Post Event Report – Emerging Scientist Season II

The Asian Council of Science Editor organized Emerging Scientist Season II as a virtual conference conducted on 13^th and 14^th February 2021 via the Zoom Meeting app. From all across Pakistan, the expert and young researcher community joined in to contribute valuable knowledge and exchange regarding the thriving issues of the scientific community in the fields of physical, biological, and social sciences and humanities.

The conference aimed to provide a platform for academics to interact and expand their network to broaden exceptional opportunities. Many young researchers got an opportunity to share their innovative ideas and new developments with the community in form of Poster presentations. Also, highly qualified & experienced field experts were invited to inspire and guide our emerging scientists.

The event took place in collaboration with the ACE College for Women, National Council for Tibb, Asian Digital Library, Foundation University, Institute of Clinical Psychology, and the Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering, and Management Sciences.

The conference began with inspiring three exclusive keynote lectures by Prof. Dr. Zabta Khan Shinwari, Prof. Emeritus, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad; Maj Gen [Retd] Prof. Muhammad Aslam, Former VC, The Univ. of Health Sciences, Lahore and  Dr. Rubina Hanif from Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad.

To manage this event actively, an organizing committee was responsible to register the participants, coordinate the event, and assure the smooth flow of the conference sessions. The organization committee was headed by M. Imran Pasha, Sana Yamin, and Zeeshan Ashraf.

An advisory board committee was formed to lead the event and resolve associated external issues which included Dr. Zabta Khan Shinwari, Prof. Emeritus, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad; Mr. Muhammad Sarwar, Secretary & Treasurer of The ACSE;  Maj Gen [Retd] Prof. Muhammad Aslam, Former VC, The Univ. of Health Sciences, Lahore; Dr. Uzma Ali, ICP, University of Karachi, Pakistan and  Dr. Rubina Hanif, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan

1^st  Day of Conference (13 February 2021)

• The first day of the Emerging Scientist conference was started with an Introductory Video on “Developmental Milestones of the ACSE” followed by the Morning Greetings on behalf of the council by Ms. Maryam Sayab, Professional Development Manager of the ACSE.
• The greetings continued with the welcome address by Conference Chair; Dr. Zabta Khan Shinwari at 10 am followed by a keynote lecture on Research Career in Pakistan: Landscape & Horizons.
• At 10:30 am Maj Gen [Retd] Prof. Muhammad Aslam delivered an interesting keynote lecture on Feminization of Medical Profession – A Strategic Dilemma.
• To highlight the issues of social sciences, Dr. Rubina Hanif emphasized Positive Youth Development: A Framework to Meet the Challenges in her keynote lecture at 10:50 am.
• The conference was furthered by distinguished speaker, Dr. Muhammad Aamer Mehmood, who pointed out the importance of life sciences in his presentation ‘Bioprospecting of Indigenous Microalgae and Cyanobacteria for Biofuels and High-Value Bioproducts’.
• After a brief session by the keynote & Distinguished speakers, the oral presenters were encouraged to present their research in different fields of sciences.
• In Life Sciences, the oral presenters displayed their research work, each highlighting different areas of the environmental problem and new interventions. Mr. Jahanzeb Qureshi, University of the Punjab, Lahore, discussed ‘Tropical Cyclone Tracking: A Case Study in South Arabian Sea’; followed by Dr. Muhammad Kabir, University of Sargodha, Bhakkar ‘Environmental Pollution and its Emerging Solution by Plantation’; Dr. Sajid Rashid, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, ‘Role of D316N Mutation in the Functioning of APPL/Reptin/?-catenin/HDAC1 Quaternary Complex’
• The first session of life sciences was followed by 2 field experts of Health Sciences who explained barriers, challenges, and solutions for thriving health problems. They included Dr. Madeeha Malik, Hamdard University, Islamabad ‘Patient-Centered Evidence for Health Resource Allocation: Health Equity a Priority for Pakistan’ and Tabiba Syma Ghayas, Hamdard University, Karachi ‘ Project CPAT: Cardiopulmonary Assessment Tool’.
• Following this, the next session of Physcial Science & Engineering included 4 oral presenters who displayed the importance of physical Sciences and new technology developed. Dr. Afaq Ahmad, University of Punjab, Lahore ‘Electron Affinity for Hydrogen Negative Ion in Photo detachment Microscopy’; Ms. Faiza Rasheed, University of Management and Technology, Lahore ‘ Establishment, Command and Functional Assay of Artificial Elbow’; Dr. Imran Akbar, China University of Petroleum, China ‘Experimental Study of Polymeric Microspheres and Guar Gum as Chemical Additives to Recover the Residual Oil from the Reservoir’; Dr. Perveiz Khalid; University of the Punjab, Lahore, ‘Physio-chemical Analysis and Delineation of Groundwater Quality in Cholistan Area, Bahawalpur, Pakistan’.
• The last segment was lead by Social Sciences oral presenters at 3:25 am referring to mental disorders. Three oral presenters participated in this segment including Dr. Najma Iqbal Malik; the University of Sargodha, Sargodha ‘Mental Health Issues: A Threat to Sustainable Community’; Dr. Nelofar Kiran Rauf; Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad ‘Burning Deficits into Strengths: A Way to Move Forward with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)’; Ms. Raumish Masud Khan; Kinnaird College for Women, Lahore; ‘Factor Analysis of Altruism Scale Associated with Pakistani Perspective’.

The first day of the conference was officially ended with the closing remarks of Conference Chair Prof. Dr. Zabta Khan Shinwari along with suggestions and recommendations to the young researchers.

2^nd Day of Conference (14 February 2021)

The poster presentation proceeded on the second day of the event. The conference started with a welcome address by Prof. Dr. Muhammad Aslam at 10:00 am.

• The event was divided into four sessions based on the nature of the field, each session was assessed by three judges.
• In the first session, the Health Sciences poster presentations were judged by two Evaluation Committee members, Maj Gen [Retd] Prof. Muhammad Aslam and Tabiba Syma Ghayas.
• The second session began at 11:30 am with Life Sciences poster presentations, judged by Evaluation Committee Members Mr. Jahanzeb Qureshi and Dr. Muhammad Kabir.
• The third session started at 12:15 pm judged by Evaluation Committee Members Dr. Afaq Ahmad and Ms. Faiza Rasheed for Physical Science and Engineering.
• The last session was judged by Evaluation Committee Members Dr. Rubina Hanif and Dr. Najma Malik at 12:50 pm for the Social Sciences poster presentations.
• Emerging Scientist 2021 ended with a thankyou note, poster award ceremony, and closing remarks by one of the ACSE representatives; Ms. Maryam Sayab, Professional Development Manager of The ACSE. The three most promising poster presenters, Mr. Ahmad Yar Sukhera ‘ ‘Project “MUST” (Macroscopic Urine & Stool Test)’ for securing 1^st position along with a reward of 10,000 PKR; Ms. Mehak Haroon ‘Impact of Perceived Differential Experiences and Rejection Sensitivity on Positive Youth Development’ for securing 2^nd position along with the reward of 8,000 PKR and Ms. Sajda bibi ‘Induced Mutations and Molecular Approaches for Improving Wheat Plant Architecture and Grain Quality Traits’ for securing 3^rd position along with the reward of 5,000 PKR were honored and duly rewarded for their impressive contribution to the scientific community.