Saturday, July 26, 2008
About NIBGE

 Dr. Zafar M. Khalid

Dr. Zafar M. Khalid
Director NIBGE

 
 

The National Institute for Biotechnology & Genetic Engineering (NIBGE), Faisalabad, during  short  span of time, it has  established itself as Centre of Excellence in Biotechnology by upgrading its  infra-structure and improving the quality of scientific manpower. As first Director General, it is always heartening to see this Institute blossom.

The pace  of development  in biotechnology  over the  last few  years has been  mind  boggling. Increasing  number of  transgenic  crops, completion  of Arabidopsis  and rice genome along with human genome are some of the milestones. Health biotechnology has also  moved on  from drug discovery pursuits to other areas. Stem cell research holds a great   promise  for  future  use  of   this   technology  in  disease  therapy.  Numerous biotechnology  innovations  have  also made  an  impact  in  industry and environmental conservation.  NIBGE  has  been  alive to all these developments and  has accordingly developed  its research programmes. One of the  objectives while establishing NIBGE was to  develop  ‘receiving units’  for the new emerging technologies. For this purpose, NIBGE has developed infrastructure which is at par with international standards and has thus been  able to establish several  linkages with   various biotechnology laboratories in advanced countries.

NIBGE has become internationally a lead centre for research on cotton leaf curl virus by  deciphering  the virus  genetic code and documenting the genetic diversity existing in the field. A useful input from University of Arizona, Tuscon; John Imn Centre, Norwich, UK;  Imperial College  and Queen  Mary College  London  resulted in accumulation of useful data, which is now  being  utilized  for  developing  transgenic cotton resistant  to CLCuV. Similarly  establishment  of a Plant Genomic  Laboratory in collaboration with PARC (Pakistan Agricultural  Research Council) is a step in right direction. The Institute has also excelled in the area of biofertilizers with support from IAEA and more recently from   Islamic  Development  Bank   through   which  Biofertilizer  Resource  Centre (BIRCEN) has been established at NIBGE. Commercialization of biofertilizers under the trade name of BioPower is greatly helping in development of sustainable agriculture.

The Institute has been a pioneer in establishing PCR based diagnostic techniques for infectious diseases  which are now  routinely done in many hospitals. Our contribution regarding  genotyping  of Hepatitis-C virus in our local population has also been greatly appreciated.  NIBGE   is   soon   going   to   have   state-of-the-art   equipment  (CV Chromoscan) for doing human chromosomal analysis, karyotyping, molecular diagnosis for genetic disorders and cancers and comparative genomic based hybridization.

NIBGE by all means, has emerged as a  focal point for all national and international activities  related to biotechnology  in the country. Human resource development is the cornerstone  for development  in this area.  NIBGE is  thus  contributing effectively by conducting M.Phil Biotechnology programme in collaboration with the Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad. This is  now  being extended to Ph.D. programme. NIBGE has also taken a lead role in the finalization of Biosafety Guidelines for Genetically Modified Organism (GMO). For this purpose a series of training courses for capacity building in Environmental Impact Assessment will be held during the current year.

Bioinformatics is fast developing as a discipline  and  NIBGE has already initiated a Bioinformatics Cell, with the help of computer  specialists in  simulation and modeling. Other organizations of PAEC are instrumental in providing help and assistance in this regard.

In  the  present  scenario of  WTO  and  various IPR  constraints, development and commercialization  of  biotechnology  has become  complex  and  needs  special  skills. Through the commercial biotech company, PIBS, established by NIBGE, efforts will be made to resolve such issues and to enter into joint venture agreements with international private sector biotech companies which will eventually help in the transfer of technology.

PAEC has always been on the forefront for acquiring new and emerging technologies. Hence, PAEC took the initiative way back in 1987 for establishing National Institute for Biotechnology & Genetic Engineering  which was formally inaugurated in January 1994 by the President of Pakistan. PAEC has always been generously supporting activities in biosciences  involving  use  of nuclear techniques in agriculture and medicine. PAEC, in addition  to  NIBGE,  runs  three  Agriculture  Research  Institutes  namely  NIAB, Faisalabad; NIA, Tandojam and NIFA, Peshawar. In addition, PAEC runs thirteen Nuclear Medical Centres all over Pakistan. PAEC intends to continue supporting R&D activities in all related areas of life sciences.

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