The Department of Zoology, University of Chitral organized a seminar on
Current Trends in the Application of Bioinformatics in Biological Research. The
seminar was attended by faculty members, students of Zoology and botany
departments and science enthusiasts of the University of Chitral. Acting Vice
Chancellor, University of Chitral, Dr. Sana Ullah was chief guest of the
seminar. The seminar commenced with the recitation of the Holy Quran. Mr. Shah
Fahad Ali Khan welcomed the guests and delivered opening remarks about the
seminar. He said that bioinformatics is an emerging field integrating biology,
technology and innovation. It has rapidly gained evolved in addressing complex
biological questions. Interdisciplinary collaborations between biologists,
computer scientists, and statisticians are critical. Mr. Javed Farooq, PhD candidate at the University
of Alabama, USA joined the seminar online and delivered a session on the topic,
Current Trends in Designing Genomic Studies to Adress Biological Questions, focusing
on a step-by-step practical approach. The second speaker Dr Mehnaz Farid
presented on Phytochemicals, Nutritional, Bioassay Screening and Molecular
Docking of Compounds from Rosa webbiana wall
ex royle. In her lecture she explored the identification,
extraction of chemical compounds from plant material, their characterization,
pharmacological activities and molecular docking of the compounds. Mr. Muhammad
Shafiq, Junior Scientist at Advanced Engineering School (Agrobiotek) National
Research Tomsk State University, Russia third speaker of the seminar. He
delivered a lecture on Unraveling life’s code: Bioinformatics in Modern
Biological Research, focusing on Proteomics and Metabolomics. He highlighted
how different proteins interact, and how proteomics data can be analyzed using
tools of bioinformatics. He further enlightened the audience about the role of
bioinformatics in drug design and application of proteomics in cancer research.
Each lecture was followed by questions and answer sessions where the students
and faculty members asked different questions and interacted with the speakers.
Dr. Ishfaq Hameed, HoD, Department of Botany, and Dr. Muhammad Sufaid Khan Assistant
Professor, Chemistry chaired the academic session. The chair summarized the
session and thanked the speakers for their insightful and engaging
presentations. In his address the chief guest Dr. Sana Ullah appreciated the
department of zoology for conducting such a useful seminar and emphasized the
conduction of seminars and workshops on such emerging interdisciplinary
subjects. Sheilds and certificates were
presented to the speakers and student organizers at the end of the seminar. The
session concluded with a vote of thanks by Fathul Bari, head of the zoology
department and organizing chair. He expressed his gratitude to the chief guest,
speakers, chairs of the sessions, faculty members, and students for their
participation and time. He also thanked the assistant director, IT, Public
relation officer of the university and administration directorate for their
support during the seminar.
