Professor
Prof. Dr. Abul Kalam Azad is serving in the Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (GEB) Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST), Bangladesh. He completed his SSC in 1988 from Comilla Board and HSC in 1990 from Dhaka Board. Being a graduate in Microbiology from University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, Dr. Azad received his Ph.D. in Bioresource Sciences in 2004 from Tottori University, Japan, and joined as an Assistant Professor and Head in the Department of GEB, SUST. Dr. Azad was the former Dean, School of Life sciences, SUST and Head, Department of GEB, SUST. He did postdoctoral research for two years with JSPS fellowship in Shimane University, Japan and was invited as a visiting scientist by JSPS in 2010 and by JASSO in 2016. His primary field is genetic engineering and biotechnology with research emphasis on structure-function relationship of aquaporins, the water channel proteins, and microbial enzyme technology and antimicrobial resistance. Due to research excellence, Dr. Azad received the “UGC Gold Medal 2017” in Clinical, Pharmaceutical and Medical Sciences and "UGC Award 2011" in Life Sciences and Biology. He also received the "Vice-Chancellor Award 2012" due to his research excellence in science. Currently, he is doing research to bioconvert the residual biomass in the agricultural and municipal solid wastes into bioresources through production of industrially important enzymes and microbial lipids. Dr. Azad is also doing research on genome-wide analysis and structural basis for transmembrane transport selectivity profiles of aquaporins in plants and plant pathogens. Dr. Azad has already published more than 65 papers in international journals with high impact factors. Prof. Azad served Bangladesh Society of Microbiologists (BSM), Bangladesh Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Association (BBCBA) and Bangladesh JSPS Alumni Association as a member of the executive committees. Currently Prof. Azad is the ASM (American Society for Microbiology) country Ambassador to Bangladesh, Board Member of AFOB (Asian Federation of Biotechnology), Society for Global Networks of Bangladeshi Biotechnologists (GNOBB). Dr. Azad is the life member of several scientific societies including BJSPSAA, GNOBB, BBCBA and BSM. He is editor and reviewer of several international journals.