KARACHI:A top Nigerian research institution will set up a research center to honour leading Pakistani scientist Prof Dr M Iqbal Choudhary.
A senior official of the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi (UoK) said on Friday “Iqbal Choudhary Center for Natural Product Research (ICC-NPR)” will be inaugurated in Benin, Nigeria on December 21, 2018, during an international symposium on “Recent Discoveries in Natural Product Sciences”, where Prof Iqbal Choudhary, who is heading the country’s leading research establishment of ICCBS, is being invited as a guest speaker to deliver a keynote speech on natural product research at the Edo State Polytechnic (formerly Edo State Institute of Technology and Management) Usen.
The official said that the Edo State Polytechnic Usen has acknowledged Prof Choudhary’s excellent contributions to the advancement of drug discovery and natural product research. Prof Iqbal Choudhary has already left for Nigeria to attend the foundation laying ceremony of the Iqbal Choudhary Center in the Polytechnic’s premises. The official said that the Governor of Edo state would also present ‘Distinguished Innovative Research and Achievement Award’ to the Pakistani scientist. ICC-NPR is another accolade for the scientist, he said.
It is pertinent to mention here that Prof Choudhary has established several research centers inPakistan, and helped to setup research units in Africa, and South and Central Asia. His scientific and capacity building contributions have been recognized by prestigious national and international awards and honors, and fellowships of several academies of science. He owns more than 1300 publications in the fields of organic and bioorganic chemistry, including 58 international / US patents, and 61 books and 40 chapters in books, published by major U.S. and European presses Citations 23,027, and h-index 62 (Google Scholar). As many as 83 Scholars have been awarded Ph.D. and 30 M.Phil degrees in various areas of natural product and bioorganic chemistry.
Vice Chancellor University of Karachi Prof. Dr. Muhammad Ajmal Khan and Prof. Atta-ur Rahman, Patron-in-chief ICCBS, the former federal minister for science and technology, and ex-chairman higher education commission, congratulated him, and declared his achievement as an honour not only for ICCBS but also for the whole University.