Dr. Bilquees Gul
Professor and Director, Dr. Muhammad Ajmal Khan Institute of Sustainable Halophyte Utilization (ISHU), University of Karachi
Ph. D. Plant Ecophysiology, Brigham Young University, UT, USA
M. Sc. Botany/Plant Ecology, University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan
B. S. Botany, Urdu Science College, Karachi, Pakistan
Dr. Bilquees Gul, Professor and Director, Institute of Sustainable Halophyte Utilization (ISHU), University of Karachi has about 23 years of research and teaching experience. She has been involved a number projects regarding utilization of saline lands with the help of alternative crops.
Dr. Gul's research interest is the ecological management of inter-tidal, coastal and inland saline ecosystems. Dr. Gul’s research focuses on a comprehensive approach to understanding the mechanisms of salt tolerance in halophytes in how they perceive and transmit stress signals, how plants regulate stress gene expression, and what function stress metabolites and protein products have in conferring stress tolerance. A thorough understanding of these processes will provide a basis to use halophyte plants and saline lands for the benefit of humans as well as to secure agriculture and environment under changing global conditions. Dr. Gul has been involved in a number projects on utilization of saline lands and water by using alternative crops to combat food scarcity in arid-regions.
Dr. Gul was awarded Pakistan Academy of Science Gold Medal in the field of Botany. She is a member of Organization for Women in Science for Developing Country (OWSD) and COST Action and has served as Chair holder of the UNESCO chair in Sustainable Halophyte Utilization at the Institute of Sustainable Halophyte Utilization, University of Karachi. She is the Global Goodwill Ambassadors Humanitarian of Pakistan.