The three-day 5th National Hybrid Workshop on Classical Protein Chemistry was concluded at the HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry, University of Karachi (UoK) on Thursday.
The national hybrid workshop was organized by the HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry in collaboration with COMSTECH Secretariat, Islamabad, and Sindh Innovation Research and Education Network (SIREN), during May 17-19.
Dr. Aftab Ahmed, Research Associate Professor at Chapman University School of Pharmacy, California – USA, conducted the workshop.
In the inaugural ceremony, Prof. Dr. M. Iqbal Choudhary, Director of the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi, and COMSTECH Coordinator-General, said that due to the proven significance of protein science in medicine, agriculture, pharmacy, and other bio-sciences, it was necessary to initiate comprehensive programs to develop expertise and to train human resources in this field.
Protein chemistry contributes to many areas of biotechnology, involving recombinant DNA technology, analytical chemistry, clinical chemistry, medicinal chemistry, and protein therapeutics, he mentioned.
Talking about the international center, Prof. Choudhary said that the ICCBS – University of Karachi was an academic research institution, which is truly regarded as a national asset, adding that the prime task of the ICCBS is to train scholars at the post-graduate levels. The graduates of the ICCBS are serving at top positions in industries and academic institutions home and abroad, he said.
Dr. Aftab Ahmed said that proteins were the functional macromolecules responsible for catalyzing the biochemical reactions that sustain life. Therefore, protein chemistry is an area of major importance in modern biochemistry, he added.
It is pertinent to mention here that the workshop on protein science and technology included a series of lectures on different aspects of protein purification and structural analysis. In the Hybrid Workshop, hands-on training on different techniques in protein chemistry was also provided. Lectures and practical training were focused on the latest approaches to protein function and structural analyses.
The participants of the workshop were provided an opportunity to learn the theoretical and practical aspects of key protein chemistry techniques, including High-Performance Liquid Chromatography, Fast Protein Liquid Chromatography, Electrophoresis, Protein Sequencing, Protein Mass Spectroscopy, etc.
