Rawalpindi, March 17, 2023 (PPI-OT):NUMS Scientific Society Successfully concluded two-day Antimicrobial Resistance and Students Sourcing Antibiotic Discovery in collaboration with Tiny Earth USA, under the umbrella of Directorate of Student Affairs (DSA) NUMS. The Event started with the verses of Holly Quran followed by a welcome note to guest speakers and participants from Dean MDS Professor Dr. Aisha Mohyuddin. More than 70 students participated in the event which include agar art and video competition to spread awareness., sensitize the stakeholders and to promote STEM education. Dean MDS applauds the effort of NUMS Scientific Team for taking initiatives and providing a platform to students for scientific engagements.
Program convener Dr. Wasim Sajjad also highlighted the urgency for new drugs “AMR has emerged as a serious public health problem worldwide. Systematic misuse of antimicrobials should be discouraged by all healthcare professionals and workers. There is a strong need to priorities AMR at all levels and implement multipronged strategies, aligned with the Global and National Action Plans, to curtail the impact of AMR. Ms Trang Tran Tiny Earth Admin and Outreach Specialist Wisconsin Institute for Discovery University of Wisconsin-Madison also shared a short presentation for the audience. Trang Tran provided an overview of the network, the Tiny Earth Antibiotic Discovery Pipeline, and students’ importance in the discovery of new antibiotics.
The program was also attended by one of our keynote speaker Dr. Fiasal Hanif consultant Microbiologist Military Hospital Rawalpindi. Dr. Faisal highlighted the importance and potential of antibiotic stewardship program that how it is improving the prescription of medical practitioners and lower the cost of treatment. He also mentioned that improving antibiotic prescribing and use is critical to effectively treat infections, protect patients from harms caused by unnecessary antibiotic use, and combat antibiotic resistance. Dr. Tauqeer Mustafa representative of Fleming fund was also one of the invited speaker who elaborated the work of Fleming fund in the AMR. Dr. Tauqeer shared future opportunities for joint research work in context of Pakistan.
Brig Javaid Usman (Retd) Professor Microbiology Army Medical College was Chief Guest on the occasion. While addressing to the students and researcher’s professor Javaid said that AMR is a silent pandemic and going forward, healthcare authorities should focus on screening and monitoring of all the objectives of the NAP by proper implementation of the policies as well as promoting antimicrobial stewardship interventions and Infection prevention and control (IPC) practices. He also addressed the current challenges and other factors like unplanned urbanization, industrialization and climate changes contributing to AMR.
Finally, Brig Javaid Usman(Retd) presented certificate and cash prizes to winners of agar art and video competition. Where in agar art Ayesha Asad from Department of Biological Sciences secured 1st prize, Atika Shamraiz form University for Haripur secured 2nd and Ayesha Noor and Mahnoor Arif from NUMS-DBS, awarded with 3rd prize. In video competition Hawaid Ahmad from NUMS-DBS and Shiza Aftab from Public Health were jointly awarded with 1st prize, Fizza Maryam from NUMS DBS secured 2nd and Taimur Haq and his Team from AFPGMI, 3rd position. The program was closed with a vote of thanks from Professor Muhammad Jawad Hassan HoD N-DBS. He also appreciated the contribution of Multi-LinkX Scientific for sponsoring the event.
For more information, contact:
National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS)
The Mall, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Tel: +92-51-9270677
Email: info@numspak.edu.pk
Website: http://numspak.edu.pk