KARACHI, Jan 30: A bio-technology and genetic engineering institute, complete with modern scientific equipment, is ready for various research activities at a newly-constructed complex at the Karachi University.

Named after nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, who is also the chairman of institute's governing council, it would be the first major scientific facility of its kind in the southern part of the country and Sindh as well. Initially, the institute had been engaged in developing new types of crops and plants, producing special poultry vaccines, identifying genetically-linked diseases of the eye, ear, heart, skin, etc, quarters associated with the project claimed.

About six of 12 research fellows, selected so far for postgraduate works, have already submitted their synopses to the Board of Advance Studies and Research of the varsity, which is waiting for authentication of the statues of the institute, sent to the varsity chancellor, prior to granting formal admissions to students.

It is hoped that number of research fellows would reach to 50 in the third year of the project. The Fellows will be paid Rs5,000 each monthly by the institute.

"We have started work to produce new varieties of plants and crops, including wheat, while on the biomedical side, we have collected human blood samples from a tribe in Sindh, suffering from a genetically caused disease, which is yet to be named," informed a student at the institute, which would formally be inaugurated soon.

On entering the main building of Dr A Q Khan Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (KIBGE), visitors can witness huge photographs of father of the nation, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and Dr A Q Khan.

Dr A Q Khan Trust, which is sponsor and supervisor of construction of science complex and other facilities built on 25 acres of land allocated by the KU, is said to have spent over Rs80 million on the KIBGE.

In a KIBGE prospectus, Dr Khan says that in recent years the sequencing of the entire human gnome and that of other organisms and pathogens has opened up avenues that will have impact on our health, agriculture and industry for centuries to come.

"We stand at the threshold of a brave new world, where feats predicted in Fred Hoyle's scientific novels will no longer remain fiction and are fast becoming realities of our lives," he adds, saying the establishment of KIBGE is extension of his efforts in Pakistan to promote education and research in science and engineering technology.

The complex comprises four main blocks, including spacious classrooms, laboratories, auditorium and libraries as well as other facilities for academic and administrative staff. In addition, there is a mosque, a cafeteria, green houses, and some residential facilities for faculty and students, while the entire scientific installations have a modern electricity back-up system as well.

The institute, having completed a year, of a three-year development phase approved and funded by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan, at present enjoys the linkages with some reputed research laboratories and senior visiting professors from within the country and abroad. The professors are supervising the fellows aspiring MPhil or PhD degrees in the fields of biomedical sciences, Agriculture and Plant Biology.

The present director of the institute, Dr S H Mujtaba Naqvi, a PhD in Biochemistry, who is a former chief scientist of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission and ex-director-general of the Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology (NIAB) and the National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (NIBGE), Faisalabad, and has served as a consultant to IAEA, Vienna, assumed his duties at KIBGE about a year back.

Mr Naqvi informed Dawn that the institute's building had been operational for research activities for the last one month. Imported equipment has been installed at different laboratories, including the real time polymerise chain reaction, DNA synthesizers, Cytogenetics, Centrifuge, Ultra Centrifuge and Electrophoresis.

"With available facilities and experts, we are in a position to go operational, but are waiting for chemicals which are likely to be received in another one month time," he said, adding that half of the HEC's Rs198 million grant meant for purchase of equipment, chemicals, books, vehicles and training of scientists had been received by the institute.

The KIBGE would, however, be needing recurring budgets for its teaching and research faculty and administrative staff, which were still to be appointed, as the amount available, under the PC-1, for development phases, would not be helping the institute out in meeting the future requirements, he added.

Talking about his plans, Dr Naqvi said that his team was working to identify the genetic basis of the diseases in certain areas of Sindh. We are also considering a rare disease traced among members of a particular tribe, while projects were in hand for developing salt-tolerant wheat and mustard crops, by using biotechnology methods, introducing gene to produce Vitamin-A wheat, producing and marketing poultry vaccines.

He concluded that KIBGE would strive to become an educational institution of international standing, entrusted with the responsibility of conducting basic and applied research and imparting education in modern biotechnology and biomedical sciences. It would establish academic links with reputable national and international institutes and centres as well, he added.