This review has been divided into 3 parts, you can read the other two here:
I recently attended the UMTCLS organized by the University of Management and Technology Life Science Department. It was a 2-day event ranging from 13 to 14 December 2023. The consisted of several events which included plenary sessions, technical sessions, poster sessions and hands-on sections.
The conference website can be found here: 1st UMT International Conference on Life Sciences
DAY 2:
The event of day 2 started with a plenary session at 9 am. I attended the session by Prof. Dr Naeem Rashid (University of the Punjab, Lahore) Bioscience: Dry or Wet? Where he talked about how in modern research and experimentation both wet and dry methods (i.e. Laboratory Bench work and Computational Analysis) are of importance but as he showed via different experiments wet methods do take precedence over the dry method.
I then attended the technical session on Microbiology and immunology that took place in 1N-13.
First Prof. Dr Uqba Mehmood (SU) presented his work on “Vaccine Production: Molecular Level”
Then Dr Saima Younas (PU) discussed “Direct acting antivirals for treatment and management of Hepatitis C virus infection in Pakistan”
This was followed by Dr Shahzada Khurram (UMT) who talked about the “Effect of colchicine on cellular and humoral immune responses in mice”
Then Ayesha Badar (FCU) discussed her work on “Cotton microbiome: Plant's defense against viral cotton leaf curl disease”
Lastly, Ateeba Asif (UMT) presented her work on “Antimicrobial sensitivity and complicated disease prevalence in the local population of Sialkot, Pakistan.”
These were followed by another technical session.
However, some of us were able to have a one-on-one session with Prof. Dr. Nessar Ahmed (Manchester Metropolitan University, UK) who talked about how his parents moved from Pakistan to the UK. He also talked about his academic career his work in the NHS and his research on blood lead levels in kids in Karachi.
Next up the poster session was conducted where three judges made rounds and asked questions about the work done by the researchers.
I also could present my research as a poster at the event which can be found here: Analysis of Nutritional Awareness; and Dietary Habits of University Students in Lahore and Adjacent Areas
Once the session concluded I attended the penultimate plenary session where Prof. Dr Shahid Mahmood Baig, Chairman of the Pakistan Science Foundation talked about his work on genetic mutations commonly found in rural areas of Pakistan and how they can be overcome.
Reference: Whole-Exome sequencing identifies GYS2 biallelic variants in individuals with suspected epilepsy
The concluding session started with comments from Dr. Aatif Amin (UCP) who appreciated the efforts of the Organizing team and talked about how such sessions are a great opportunity for involving students and for bringing to light new and emerging research.
This was followed by remarks from Dr. Muhammad Naveed (UCP) who talked about how events like seminars, poster sessions and hands-on sessions are a great learning experience and how these events give way for collaboration amongst researchers from different walks of life.
Then Prof. Dr. Mohammad Perwaiz Iqbal (Life Sciences, UMT) briefly talked about the topics that were discussed and presented over the past two days and highlighted the department's aim to hold more conferences and hands-on sessions going forward.
This was followed by closing remarks from Dr. Muhammad Sohail Afzal (Chairperson, Department of Life Sciences, UMT) who thanked the participants and the guests for their active participation, he also extended his thanks to the organizing committee and the institutions that made the conference possible and hoped that this opportunity had aided in equipping the student with information about new research and skills.
Finally, Chief Guest Prof. Dr Shahid Mahmood Baig (Chairman, Pakistan Science Foundation) gave his closing remarks about how modern-day scientific research and findings require research and hence events like this can serve as a hub for said collaboration.
He also talked about how Pakistan is a gold mine for young researchers but due to lack of funding of the PSF, it's harder to do much work. However, despite all this PSF strives to aid young researchers and promote hands-on S.T.E.M education.
Finally, the conference concluded with Souvenirs and certificates Distribution by Rector UMT & DG UMT to the winners of the poster session.
And hence the 2-day international conference organized by the UMT life science department came to an end.
Thank you so much for reading this review. We will continue improving this newsletter. Make sure to subscribe to keep up with the latest releases.
This review is purely for information purposes and should not be used as a merit to judge the event on!
If you have any comments, revisions, or suggestions please comment them down below, or reach us at: stemresearchrecap@gmail.com
👍