Prof Iqbal Urges Global Scientific Community To Find Treatrment For Neglected Diseases

Professor Dr. M. Iqbal Choudhary, the Coordinator of General COMSTECH, and UNESCO CHAIR on Medicinal and Bio-Organic Natural Product Chemistry, has recently attended the Trieste Next Science Festival in Trieste, Italy

KARACHI,(UrduPoint/Pakistan Point Mews Oct 02, 2023) :Professor Dr. M. Iqbal Choudhary, the Coordinator of General COMSTECH, and UNESCO CHAIR on Medicinal and Bio-Organic Natural Product Chemistry, has recently attended the Trieste Next Science Festival in Trieste, Italy.

According to a communique here on Monday, the ICCBS Spokesman said that Prof. Iqbal Choudhary was the only scientist from Asia, invited by the forum as a part of the high-level panel. Trieste Next is the biggest science forum attended by members of the US National Academy of Sciences and other scientific academies of the world.

Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Iqbal Choudhary talked about neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) affecting the lives of 1.7 billion people globally and their treatment has received very little political, economic, scientific, and pharmaceutical attention.

He said NTDs were a group of tropical infections, commonly known as poor man diseases. These tropical infections are common in low-income populations of more than 97 countries including Pakistan, he added. Prof. Choudhary also presented the role of his research group working on Leishmaniasis, prevailing NTD in Sindh and the upper northern parts of Pakistan.

Prof. Choudhary urged global scientific communities to focus on finding the treatment for these neglected diseases that affect the poorest and marginalized communities of the world.

The panel appreciated the scientific outcomes and contributions of Prof. Iqbal Choudhary and his research team, and agreed on his proposal of working on NTDs through North-South cooperation.

It is also worth mentioning here that Prof. Iqbal Choudhary is the recipient of the 2021 Mustafa (PBUH) Prize (Nobel Prize of the Muslim World), the most prestigious prize in the Muslim World, for his services in the field of bio-organic chemistry.

He has published 1,175 research papers in the fields of organic and bio-organic chemistry in international journals, 76 books, and 40 chapters in books published by major US and European press. He has secured 40 US patents so far. He has established several new centers for the support of industries and government organizations. He is also the Vice President of the World Academy of Sciences for South and Central Asia, an academy established by Nobel Laureate Prof. Abdus Salam in Italy.