The US State Department agreed to develop collaboration linkages with the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) Lahore. The decision was taken in a meeting between the US delegation from the US State Department and the UVAS vice-chancellor, Professor Dr Muhammad Nawaz and other senior faculty members.
The US delegation comprising Senior Programme Coordinator Dr Jason E Rao, James H Walfram, biotechnology consultant of the Biosecurity Engagement Programme, Rob Heckert, Biosafety Specialist in Biocontaintment and Donate Aceto discussed with the UVAS vice-chancellor the areas of collaboration between the US State Department and the UVAS especially in Biosecurity, Biosafety, training and exchange programmes, etc.
The US delegation agreed to have collaboration 1inkages with the UVAS and offered R& D grants, travel and training grants funds for equipment, capacity building and consultation on biosaftey and Biosecurity measures.
Nawaz briefed the US delegation on the academic, research and developmental activities of the UVAS. The university was offering six undergraduate and 22 postgraduate MPhil and PhD degree programmes covering all aspects of livestock, dairy, poultry, fisheries, wildlife and related areas, he said, adding that the MBA in life sciences was a unique programme to address the management and marketing needs in the livestock and related sectors.
He further said that development work on the Ravi Campus was in full swing, where infrastructure for academic programmes; administration and livestock and poultry, farms, animal sheds, aviaries, fish hatcheries and ponds were being made available for hands-on training, education and research.
Nawaz also said the university was also planning to set up a vaccine production unit as the UVAS scientists had already acquired the ability and capacity to produce all kinds of vaccines.
The delegation was told that the university had applied for ISO-certification of its Diagnostic Lab and WTO Quality Control Laboratory. The US delegation also took a round of various departments and clinical services, including WTO-Quality Operational Lab, Pathology Lab, Post-mortem Teaching 'Block, Pet Centre and Genomic Lab.