The International Conference on Current Trends, Prospects, and Opportunities in Vaccine Research commenced on 28 February 2024 at the Riazuddin Auditorium, CEMB, University of the Punjab, Lahore. The inauguration ceremony was attended by Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Prof. Kauser Abdullah Malik, alongside Vice Chancellor of the University of the Punjab Prof. Khalid Mehmood.
The conference received over 700 applications, including international applicants, of which 150 participants were selected, alongside 30 invited faculty and industrial experts. Among the distinguished attendees were seven Chinese delegates — scientists, industrial experts and students — plus international speakers including Professor Donald King (Pirbright Institute, UK), Professor Michael Hess (University of Veterinary Medicine, Austria), Dr. Budiman Bela (Universitas Indonesia) and Dr. Derya Karatas Yeni (Necmettin Erbakan University, Turkiye).
A highlight was the poster competition, in which participants from across the country presented abstracts on vaccine research, evaluated by a panel of international and national experts. The conference was a collaborative effort involving 11 institutes from across Pakistan under the leadership of CEMB.
The Chinese delegation comprised Prof. Jing-yu Wang (Northwest A&F University), Mr. Liu Chengli (Tianjin Henji Lide Biotech Development Co., Ltd) and two students. Prof. Cheng He, Director of the Sino-ASEAN Innovative Academy of Major Animal Disease Control, China, and Prof. Jing-yu Wang each delivered talks on vaccine research, and the visit laid groundwork for future joint activities including collateral workshops funded under the CPEC grant.
The conference served as a platform for fostering Pakistan–China collaboration in vaccine research, with potential to reduce dependency on imported vaccines and open opportunities tied to CPEC infrastructure. Organizers acknowledged the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Pakistan for grant support, and noted that conference abstracts would be published by Advancements in Life Sciences, an HEC Y-category journal.
