LAHORE – Two prizes in microbiology will be awarded to MPhil students annually for exhibiting excellence in research and academics, University of Health Sciences (UHS) Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Malik Hussain Mubbashar announced on Tuesday.
The UHS VC made the announcement at the inaugural session of a 3-day ‘hands-on’ workshop on microbiology at university. The UHS microbiology department organised the workshop for young microbiologists to learn, under expert supervision, the processing of clinical specimens.
The prizes, which consist of medals and cash awards, were endowed by UHS microbiology department head Dr Abdul Hannan. The department will award a gold medal with Rs 10,000 cash prize annually to a MPhil microbiology (major) student and a silver medal with a Rs 5,000 cash prize to a MPhil microbiology (minor) student. Speaking at the workshop, the UHS VC stressed on the need of rapid and accurate diagnosis and sensitivity tests for patient care.
He noted that “dramatic changes in microbiological diagnostic techniques during the last decade meant an amplified role of microbiology.” He noted that “Having microbiology lab as a part of hospital diagnostic labs helps in prevention and control of infections.” He further stressed the need for each microbiology lab to follow quality assurance procedures and preferably
enforce external quality control of the main procedures.
The UHS microbiology department head Professor Dr Abdul Hannan said, “the ‘hands-on’ nature of the workshop was its essence. 50 stations with two participants at each station would work under a qualified microbiologist. Hannan said the workshop will focus on clinical pathogens. The workshop aims to arouse the interest of medical students in diagnostic microbiology, standardize microbiology practices and quality control.
