KARACHI: The newly procured ‘human genome mapping machine’ at the Jamilur Rahman Center for Genome Research, University of Karachi (UoK) will help scientists for better diagnosis and treatment of fatal diseases like cancer. The machine was procured at a cost of Rs.30 million at Jamilur Rahman Center which was setup as a part of Dr Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research in UoK Higher Education Commission (HEC)Former Chairman and Science and Technology ex Federal Minister Prof Dr Attaur Rahman expressed these views while delivering the opening lecture at the three-day workshop on ‘Next Generation DNA Sequencing Data Analysis’ held at L.E.J. National Science Information Centre in UoK on Monday. The participants from the various Universities of different cities will be trained in the workshop by COMSATS Institute of Information Technology Islamabad Prof Dr Waseem Haider, International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS) Prof Dr M Kamran Azim and Dr Ishtiaq in UoK. The workshop is designed for early career life scientists, post-doctoral fellows, M. Phil and Ph.D. students, and corporate professionals working in the areas of genomics and bioinformatics. Prof Attaur Rahman said the field genetics is also finding wide applications in health-related research with a growing understanding of genetic diseases. He said that the Next Generation DNA Sequencing (NGS) technology has revolutionized the field of genomics. “Using NGS, an entire human genome can be sequenced within a single day”, he stated. “This technology has tremendous applications in biomedicine, agriculture, and biotechnology. Jamilur Rahman Center was setup as a part of PCMD to strengthen the ongoing molecular medicine research efforts and to train the manpower in this cutting edge area of biology,” he added. “The center was named after my father, late Jamilur Rahman,” he informed. He said that he had announced the donation for the center when he received the Engro Excellence Award of Rs5 million on 14th January 2011. He donated the award money as well as his own savings for the construction of the centre. In the end of the opening ceremony, Dr Ishtiaq Ahmad Khan presented the vote of thanks.