LAHORE: The Punjab government has appointed professor of paediatric cardiology Dr Masood Sadiq as the first regular vice chancellor of the newly-established University of Child Health Sciences (UCHS), Lahore.

Dr Sadiq was picked out of a panel comprising three senior medical teachers recommended by a high-powered search committee. The other two candidates shortlisted for the panel were professor of paediatric medicines at the UCHS Dr Junaid Rasheed and professor of paediatric medicine at the King Edward Medical University Dr Mohammad Haroon Hameed.

The five-member search committee that shortlisted the candidates and then interviewed them for the top slot of the only public sector medical university for children comprised Lahore high Court retired judge Justice Zafar Iqbal Chaudhry, former VC of the Fatima Jinnah Medical University Prof Dr Aamir Zaman Khan, former dean of the Instiute of Child Health Prof Dr Sajid Maqbool, former senior civil servant Salman Ghani and Punjab Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Secretary Dr Ahmad Javed Qazi.

Prof Masood Sadiq was instrumental in the establishment of a paediatric cardiology institute at the Children’s Hospital, making it the largest cardiac centre for children in public sector in the country.

An official said the search committee also proposed Prof Sadiq’s name for the slot as favourite candidate for being one of the pioneers in the field of paediatric cardiology. Prof Sadiq had also performed the highest number of paediatric procedures in the government sector health facility, he added.

The search committed was informed that Prof Sadiq was the first Pakistani doctor who closed a hole in the heart of a child without surgery and had performed the first ever “hybrid procedure” in Pakistan by closing a hole and opening a vessel without open-heart bypass surgery in 2019.

According to the notification issued here on Friday, the Punjab governor/chancellor, in exercise of powers vested in him Under Section 15(6) read with Section 10 (5) of the University of Child Health Sciences, Lahore Act 2021, has been pleased to appoint Prof Dr Masood Sadiq as vice chancellor of the university for a period of four years.

It stated that the conditions of his appointment as the VC of the UCHS shall be notified separately.

A spokesperson for the medical university said Prof Sadiq was awarded Tamgha-i-Imtiaz by the government in recognition of his services in the field of medicine in 2010.

He said the Institute of Child Health (Children Hospital, Lahore) was upgraded to the status of the first public sector medical university of child health in July 2021.

Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2023