US-Pakistan Workshop and Symposium on Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Karachi, Pakistan, Feb. 1998

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Description: This award is for support of US scientists' participation in a `US-Pakistan Workshop and Symposium on Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology`, to be held in February 1998, in Karachi, Pakistan. The US team leader is Dr. Michael Gealt, Department of Biosciences and Biotechnology at Drexel University in Philadelphia, and the Pakistani co-organizer is Dr. Nuzhat Ahmed, of the Center of Molecular Genetics at the University of Karachi, Pakistan. The research areas to be emphasized in the workshop include: on-site biodegradation; in situ (intrinsic) biodegradation; genetic manipulation for development of new microorganisms; risk assessment; and environmental analysis. The meeting includes a symposium attended by scientists from the US and Pakistan, and from Europe and Japan. It will be followed by a bilateral US-Pakistan session to identify areas of potential joint research based on the information gathered in the symposium. The proceedings, including the presentations and also the US-Pakistan recommendations, will be published by the University of Karachi. Scope: This project is intended to first bring American and Pakistani scientists in a meeting with others working in the important areas of genetic engineering and biotechnology from Europe and Japan to exchange information and results of recent research work. It is also intended to focus attention to the scientific questions that can be better addressed through US-Pakistan scientific cooperation. There is potential for considerable benefits from collaboration between an advanced country such as the US with a developing country such as Pakistan in this field. There is a unique flora of plants, animals, and microorganisms in Pakistan that enriches the biological resources to be used. There is also relatively inexpensive, skilled, scientific manpower in Pakistan, which can carry part of the lengthy and laborious research work that is common in the field of biotechnology and genetic engineering. The benefits of successful collaboration, to many developing countries, can be great. The proposal meets INT criteria for supporting activities likely to enhance collaboration between US and foreign scientists in areas of mutual interest.