IUB professors awarded research grants

Professor Dr Shah M Faruque, Dean of the School of Environment and Life Sciences at Independent University, Bangladesh has been awarded a research grant by the UK based organization, The Wellcome Trust to fund his research on control of waterborne epidemics such as cholera.

The Wellcome Trust, is a global charitable organization that supports excellence in biomedical research and medical humanities.

The sole investigator award which Dr Faruque received is given to internationally renowned scientists who are chosen by a panel of world leading scientific experts.

Under this award, the Wellcome Trust will provide approximately $1.2 million over 2.5 years to conduct research towards generating knowledge to control epidemics of waterborne diseases.

Professor Saleemul Huq, Director of the International Center for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) won the prestigious COLOCAL Grant with funding provided by NORHEAD (Norwegian Program for Capacity Development in Higher Education and Research).

Dr Saleemul Huq was recognized as one of the top twenty global influencers on climate change policy in 2019.

In 2021, he was the only Bangladeshi scientist on Reuters Hot List of the world's top climate scientists, coming in at 208.

The COLOCAL project is a six-year (2021-2026) programme with a consortium of 5 universities including Makerere University (Uganda), Eduardo Mondlane University (Mozambique), and the School of Environmental Science and Management affiliated with Pokhara University (Nepal) as well as the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (the Norwegian Institution).

The research is on local adaptation to Climate Change in LDCs (Least Developed Countries) with Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) serving as the coordinating University for the program.

Dr Khondkar Ayaz Rabbani of the Department of Environmental Science and Management will serve as project coordinator. The total funding of this project is valued at $2,000,000.

Both Grants will serve to enhance the global engagement and international outreach for IUB.

“These awards recognize the outstanding research capabilities and commitments of IUB, and will have long-lasting effect on the quality of scientific research conducted in Bangladesh,” said IUB Vice Chancellor, Tanweer Hasan, PhD.