FIBC-PSM 2023 – DAY 1

The 14th International Biennial Conference of the Pakistan Society for Microbiology (FIBC-PSM 2023), organized in collaboration with Salim Habib University (SHU), and hosted by SHU’s Department of Biosciences, Faculty of Science, commenced at SHU on Wednesday, November 22, 2023.

Day 1 of this conference, which is themed 'Disasters, Epidemics, and Public Health Challenges for Microbiologists', included scientific sessions and oral and poster presentations of research papers by foreign and local experts. More than 400 delegates from educational and research institutions in Pakistan and abroad participated in the conference, including participants from Lebanon, Jamaica, Iran, Australia, the United States, and other countries.

The conference was declared officially open in a grand Inauguration Ceremony, the Chief Guest for which was Dr. Kausar Abdullah Malik, Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research, Pakistan. Prof. Dr. Farhan Essa Abdullah, Patron-in-Chief of the Pakistan Society for Microbiology, and CEO, Dr. Essa Laboratory & Diagnostic Center, Prof. Dr. Shahana Urooj Kazmi, President of the Pakistan Society for Microbiology and Chairperson FIBC-PSM 2023, and Prof. Dr. Shakeel Ahmed Khan, Vice Chancellor, Salim Habib University, also addressed the audience during the ceremony, speaking about the significance of the conference, which covered a wide range of the extensions of microbiology and their applications in healthcare, food, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, and other industries.

Vice Chancellors in attendance, namely Prof. Dr. Fateh Muhammad Marri, Vice Chancellor, Sindh Agriculture University, Tandojam, and Prof. Dr. Mujaddad Ur Rehman, Vice Chancellor, Abbottabad University of Science & Technology, KPK, expressed their views on the Conference, while the Dr. Ahmed Ali Anwar Memorial Lecture was given by Dr. Rana Jawad Asghar, CEO, Global Health Strategists & Implementers (GHSI), Pakistan, and Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, USA. Prof. Dr. Aqeel Ahmad, Dean, Faculty of Science, Salim Habib University, and Secretary FIBC-PSM 2023 presented the Vote of Thanks. Also present, among other dignitaries and personalities of renown from both industry and academia, were Dr. Kaiser Waheed, CEO, Medisure Pharma, and Prof. Dr. Saeed Khan, Chairman, Department of Molecular Pathology, DOW University of Health Sciences, Karachi.

Notably in attendance from Salim Habib University were Mr. Muhammad Abbas, Executive Director Finance SHU and Chief Operating Officer of The Salim Habib Education Foundation, Prof. Dr. Kaleem Raza Khan, Registrar, Dr. Muhammad Hussain Habib, Executive Director Education, Marketing, HR & Admin, Dr. Arshad Mahmood, Chairperson, Department of Biosciences, Biosciences faculty members and students, and the University’s Directors, Deans, Heads of Departments, Chairpersons, faculty, students, and staff.