National Center for Proteomics

Research in Pakistan as we all know is a bit hard and full of hazards, but still HEC has played an important role in past few years to establish a standard for the research in Pakistan. University of Karachi also being involved in the formation of some very constructive research centers.

Along with chemical and biological research in HEJ, Molecular biology and drug research in PCMD, Biotechnology and genetic engineering in KIBGE, University had planned to establish a research center for the field of Proteomics, which is now a latest and advanced field in the biological research. So, in order to compete with rest of the world we should have all possible field specialist as we can have.

Proteomics is actually the protein profiling of the cells at one particular state and it gives us information about all proteins that are being expressed in the cell at one particular time. This study is very much related to the clinical and pathological comparisons of normal and diseased patients, in order to discover some biomarkers for the specific disease.

The idea was presented few years back and about 169.5 million rupees budget was approved for the project, it was inaugurated in March 2008 and became functional last year.

It has some latest facilities of proteomic analysis, for details you can go to the following address

http://www.uok.edu.pk/research_institutes/ncp/index.php

The institute despite of facing some serious grant issues from the government side, still has started working properly under the supervision of its Director Prof. Dr. Shamshad Zarina. The center has carried out a workshop on "Research Tools in Proteomics" last year and a series of lectures from different foreign researchers very successfully. Also, the institute is going to offer its M.S program next year.

The government just cut the grant of all Universities to half, due to which many development programs in the area of research in Pakistan have got serious issues, and National Center for Proteomics is one of them.

For further details you can visit the dawn news paper :

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/local/35-ku-research-centres-fate-uncertain-ak-03

But the theme is that there are people who want to work for development of research in Pakistan and they are struggling to solve these issues, because we have got a potential to survive even in worst conditions and, hope so we will come out of this soon.

I just forgot to mention that i have recently got a job in National center for Proteomics and working experience in a newly established center is being good, lots of learnings here.