KU PROBE aims to enhance knowledge of health-related issue

KARACHI: A three-day-long Physiology Resonates and Ozonizes Biological Existence (PROBE) 2020 Conference being organized by the Department of Physiology, University of Karachi.

The second PROBE Conference aimed to enhance knowledge and understanding of health-related issues and its therapeutic approaches and also to provide a path to the young researchers to continue their research with much higher standards.

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Haripur, Professor Dr Anwar ul Hasan Gilani informed the audience that despite the advancement in pharmaceutical medicine, disease burden is not curtailed.

He mentioned that there is progress in reducing mortality due to infectious diseases, while there is also an increase in the global trend of morbidity and mortality due to non-communicable diseases mainly the result of obesity.

“Obesity is now considered a global epidemic and growing cause of many chronic diseases including hypertension, atherosclerosis, diabetes, osteoarthritis, low back pain, menstrual disorders, impotence and urinary, respiratory, psychological, stomach disorders and some forms of cancer,’

adding that yet a large number of people are unaware that being obese increases the risk of developing the diseases, most of which are not best cured with pharmaceutical medicines.”

Professor Dr Gilani said it is not only important what you eat but equally important is how you eat and when you eat. He further said that a diet based on natural foods rich in fiber, legumes, complex carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables, olives, fish along with lifestyle characterized by mental peace and more physical activity helps in controlling obesity and restore physiological functions.

While referring to a World Health Organization report, he mentioned that more than 1.9 billion adult population of the world is overweight and over 650 million people are obese. He added that more than 340 million children between age 5-19 were overweight or obese and over 41 million children under the age of five years were overweight or obese.

Obesity has nearly tripled since 1975 and after analyzing the last four decades, it has emerged that one-fifth of the world’s population will be affected by obese by 2025.

Meanwhile, the KU Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Khalid Mahmood Iraqi observed that participants would share their ideas and information related to innovations in biological sciences at various levels from undergrads to PhD and would also provide the new trends in biological techniques in global perspectives.

He mentioned that physiology is important because it is the foundation upon which we build our knowledge of what life is and how to treat disease and how to cope with stresses imposed upon our bodies by different environments.

He said that the study of normal biological functions provide the basis for understanding the abnormal function seen in animal and human disease and for developing new methods for treating those diseases.

“I respect physiology being the keystone in the arch of biological and medical knowledge offering a comprehensive understanding of complex human-machine hard and software.”

The Chairman Department of Physiology KU Professor Dr Taseer Ahmed said that at present faculty members are running six National Research Program for Universities projects funded by Higher Education Commission, and completed many local and international funded projects.

“Out of 16 faculty members, 11 of them holds PhD degrees which makes it the largest doctorate faculty in the subject of physiology under one roof in a general university.

The department is the backbone to nurture physiology initially in medical colleges and then in every institute where basic medical sciences are involved stretching the spectrum from nursing schools, pharmacy education, physiotherapy institutes to nutrition studies.”

He urged that Pakistan Medical Commission should consider re-allowing graduates of the physiology department to perform as faculty in medical and associated institutes as it was practiced before.

The conference is partnered with Pakistan Physiological Society and South Asian Association of Physiologists and event is supported by the Higher Education Commission-Pakistan, Pakistan Science Foundation, Office of Research Innovation and Commercialization and the World Poultry Science Association.