Aparna Islam, PhD, Professor of Biotechnology Program, BRAC University (BRACU) participated in the 16th International Society for Biosafety Research (ISBR) Symposium held on 30 April-4 May 2023, in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA. Around 300 academics, researchers, and regulators from all over the world attended this leading assembly on biosafety. A total of 14 academician participated from Bangladesh and among them Professor Islam was the only academician from a private university.
Three of her research projects conducted in collaboration with ACI Agribusiness were selected for poster presentation through a highly competitive selection process, and one of her posters received the 2nd prize in the poster competition.
The results of the awarded-receiving project titled "Baseline data generation of potato cultivation practice and impact on ongoing chemical input in commercial potato fields" indicated a potential scope to cultivate genetically-modified (GM) potatoes in Bangladesh, which could be the best solution instead of overusing fertilizer and chemical pesticides.
Only two years back, Professor Islam’s team started this new research area of Biosafety at BRAC University. Currently, BRAC University is the only private university which is involved in biosafety research. The above achievement at the recent ISBR Symposium will encourage the team immensely to take BRAC University's biosafety research forward.