio to commercialize its innovative achievements in foreign countries, led up Leyla Zarei, as the IP specialist in that company to conduct patent prosecution, while she acquired valuable practical knowledge about essentials in patents to enter into commercialization process.

Regarding Leyla’s previous major in environmental engineering (Wageningen university-2004, Netherlands) and experiences already obtained in the private company, Leyla started her carrier in analyzing and valuing innovative environmental-related technologies through patent mapping and analysis while she worked in a technology development group in the Iranian Nano Initiative Council (INIC) (2011).

Leyla continued her IP journey by graduating LLM in intellectual property (WIPO scholarship- Turin University, Italy; 2013). Since then, she involved in many IP-related activities, mainly in patent fields, namely; patent drafting, novelty and freedom analysis, and technology mapping. Moreover, she consults individuals and companies about IP management to obtain more benefits from created Intellectual assets while providing related services for them.

She is managing Ikaf company at the moment while she transfers her experience and knowledge by lecturing in various specific IP-relating fields.        

Her Special focuses in IP are: Patents (drafting; prosecution; and analysis) and IP Management.

Fatemeh Jahanpeyma
KARAFAM Intellectual Property Consultancy
Talk Title:

• Patent protection in non-PCT countries
• Patent Registratoin- Case Study

Fatemeh Jahanpeyma holds a master’s degree in Medical Biotechnology from Tarbiat Modares University (TMU), Iran (2018). She has worked as a research assistant with a demonstrated history of working in biotechnology, and in particular in the fields of medical diagnostics and nanobiotechnology. She has authored or co-authored 7 papers published in high impact scientific journals.

She is currently the head of patent department at Karafam company (Tehran, Iran) which is a private corporation providing high quality intellectual property (IP) management services, and is an agent of Iran Patent Center (Kanoon IP), Iran National Innovation Fund (INIF), Iran’s National Institute for Medical Research Development (NIMAD), and Iran’s Tech-Export Services Corridor (TESC) in providing IP services to entrepreneurs and technologists.

Fatemeh holds numerous international certificates in Intellectual Property (IP) disciplines and has lectured on different IP topics for start-ups, entrepreneurs, university students, and patent examiners. Meanwhile, she has conducted numerous projects in patent analysis and monitoring, preparing patent landscape reports, patentability studies, patent drafting and prosecution, freedom-to-operate search, and preparing IP policy memos.

Fatemeh is passionate about science, technology, IP management, and entrepreneurship and is always keen to help entrepreneurs leverage IP and technical innovations to maximize their business potential.    

Her special interests in IP include IP management and using patents metadata to investigate technological trajectories of path-breaking innovations in the different fields of healthcare industry.  

Sanaz Javadi
Talk Title:

• Introduction to the Madrid System for the Internatinal Registration of Trademarks

Sanaz Javadi Farahzadi, lawyer, lecturer, mentor and international adviser to United Nations agencies, European Union, governments, academia, private sector on technical assistance projects on intellectual property, international trade and gender equality in Europe, Middle East, Africa and South East Asia.

Master in Intellectual Property Law, LLM in International Trade Law, Doctoral Researcher in Law, based in Geneva, Switzerland.
Have been working with World Intellectual Property Organization, Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property, South Center, UNIDROIT, UNCTAD, International Trade Center, Graduate Institute Geneva, Cambridge University and Women in International Affairs Network (WIAN),Vice President Organization of Women in International Trade, OWIT ,Geneva
A part of ITC mentorship program for women in international affairs
Legal Network Manager, Legamart, London, UK

Registration Process
Step 1: Physical Participation has already been closed.

Step 2: For Virtual participation please register at https://forms.gle/ysUbuN1W6G4Db4hr6

Step 3: Selected candidates will be notified through email; hence, applicants are required to check their emails.

Venue:

The course will be held at the COMSTECH Secretariat, Islamabad, Pakistan. The city with the backdrop of Margalla Hills and National Park was purpose-built as the capital of sixth largest globally and second most populous (in OIC) country Pakistan in the year 1966. Pakistan, according to the Forbes magazine, is a hidden treasure for tourists with rich cultural diversity, ancient history, diverse landscape, cuisines, modern cities, and locally produced items.

COMSTECH Secretariat
33-Constitution Avenue
Sector G-5/2
Islamabad
Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Tel: +92 51 9220 681 to 683

Course Coordinators:

Target Audience: This training is open to relevant students, researchers, scientists, policy makers and academicians from the OIC member states, and other countries.

For Registration Please Click on the Following Link: https://forms.gle/Rgcn6z4CmQEnBMgC6

Note:

1. Zoom link will be shared with selected candidates through email; hence, applicants are required to check their emails regularly.
2. While logging into the zoom session please do so with your full name and email address. Your participation in the training will be monitored and only those that attend the complete training and tasks will be issued e-certificates upon completion.
3. The requirements for hands on training segment are as follows:
   Pc Requirements: Core i5 with minimum 8GB Ram.
   Software downloaded: ArcGIS software

Delivered by:
Prof. Xiao-Ping Wang
Director, Professor, Department of Neurology,
Shanghai TongRen Hospital,
Shanghai Jiao-tong University Medical School,
Shanghai, P. R. China.

Date: 23^rd May 2022     

Time: 1400 hrs- 1500 hrs Pakistan Time

Target Audience

The webinar is open to students, researchers, young scientists, and academicians from the OIC member states and other countries.

Profile of the Speaker: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Xiao-Ping-Wang

Flyer of webinar:  Attached

Register at : https://forms.gle/qPY9sotx9HYVkefU9

Zoom link for participation will be shared selected participants.

Address: COMSTECH Secretariat, 33-Constitution Avenue, G-5/2, Islamabad 
Phone No. : 92 51 9220681-3
Email: Khazima@comstech.org ; maham.yamin@comstech.org ;comstech@comstech.org

PCMD-Royan Institute Webinar Series (Hybrid)
Jointly organized by
Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research,
Royan Institute,
COMSTECH,
Mustafa^(pbuh) Science and Technology Foundation
and
Sindh Innovation, Research, and Education Network (SIREN)

Introduction:

Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research (PCMD), International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi, in collaboration with Sindh Innovation, Research, and Education Network (SIREN) and COMSTECH regularly organizes popular lectures on the topics of general interest and need.

PCMD-Royan Institute Webinar Series (Hybrid) is being jointly organized by Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, Royan Institute, Iran, COMSTECH, MSTF, and SIREN. The webinar series is based on the current topics of Biomedical Sciences. The series will provide basic as well as advanced knowledge, skills and academic connections and expert opinions from renowned researchers of both institutes.

PCMD:

The Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research (PCMD) is a constituent center of the International Center for Chemical and Biological Science (ICCBS). The main objective of the Center is to is to develop an understanding regarding common diseases in Pakistan in order to develop effective diagnostic tools and affordable treatments by using molecular medicinal, chemical and computational methods and to train highly qualified manpower in the emerging new fields of molecular medicine and drug development.

Royan Institute:

The Royan Institute is an Iranian clinical, research and educational institute dedicated to biomedical, translational and clinical researches, stem cell research and infertility treatment. It is a public non-profitable organization affiliated to Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research. It was established in 1991 by the late Dr. Saeid Kazemi Ashtiani as a research institute for Reproductive Biomedicine and infertility treatments. In 1998 this institute was approved by Ministry of Health as Cell Based Research Center with over 46 scientific members and 186 lab technicians.

Second Webinar:

The second webinar of series is entitled:

“Mesenchymal stem cell derived extracellular vesicles: considerations and therapeutic applications” 

This webinar aims to discuss the therapeutic potential of naturally secreted micro- and nanoscale extracellular vesicles (EVs) as attractive candidates for regenerative medicine and pharmaceutical science applications. To date, the results of numerous publications have shown the practicality of using EVs to replace mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) or liposomes. In this talk, some of these findings will be discussed.

Who Should Attend?

All undergraduate and graduate students as well as scientists and researchers working in the fields of molecular biomedicine, stem cells and regenerative medicine, tissue engineering and other biomedical disciplines.

Speaker’s Profile:

Dr. Faezah Shekari: is a member of Royan Extracellular Vesicle Group. She graduated in B.Sc. and M.Sc. of Cellular and Molecular Biology from Tehran University. During her undergraduate studies, she got interested in proteomics. She joined Royan Institute in 2005 to pursue her interests on membrane proteomics. During her PhD thesis, she got interested in subcellular fractionation and organellar proteomics under supervision of Dr. Hosseini Salekdeh and Prof. Baharvand. She performed international projects including membrane proteome analysis of liver microsomal fraction from international membrane proteomics initiative (MPI) as well as prepared and characterized standard sample for Asian and Oceania human embryonic stem cell MPI under supervision of Prof. Yu-Ju Chen (from Academia Sinica, Taiwan) and Dr. Hosseini Salekdeh and Prof. Baharvand (from Royan institute) in Academia Sinica. Currently, she works as an Assistant Professor in Royan Extracellular Vesicle Group. She is also chair of ISEV Rigor and standardization task force: https://www.isev.org/page/conditionedmedium

Program Schedule: May 25, 2022

Day and Time:  Wednesday 10.00 am Pakistan time: 9.30 am Tehran time

For registration (free): bit.ly/3MSCDEV

Register by May 22, 2022

Venue: L.E.J. National Science Information Center,International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi, Karachi-75270.

For more information:

 Email: siren.lej@gmail.com ;   Call:  021-111-222-292 Ext: 267, 275. Room No. 202, 2^nd floor, L.E.J. National Science Information Center,International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi, Karachi-75270

Khazima Muazim
Programme Manager
OIC- COMSTECH
Pakistan
khazima@comstech.org

Maham Yamin
Program Officer
OIC- COMSTECH
Pakistan
maham.yamin@comstech.org

Date and Time: June 06, 2022, from 12:00-15:00 (Pakistan Standard Time)
Venue: COMSTECH Secretariat, Islamabad

Flyer attached

Overview:

Land degradation has socioeconomic and environmental repercussions impacting food and water security and the livelihoods of agricultural communities. Induced climate change, and particularly the dynamics of extreme events (including floods and droughts) is expected to accelerate the rate of degradation, and, at the same time, posing a real risk of desertification. Over the past few decades, as a result of the multiple drivers, including rapid population growth and socio-political changes and conflicts, increased demand for natural resources, poor land-use planning, agricultural intensification and climate change. Various local key drivers of degradation relate with local and historical management, super-imposed by natural or anthropogenic triggered events.

This rampant degradation has lead to unsustainable agricultural systems, increased rural to urban migration, and eventually to the loss of ecosystem services. Some of the problems are erosion, reduced soil fertility, loss of biodiversity and habitats, water quality degradation for surface flow and groundwater, salinization, wildfires. In particular, dry lands, where water is scarce and in many cases not available during summer, it is difficult to maintain a cover crop to prevent erosion, and in many rural areas it may be costly to acquire new technologies for reduced tillage or precision agriculture. Erosion and loss of topsoil will further result in losses in food production capacity.

Soil and water management practices (SWMP) have been developed for the prevention of further degradation and suggested for the restoration of degraded land. These best practices include cropped land and forests and include soil and water management as well as agro-ecological practices. However, restoration and adoption are slow for several natural and anthropogenic reasons, both of which differ across geographies and economies.  Further, incentives and policies are lacking in many instances to drive the needed change. Thus, the challenge is to broaden the adoption of GMPs through demonstrations, leading-by-doing, and bridging science to practice.

Various Sustainable Land and Water Management (SLM) practices have been developed around the globe. SLMs are often tailored to specific agro-ecologies including agroforestry, agro-pastoral, rainfed and irrigated agriculture. These SLMs have a potential to halt land degradation within their context of application. However, combatting land degradation and desertification at certain scales reaches beyond the locally applied biophysical adaptation or mitigation measures. It requires integration and a robust linkage of well targeted interventions and management across heterogenic socio-ecological settings.

Key Topics to be covered in this seminar:

• Evaluation of land degradation based on watershed modeling and monitoring
• Sustainable Land and Water Management (SLM) practices in arid and semi-arid regions
• Induced climate change on the hydrology and landscape and crop production
• Socio-hydrology and land management

Target Audience:

The webinar is open to students, researchers, scientists, policy makers, independent think tanks, government officials and academicians  from the OIC member states, and other countries.

For Registration please visit:

1. For physical participation (Participants from Islamabad and Rawalpindi only: Accommodation will not be provided) register at the following link: https://forms.gle/578fqHs4uju4LpBQA
2. For virtual participation register at the following link: https://forms.gle/UAKWCBq8juDe9CBe6
3. Read instructions in the application form carefully and submit a properly filled form along with your CV.
4.  Selected candidates will be notified through email; hence, applicants are required to check their emails regularly.

Venue:

The workshop will be held at the COMSTECH Secretariat, Islamabad, Pakistan. The city with the backdrop of Margalla Hills and National Park was purpose-built as the capital of sixth largest globally and second most populous (in OIC) country Pakistan in the year 1966. Pakistan, according to the Forbes magazine, is a hidden treasure for tourists with rich cultural diversity, ancient history, diverse landscape, cuisines, modern cities, and locally produced items.

Workshop Coordinators:

1. Muhammad Haris Akram
   Program Manager
   COMSTECH, Islamabad.
   Email: haris@comstech.org
   Phone: +92 51 9220681
2. Muhammad Haseeb Ahmad
   Program Officer
   COMSTECH, Islamabad.
   Email: Haseeb.ahmad@comstech.org
   Phone: +92 51 9220681