Biography:
Dr. Iqbal joined the Institute of Northern Engineering in October 2006 as a Fulbright Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Water and Environmental Research Center. He graduated in Plant Physiology/Biochemistry from the University of Karachi, Pakistan and, following short periods teaching and working with a contract, undertook a M. Phil. in Microbiology at Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. He got his Ph.D in Biotechnology from the Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield in 1990. He was appointed as a Senior Scientific Officer in Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research in September 1990 where he worked in the Biotechnology Research Center, Lahore in the area of Microbial/Environmental Biotechnology. He is a recipient of the Third World Academy of Science Award (Italy) “Young Scientist of the Year in South Asia (1995)”. Dr. Iqbal has been an Alexander von Humboldt Post-doctoral Research Fellow for the period of August 1996 to June 1998 and worked in the University of Kiel, Germany on a research project entitled “Development of a biological process for the treatment of wastewater”. He also worked in Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Sheffield, UK as a Postdoctoral Research Associate for the period of September, 2002 to October, 2003. Before coming here he was working as a Principal Scientific Officer in the Environmental Biotechnology Research Center, Lahore, Pakistan. Dr. Iqbal has about 60 publications focused into microalgal biotechnology, immobilization technology, bioreactor designing and environment biotechnology.

Research Interests:
His research interests are mainly in the field of Environmental Biotechnology with specific expertise in developing the new, low-cost immobilized biosorbents for the removal of toxic metals from industrial effluents. His ingenuity and design development in cell immobilization, using low-cost fibrous matrix of loofa sponge, Petiolar felt-sheath of palm and fibrous network of papaya wood, has opened the opportunities for the development of novel immobilization technology for fermentation and environmental biotechnology.

Curriculum Vitae