MULTAN, July 13: Dr Muhammad Iqbal Makhdoom, having 34-year cotton research experience to his credit, has been appointed as the new director, Central Cotton Research Institute (CCRI), Multan.

According to a CCRI press release issued here on Thursday, Dr Makhdoom earned his MSc (Hons) agriculture from the Agricultural University, Faisalabad, and PhD from Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan.

He started his career with his first posting as assistant research officer at Ayub Agricultural Institute, Faisalabad, in 1972. He joined the CCRI as scientific officer in 1976.

Dr Iqbal Makhdoom has also done post-graduation from the US and Germany. His 160 research papers have been published in national and international journals.

He has succeeded Muhammad Islam Gill who died in a tragic air crash in Multan claiming 45 precious lives on July 10. Islam Gill was the recipient of the presidential award “Tamgha-i-Imtiaz” for his valuable research work on cotton.—APP