Proteins in Pakistan

Speakers at the Pakistan symposia. Left to right are: Ian Munro, David Moss, Robert Huber, Samar Hasnain, Zafar Zaidi, Louise Johnson, Richard Ambler and Manolis Pantos.

The Fifth Symposium on Protein Structure Function Relationships held in January 1997 in Karachi (Pakistan) was sponsored by the IUCr and organized by Z. Zaidi (HEJ Research Inst. of Chemistry of Karachi) and S. Hasnain (SERC Daresbury). The Inaugural Lecture in the memory of Salimuzzaman Siddiqui, who founded the Institute, was delivered by L. Johnson (FRS) (Oxford U.) and the Abdus Salam Memorial Lecture was delivered by Nobel Laureate R. Huber (Max Planck Inst.). A total of 17 Plenary and Invited Lectures were presented in 11 topical sessions. The 25 posters presented included contributions from Iran and Thailand. R. Amblers (U. of Edinburgh) who was asked to evaluate these posters commented, "I had to judge a similar program in the UK in Sept. and I found that the range in Karachi was quite the same, with the best being excellent. The students are very enthusiastic and ask difficult questions!!" The poster prize was awarded to A. Ali, a PhD student of the Protein Chemistry section of the HEJ. Ways and means of securing academic support for scientists from the developing world were discussed by Profs. Johnson, Hasnain and Zaidi and many attendees promised to give assistance to young scientists in the region.