Anwar Nasim (born 7 December 1935)
is a Pakistani

molecular biologist Molecular biology is the branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecular basis of biological activity in and between cells, including biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactions. The study of chemical and physi ...

and

geneticist A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic processe ...

who was the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Pakistan Academy of Sciences The Pakistan Academy of Sciences ( ur, ) (abbreviated as: PAS), is a learned society of sciences, which described itself as "a repository of the highest scientific talent available in the country." Established in 1953 in Lahore, Punjab, the A ...

from 2015–2017. He currently resides in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Early life

Anwar was born in a village near

Pasrur Pasrur (Punjabi and ur, ), is a city of Sialkot District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The city is the capital of Pasrur Tehsil and is administratively subdivided into 26 wards of municipal committee Pasrur. It is located at 32°16'0N 74 ...

Sialkot District Sialkot District ( Punjabi and ur, ), is one of the districts of Punjab province of Pakistan. It is located in the Majha region of Panjab, otherwise the northeast of the province. The city of Sialkot is the capital of the district. The Sialko ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. His father was in the police service, so Anwar spent his childhood in different cities. He got his early education from

Sialkot Sialkot ( ur, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of Sialkot District and the 13th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined with Jammu (the winter capital of Indian administered Jammu and Ka ...

. In 1951 he passed his matric exam from

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

. In 1953 he passed his F.Sc. exam in pre-medical from Forman Christian College Lahore. Then in 1955 he did BSc. in

molecular biology Molecular biology is the branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecular basis of biological activity in and between cells, including biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactions. The study of chemical and physi ...

from Gordon College,

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan's ...

and got first position. In 1957, he got his MSc. degree in

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

with Gold Medal from the

University of the Punjab The University of the Punjab (Urdu, pnb, ), also referred to as Punjab University, is a public, research, coeducational higher education institution located in Lahore, Pakistan. Punjab University is the oldest public university in Pakistan. ...

, Lahore.

Career and higher education

Nasim started his career as a lecturer in Govt. College, Multan and then

Government College, Lahore The Government College University, Lahore (colloquially known as GCU), is a public research university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Opened as Government College, Lahore, in 1864, it became a university in 2002. Overview In 1864, Gov ...

.Dr Anwar Naseem
In 1962 he got a scholarship and went to

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. In 1966 he got PhD in Biochemical Genetics from

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. From 1966 to 1973 he was a Research Officer in Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. From 1973 to 1989, he was Senior Research Officer in

National Research Council of Canada The National Research Council Canada (NRC; french: Conseil national de recherches Canada) is the primary national agency of the Government of Canada dedicated to science and technology research & development. It is the largest federal research ...

. During this period he passed a sabbatical year (1978–79) at

Max Planck Institute Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE) * Max (gorilla) (1 ...

Tübingen Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer rivers. about one in thr ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and the Biology Department of

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

. From 1983 to 1989, he taught as Adjunct Professor in Department of Microbiology and Immunology,

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottawa ...

and from 1984 to 1989 as Adjunct Professor in Department of Biology

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning World ...

, Ottawa. From 1989 to 1993, he worked as Principal Scientist and Head, Molecular Genetics Group, Biology and Medical Research Department,

King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre The King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre ( ar, مستشفى الملك فيصل التخصصي ومركز الأبحاث) (KFSH&RC) is tertiary referral hospital in Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia. Overview As a tertiary ...

Riyadh Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the R ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

. From 1994 to 1996, he was Executive Secretary in Pakistan Academy of Sciences, Islamabad. In August 1996 he was appointed as Adviser Science,

COMSTECH Standing Committee for Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH) is one of four standing committees of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation dedicated to the promotion and cooperation of science and technology activities among the OIC ...

, Islamabad.

International involvements

Nasim worked at the

Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology The Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology, also known as NIAB, ( ur, ) is an agriculture and food irradiation national research institute managed by the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission. Along with Nuclear Institute for Food and Agric ...

(NIAB),

Faisalabad Faisalabad (; Punjabi/ ur, , ; ), formerly known as Lyallpur ( Punjabi, Urdu: لائل پور), named after the founder of the city, but was renamed in 1977 in honour of late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. It is the 3rd largest city of Pak ...

in 1981 and at Center for Advanced Molecular Biology, Punjab University, Lahore in 1985. He was also member of the teaching faculty of the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

Regional Training Course on gene cloning held in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

in 1983. In 1978 he was chairman of the organizing committee for the International Symposium on DNA repair, Mutation and Human III Health held in Ottawa, Canada. He was also international Coordinator and Member of the Executive Committee for the XVI

International Congress of Genetics The International Congress of Genetics (ICG) is a five yearly conference for geneticists. The first ICG was held in 1898. Since 1973 It has been organized by the International Genetics Federation (IGF). The aim of the congress is to reflect on prog ...

, Toronto, Canada held in 1988.

Research and books

Nasim published more than one hundred scientific papers in prestigious international journals worldwide since 1965. Some of the books written by Nasim are: * Hurst, A. and NASIM, A. (1984). Repairable Lesions in Microorganisms. Academic Press, New York. * Dillon, J.R., NASIM, A., Nestmann, E.R. (1985). Recombinant DNA Methodology. John Wiley & Sons, New York. Translated into Japanese. * NASIM, A., Young, P. and Johnson, B.F. (1989). Molecular Biology of the Fission Yeast. Academic Press, New York. * Chopra, V.L. and NASIM, A. (1990). Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology. Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, India. * NASIM, A. (1992). Genetic Engineering - State of the Art, 150 pages. A monograph prepared for Islamic Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) Rabat, Morocco . Translated into Arabic and French. * Kauser A. Malik, NASIM, A. and Ahmed M. Khalid (1995) Biotechnology for sustainable development. (NIBGE), Faisalabad

Honors and awards

Some of Dr. Anwar's awards are: * Gold Medal in MSc (1957) * Academic roll of Honor Govt. College, Lahore . (1958) * Chairman, Committee on Environmental Mutagenesis, Genetics Society of Canada, 1976–1977. * Member of Teaching Faculty of the UNESCO Regional Training Course on Gene cloning held in Singapore, 1983. * Chairman, Committee on Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Genetic Society of Canada, 1983–1984. * Elected Fellow of Third World Academy of Sciences, 1987. * Elected Foreign Fellow of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences, 1988. * Elected Fellow of Islamic Academy of Sciences, 1998. * Elected Fellow of Pakistan Academy of Medical Sciences, 2000. * International Coordinator and Member of the Executive Committee for the XVI International Congress of Genetics, Toronto, 1988. * Consultant and Member of International Advisory Committee for National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (NIBGE), Faisalabad (1993 - To Date). * Honorary Professor in H.E.J. Research Institute of Chemistry, University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan. (1993) * Overseas Pakistani's Institute (OPI) award for outstanding services for the cause of science in Pakistan. (1995). * Civil Award "Pride of Performance" in Molecular Genetics (1995) (by the President of Pakistan) * Civil Award "Sitara-e-Imtiaz" in Molecular Genetics 1999. * Chairman National Commission on Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of Pakistan . (2001-To Date) * Chairman Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) Chapter in Pakistan (July 2002) * Elected General Secretary Pakistan Academy of Sciences (PAS) (Jan 2012) * Elected President of Pakistan Academy of Sciences (PAS) (Jan 2015) * Patron Broader Middle East and North Africa Association of Young Scientists (BAYS) Since 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nasim, Anwar People from Sialkot District Pakistani microbiologists Pakistani molecular biologists Science and technology in Pakistan Pakistani botanists Pakistani geneticists Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Forman Christian College alumni University of the Punjab alumni Living people 1935 births Government College University, Lahore alumni Government College University, Lahore faculty Fellows of Pakistan Academy of Sciences Presidents of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences