Lahore, March 27, 2023 (PPI-OT):Pharmaceutical Sciences is emerging as a highly dynamic field with professionals focusing on discovering novel approaches to improving pharmaceutical care and drug discovery. The Faculty of Pharmacy (FoP) convened such professionals during the International Summit of Health Professionals (ISHP) to deliberate on the theme of “Inter-professional Efforts: A Journey from Drug Discovery to Pharmaceutical Care.” The summit was organised recently at the University of Lahore (UOL) in collaboration with the NAGRA Group. In line with the sustainable development goals (SDGs) of Good health and Well-being (SDG 3) and Quality Education (SDG 4) this summit provided an interdisciplinary platform for the scholars to present and discuss the most recent innovations, trends, and concerns, as well as practical challenges and solutions adopted in the field of health and patient care.
The summit emphasized national and international collaboration and featured sixteen keynote speakers. Three international speakers attended the conference in person, while five others joined the sessions online. More than 500 students participated in the event, and 80 of them provided their contributions as organisers. The first day of the ISHP started with the opening remarks of Prof Dr Syed Nisar Hussain Shah (Dean, Faculty of Pharmacy) followed by the inaugural address by Dr Uzair Nagra (Brand Ambassador for UOL and Chairman of the Nagra Group). He highlighted the achievements of UOL as the largest private sector university in Pakistan. He admired the vision of the Chairman of the Board of Governors and emphasised the importance of industry-academia linkages in developing marketable skills of pharmacy graduates.
In his speech, Mr Awais Raoof (Chairman BOG, UOL) welcomed the foreign delegates and expressed his goals of elevating the UOL to one of the top 200 universities in the world. Mr Nadeem Zafar (Chairman, Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA)) graced the event as the chief guest and emphasised the need for research in drug development and the publication of patents for new therapeutic compounds in his speech.
The technical and scientific sessions followed the inaugural ceremony in three auditoriums. The summit maintained a high-quality peer-review process for all the submitted manuscripts. Out of the 110 submitted abstracts, 50 were accepted for oral presentations and 48 made their way to the poster display. The two-day summit comprised twelve technical sessions, some of which were scheduled concurrently. Sixteen keynote speakers delivered talks during the summit, including eight international and eight national speakers from renowned universities. During the sessions, the scholars shared their knowledge and experiences on the topics of pharmaceutics, pharmacy practice, pharmacology, pharmacognosy, and medicine.
International and national speakers
Dr Khalid El Bairi (Founder, Cancer Biomarkers Working Group, Morroco), Dr Osman Mirza (University of Copenhagen, Denmark), Dr Kamala Badalova (Azerbaijan Medical University, Pharmaceutical Toxicology, and Chemistry Department, Baku), Prof Dr Valerie Schini-Kerth (University of Strasbourg, France), Prof Dr Ilkay Erdogan Orhan (Faculty of Pharmacy, Gazi University, Turkey), Dr Dario Trapani (MD Oncology, European Institute of Oncology, Italy), Dr Tariq Zaman (Research Professor- Neuroscience, Human Medicine-Michigan State University, USA), and Dr Saad Bin Anis (Fellow Pituitary and Functional Neurosurgery, Alexandra Hospital, Australia) were included in the international speakers.
The national keynote speeches were given by Prof Dr Shameen Qureshi (Karachi University), Prof Dr Sajid Bashir (University of Sargodha), Prof Dr Fareed Shah (Karachi University), Prof Dr Hassan Mahmood (Government College University Faisalabad), Dr Fahad Saleem (University of Balochistan), Dr Muhammad Hanif (Bahuddin Zikria University, Multan), Prof Dr Atif Raza (Punjab University), and Dr Furqan Hashmi (Punjab University).
Dr Erika Ruiz (Professor, Institute Nacional de Cancerologa, Mexico), Dr Menna Fouda (Faculty of Medicine, Tanta University, Egypt), Dr Marwa Nabil (Clinical Nutritionist and Public Health Consultant, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain Shams University, Egypt), Dr Wakas Ilyas (Specialist Registrar Endocrinology Diabetes, NHS, UK), Dr Tauqeer Hussain (Jouf University, Saudi Arabia), and Dr Yusra Habib (Jouf University, Saudi Arabia) were among the foreign speakers who joined the summit through Zoom meetings.
On the Day 1 of the summit, more than 24 scientific posters were presented and evaluated by panellists: Dr Bairi, Dr Bashir, Dr Hanif, and Dr Badalova. Based on their mutual decision, Dr Maryam Shabbir and Ms Maheer Khan were declared the winners of the poster competition. The first runner-up was Ms Syeda Sidra Yaseen, and the second runner-up was Mr Tanveer Ahmad Khan. Dr Muhammad Iqbal (Director of ORIC, UOL) and Dr Nagra attended the closing ceremony of the summit and they both congratulated the organising team and presented shields to the poster competition winners. Dr Iqbal in particular appreciated the Faculty of Pharmacy for organising this fantastic conference, describing it as a fantastic opportunity to learn new things.
The summit concluded with a lavish gala dinner hosted by Mr Sohaib Peerzada (Assistant Professor) and his team, which featured performances by top singer Bilal Saeed. A lovely flute performance was provided by Nazar Abbas, and afterward, a magnificent dinner was served The summit was preceded by a pre-conference workshop for the postgraduate students to let the faculty and students interact with the international keynote speakers.
Conference Executive Committee
Prof Dr Syed Nisar Hussain Shah (Convener)
Dr Kishwar Sultana (Deputy Convener),
Dr Faisal Gulzar (Focal Person)
Mr Omaid Hayat Khan (Focal Person)
Dr Maryam Shabbir (Coordinator)
Dr Naveed Mushtaq (Coordinator)
Heads of Committees
Prof Dr Javed Iqbal
Mr Sohaib Peerzada
Ms Ayesha Mahmood
Dr Kashif Barkat
Mr Hafiz Bilal
Mr Zeeshan Akbar
Dr Ahlam Sundus
Dr Nadiah Zafar
Dr Maaz Bin Nasim
Dr Hafiz Zubair
Dr Faisal Badshah
Dr Umer Ashraf
Dr Irfan Ullah.
For more information, contact:
The University of Lahore
1 – KM Defence Road, Lahore, Pakistan
Tel: +92-42-111-865-865, +92-42-35322501 +92-42-35321761
Email: info@uol.edu.pk
Website: www.uol.edu.pk