The review panel was welcomed by the Executive Committee of the center under the chairmanship of Prof. Omar Bin Salem Al Attas, Director Center of Excellence in Biotechnology Research

Members of the Review Panel:

Tuesday, May 11, 2010:

The panel was accompanying by Dr. Ali, Secretary of the Center of Excellence in the Ministry of Higher Education and Dr. Saeed Al-Zahrani representative from the Ministry of Higher Education.

The session was started in the new office of the CEBR in the College of Science at 8:30 AM with the welcoming and introduction of the members of the center to the review committee by Prof. Omar Bin Salem Al Attas, he gave a brief presentation about the center the most important events, activities priorities and strategies carried out by the centre. He also stressed the importance of cooperation from government, private sector and the need for international cooperation in fulfilling the center aims. The presentation included number of dialogues and discussion with members of the review team and their companions.

Dr. Fahad Nasser Almajdhi Deputy Director for Financial and Administrative Affairs gave detailed presentation on the administrative and organizational structure of the Centre. He also explained the budget of the centre, payments due from the Ministry and the allocation of the budget to the center's research projects.

The session concluded with the presentation from Prof. Ibrahim Abdulla Alsarra Deputy Director for Technical Affairs and Research. His presentation included the overview of research projects funded by the center the most important scientific events, activities of scientific and international cooperation for the center.

The second session held at the auditorium of Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Science at 10:30 AM. The panel was introduced to the research groups of the Center, where the Principal Investigator of the research group present their research projects status and the possible outcomes of their funded projects to the review panel. The presentation included number of dialogues and discussion between researchers and the review team. The session concluded at 2 PM.

The third session was held in the conference room of the Center at 3 PM. In this session, review plans discussed their observation with the members of the center and gave their suggestions on the research projects, they stressed the need for research orientation, focusing on the needs for strong linkages between the research groups. The session ends at 4 PM.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010:

The session was started in the conference room of the CEBR at 8:30 AM with members of the Executive Committee and members of the review panel with their companions. Prof. Assim A. Al-Fadda discussed the detailed presentation of Strategic Plan for the period 2009-2011, which followed by open and comprehensive debate with the review panel on the activities of the Center observations and suggestions, the session concluded at 11:30 AM.

From 11:30 AM to 12 PM, the review panel visited some laboratories at the faculty of science to view the research activities of some research groups supported by the Center.

The review panel held a meeting with his Excellency Dr. Hamed Al-Katlan Director for Knowledge Exchange and Technology Transfer (KETT) from 1PM to 2PM at university conference hall, the panel explained their observations about the Center to him. He appreciated the center work and showed his happiness for the achievements made by the center so far.

The last session was held at the center conference room at 2PM where the review panel held discussion with the center executive committee members, they discussed the main objectives of the Center was the creation and development of biotechnology in the specialty research areas of science, agriculture, medicine and pharmacy. They concluded to achieve those goals; it requires the cooperation and coordination between KSU colleges and research institutes worldwide.

The Administrative Office of CEBR has moved to a new location located at Room AB3, Building 5, College of Science, King Saud University and formally opened last May 2010 as the administrative center.  It has also merged the necessary manpower to provide efficient and synchronize queued work.

This encompasses the following offices:

1. Office of the Director (Prof. Omar Al-Attas)
2. Office of the Deputy Director for Financial and Administrative Affairs (Dr. Fahad Al-Majhdi)
3. Office of the Deputy Director for Research and Technical Affairs (Dr. Ibrahim A. Alsarra)
4. Marketing and Outreach Program Coordinator (Dr. Mohammed Alzoghaibi)
5. Office personnel such as office executives, accountant and IT

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Collaboration agreed and signed on March 9, 2010 in King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with Mohammad A. Al-Zoghaibi, Ph.D. (Member of the Executive Committee), Sulieman A. Alfaifi, Ph.D.(Member of the Executive Committee) and Fahad N. Al-Majhdi, Ph.D. (Co.Deputy Director Administration & Financial Affairs) with the Texas A & M University delegate Dr. Martin Dickman, Director of the Institute for Plant Genomics and Biotechnology.

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Professor RiazuddinFollowing the invitation extended to his Excellency by the Center for Research Excellence in Biotechnology at King Saud University, Pakistani Professor Sheikh Riazuddin, laureate of the Islamic Bank Prize for Sciences and Technology for 2008G visited the University recently. During this visit, Professor Riazuddin had a meeting with the administrative board of the Center for Research Excellence in Biotechnology, and discussed with them the various possible aspects of cooperation between this Center and the Center for Research Excellence in Molecular Biology chaired by Professor Riazuddin. The latter also delivered two lectures: the first one at the College of Food and Agriculture on the use of the BT gene in the production of genetically modified and insect-resistant plants, and the second lecture at the College of Medicine titled: "From Gene to Clinic".

Professor Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Doss, Director of the Center for Research Excellence in Biotechnology, said that " Professor Riazuddin is considered as the most prominent Pakistani scientist in the field of biotechnology" He had worked for 10 years at Johns Hopkins University in the United States before he returned to Pakistan to establish the Center for Research Excellence in Molecular Biology. Professor Al-Doss added that " Professor Riazuddin is also an outstanding scientist, who has won many international awards, and that he is the Executive Director of the Asian Pacific Molecular Biology Network, in addition to being an Associate Researcher at the ScientificPark in Korea and a Visiting Professor at Washington State University in the United States."

Minister of Higher Education Dr. Khalid Mohammed Al Anqari opened the First International Conference on Biotechnology in Riyadh today

The three-day conference, entitled "Towards A Knowledge-Based Economy," was organized by the KSU Center of Excellence in Biotechnology Research at the King Fahd Cultural Center.

Dr. Abdullah Al-Doss, the director of the center, said that the conference will focus on the most important applications of biotechnology in the fields of medicine, agriculture, science, industry, economics and the environment.

According to Dr. Al-Doss, more than 150 researchers from various fields are participating in the conference.