Prof. Dr. Bilquees Gul

Prof. Dr. Bilquees Gul, Director, Office of Research, Innovation and Commercialization (ORIC), University of Karachi, Founder and Former Director at Dr. Muhammad Ajmal Khan Institute of Sustainable Halophyte Utilization (ISHU), University of Karachi, has about 24 years of research and teaching experience. She has completed several projects on saline lands using non-conventional crops to combat food scarcity in arid regions. Brigham Young University, USA, awarded her the Ph. D. (1998) degree. She served as Director of the Institute of Sustainable Halophyte Utilization (ISHU) at the University of Karachi for ten years. She is the recipient of several Teaching and Research Scholarships. Dr. Gul was awarded the Gold Medal and Best scientist of the year by the Pakistan Academy of Sciences (2005) in Botany. She was the UNESCO-Chair holder in Sustainable Halophyte Utilization from 2012-2014. She is also an active member of food and agriculture COST Action, International Partner countries issued by EU-COST European Union of Science and Technology. She is also an active member of an organization for women in science for the developing world (OWSD) and other international societies. She is the recipient of the Atraaf-e-Khidmat Award for leading Women of the Country 2020” for the recognition and contribution of her services to the nation. Foshan University, Guangdong, China, awarded Dr. Gul Lingnan Chair Professor award. She is a life member of the Pakistan Botanical Society and a recipient of different cash awards for research productivity allowance. Pakistan Academy of Sciences elected Dr. Gul, its member, in 2006. Dr. Gul also served at Brigham Young University, USA, as a teaching assistant during 1995-1998 and as a post-doctoral fellow from 2007 and 2011- 12. She authored six books and 133 research articles in well-reputed national and international journals. 5742 citations of her articles can easily judge the quality of her research. Herresearch impact factor is about 254, RG-index is 32.6, h-index is 43, and i10 index is 119. In addition, she has completed more than ten research projects and supervised several young PhD students. Dr. Gul’s research focused on developing non- conventional crops for saline land and water. Her research goals are to understand and explore the potential of halophytes for the benefitof humanity and focus on a comprehensive approach to understanding the mechanisms of salt tolerance in these plants. She has been involved in a number of projects regarding the utilization of saline lands with the help of alternative crops. Her major research accomplishment is identifying a non-conventional fodder crop for arid-saline lands to combat food security issues in the country.