A delegate of seven Pakistani researchers recently participated in a conference "Infectious Diseases and International Engagement: Responsible Science for a Safe and Secure Society", in Tunisia. The meeting was held in collaboration with Institute of Pasteur and faculty of science in Tunisia at AAAS Centre for Science, Technology, and Security Policy (CSTSP) from November 12-14.
Vice Chancellor University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS), Professor Dr Muhammad Nawaz and President of National Academy of Young Scientists (NAYS), Aftab Ahmad participated in the conference. The purpose of the meeting was to focus on international collaboration on infectious diseases. The workshop addressed infectious disease research, incorporation of legal, ethical and security issues in the workforce development of life scientists, and building sustainable long-term international collaborations among life scientists from the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan (the Broader MENA or BMENA) region, and the United States.
In the meeting, young scientists were also invited to participate in scientific discussions on the subject. Along with other eminent and distinguish scientists, the meeting was also joined by Dr Peter Agre (Nobel Laureate in chemistry, 2003). During the first day, President NAYS delivered a lecture on "Networking Examples: National Academy of Young Scientists Pakistan". He highlighted the importance of scientific networking in the present day world and also presented NAYS as a model organisation for other countries.
Other participants from Pakistan included Professor Tahir Yaqub, Dr Ali Ahmad Sheikh and Dr Fareeha Akhtar (UVAS, Lahore) and Dr Muhammad Yasir and Muhammad Qasim (QAU, Islamabad). The meeting proved to be very successful and Pakistani delegates actively participated in all the scientific discussions.