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Pakistan’s silent revolution
SUHAIL YUSUF
The hub for science in Karachi is largely built from charity. -Photo by Asif Umar/Dawn.com
Updated 2013-11-26 22:35:52
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Charity for science
An imaginary circle of less than three kilometers encompasses what can safely be described as the hub for science in Karachi, Pakistan. Built with funds donated by individuals and groups from across the country in the last 50 years, the five centers for research that dot this particular area of Karachi University are now torch bearers in their respective fields.
Of these five centers, one is the only institute for human clinical trials in Pakistan, the other a core of computational biology and the third provides consultancy to people suffering from genetic diseases.
Besides world class research, these centers are also engaged in creating competent academia, providing solutions to hundreds of industries, as well as lending a hand in addressing various domestic issues.
The centers and their growth have been working towards what has been termed as a ‘silent revolution’ and had been described by Professor Wolfgang Voelter of Tubingen University as a ‘miracle.’
The nucleus of chemistry
The Hussain Ebrahim Jamal (HEJ) Research Institute of Chemistry was only a small post graduate institute before a generous donation of Rs 5 million in 1976 set the center towards the path of excellence. Latif Ebrahim Jamal’s endowment, on behalf of the Hussain Ebrahim Jamal Foundation, was the largest private funding for science in Pakistan at the time.
There are 12 NMR spectrometers at the HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry. The super conductors inside the spectrometers are cooled by liquid nitrogen. -Photo by author
The center houses old NMR machines of 300 megahertz to state-of-the-art Liquid Chromatograph Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (LCNMR). -Photo by author
‹›
Under the leadership of eminent chemist Dr Salimuzzaman Siddiqui and Dr Atta-ur-Rehman, the institute became a magnet for more funding and projects from around the world. Over a period of time, it received $30 million in funding from various countries. Recently, Islamic Development Bank (IDB) donated $ 40 million for research on regional and tropical diseases. Dr Atta-ur-Rehman, a renowned chemist and the former chairman of Higher Education Commission said,
We focus on diseases common in Pakistan and in the region as the developed world does not consider the ailments of poor as a priority anymore.
The HEJ institute also won the IDB prize for science and technology in 2004 and 2010.
Currently, the center has one of the largest PhD programs in the country in the fields of natural product chemistry, plant biotechnology, computational biology, spectroscopy and other disciplines at the frontiers of science.
Young scholars research scientific literature at the Latif Ebrahim Jamal National Science Information Center (LEJ), which falls under the ICCBS. The facility is connected to one of the world’s largest science database, ranging from thousands of primary research journals and books. -Photo by author
The ground floor of the institute holds 12 state-of-the-art Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) machines that are vital in the research of the structure, reaction and other properties of various compounds and molecules, as well as an X-ray crystallography setup which uses X-rays to learn the structure of crystalline material.
The X-ray crystallography setup is used to construct 3-D structures of molecules under study. -Photo by author
“We have recently finished the structure of a compound showing anti-inflammatory activity,” said Sammer Yousuf, senior research officer at the institute who was awarded the Regional Prize for Young Scientists by the Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) in 2011 for her work.
“In the last two and a half years our institute was awarded 24 international patents,” Dr Rehman proudly adds.
Since its inception, the HEJ which was inducted into the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS) in the ‘90s has produced hundreds of doctorates, thousands of papers and hundreds of international patents, and also helps over 350 industries across Pakistan. The Industrial Analytical Center at the HEJ provides testing, consultancy and research for various industries in Pakistan.
The construction of a state-of-the-art center for nanotechnology is underway while the Jamil-ur-Rehman Center for Genome Research, also falling under HEJ, is almost complete. Dr Rehman is the the main donor of the institute which is named after his father.
SUHAIL YUSUF
The hub for science in Karachi is largely built from charity. -Photo by Asif Umar/Dawn.com
Updated 2013-11-26 22:35:52
Share
60 Comment(s)
Charity for science
An imaginary circle of less than three kilometers encompasses what can safely be described as the hub for science in Karachi, Pakistan. Built with funds donated by individuals and groups from across the country in the last 50 years, the five centers for research that dot this particular area of Karachi University are now torch bearers in their respective fields.
Of these five centers, one is the only institute for human clinical trials in Pakistan, the other a core of computational biology and the third provides consultancy to people suffering from genetic diseases.
Besides world class research, these centers are also engaged in creating competent academia, providing solutions to hundreds of industries, as well as lending a hand in addressing various domestic issues.
The centers and their growth have been working towards what has been termed as a ‘silent revolution’ and had been described by Professor Wolfgang Voelter of Tubingen University as a ‘miracle.’
The nucleus of chemistry
The Hussain Ebrahim Jamal (HEJ) Research Institute of Chemistry was only a small post graduate institute before a generous donation of Rs 5 million in 1976 set the center towards the path of excellence. Latif Ebrahim Jamal’s endowment, on behalf of the Hussain Ebrahim Jamal Foundation, was the largest private funding for science in Pakistan at the time.
There are 12 NMR spectrometers at the HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry. The super conductors inside the spectrometers are cooled by liquid nitrogen. -Photo by author
The center houses old NMR machines of 300 megahertz to state-of-the-art Liquid Chromatograph Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (LCNMR). -Photo by author
‹›
Under the leadership of eminent chemist Dr Salimuzzaman Siddiqui and Dr Atta-ur-Rehman, the institute became a magnet for more funding and projects from around the world. Over a period of time, it received $30 million in funding from various countries. Recently, Islamic Development Bank (IDB) donated $ 40 million for research on regional and tropical diseases. Dr Atta-ur-Rehman, a renowned chemist and the former chairman of Higher Education Commission said,
We focus on diseases common in Pakistan and in the region as the developed world does not consider the ailments of poor as a priority anymore.
The HEJ institute also won the IDB prize for science and technology in 2004 and 2010.
Currently, the center has one of the largest PhD programs in the country in the fields of natural product chemistry, plant biotechnology, computational biology, spectroscopy and other disciplines at the frontiers of science.
Young scholars research scientific literature at the Latif Ebrahim Jamal National Science Information Center (LEJ), which falls under the ICCBS. The facility is connected to one of the world’s largest science database, ranging from thousands of primary research journals and books. -Photo by author
The ground floor of the institute holds 12 state-of-the-art Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) machines that are vital in the research of the structure, reaction and other properties of various compounds and molecules, as well as an X-ray crystallography setup which uses X-rays to learn the structure of crystalline material.
The X-ray crystallography setup is used to construct 3-D structures of molecules under study. -Photo by author
“We have recently finished the structure of a compound showing anti-inflammatory activity,” said Sammer Yousuf, senior research officer at the institute who was awarded the Regional Prize for Young Scientists by the Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) in 2011 for her work.
“In the last two and a half years our institute was awarded 24 international patents,” Dr Rehman proudly adds.
Since its inception, the HEJ which was inducted into the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS) in the ‘90s has produced hundreds of doctorates, thousands of papers and hundreds of international patents, and also helps over 350 industries across Pakistan. The Industrial Analytical Center at the HEJ provides testing, consultancy and research for various industries in Pakistan.
The construction of a state-of-the-art center for nanotechnology is underway while the Jamil-ur-Rehman Center for Genome Research, also falling under HEJ, is almost complete. Dr Rehman is the the main donor of the institute which is named after his father.
