CSIR-IIIM Jammu appoints its chief scientist as new director

JAMMU: Chief Scientist at CSIR-IIIM Jammu Zabeer Ahmed, a local hailing from Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district, took over as the director of the renowned institute here on Wednesday, an official release said.

The search-cum-selection committee met in January this year and based on its recommendations, Ahmed has been appointed as director of the Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine Jammu, a National Institute of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Union Ministry of Science and Technology with its branch laboratory at Srinagar.

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Soon after assuming the charge of the post of director, he took review meetings with the scientific and administrative staff of the Institute and exhorted them to take the Institute to the next level of growth and excellence. Recipient of the prestigious knowledge Partnership Award of CSIR and J&K UT award for excellence in science and technology, Ahmed has published more than 70 peer research papers including popular articles and has five patents to his credit.

His areas of specialisation include pre-clinical drug development, diabetes and obesity research, rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory disorders, the release said, adding that Ahmed started his career in 1997 at CSIR-IIIM and has held different positions till his elevation as Director. He has authored three books and guided seven PhD and 35 Post Graduate students.

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During his illustrious 25 years of career, he has successfully established the research frontiers in metabolic disorders and rheumatoid arthritis and identified many potent leads for diabetes mellitus and rheumatoid arthritis which are currently under clinical development, the release said. It said he has been working with a team of scientists who identified three phytopharmaceutical leads for rheumatoid arthritis, out of which one is under Phase-I clinical trial and in the case of other two, the IND studies have been completed.

Dr Ahmed has developed and transferred the technology on the herbal-based formulation for diabetes mellitus, the release said. As Head of the Pharmacology division of the Institute, he has also been actively pursuing research on rheumatoid arthritis, inflammation disorders, diabetes mellitus and obesity including the ambitious research project on the discovery of cannabinoids and their derivatives from Cannabis sativa for the management of chronic disease conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and neuropathic pain. He is also leading several societal programmes and extension projects of CSIR-IIIM Jammu and has been credited with various grant-in aids and collaborative projects, the release said.