LAHORE: In recognition of the exceptional achievements of two of the faculty members of its Dental Section -- Dr Ayesha Fahim and Dr Arooj-ul-Hassan – University College of Medicine and Dentistry (UCMD), University of Lahore (UoL), conferred awards on them at its Annual Dinner 2023.
Dr Fahim received the ‘MH Qazi Research Award’ for her significant contributions to the field of research. “This recognition is a testament to her dedication, hard work, and innovative research approach,”says a message from the institution.
Similarly, Dr Arooj-ul-Hassan has been honored with the ‘10 Years Service Award’ for his decade-long dedicated service to the UoL as an “evidence of exceptional commitment, hard work, and loyalty to the institution”.
Prof Dr Shahid Malik was the chief guest at the event organised by UCMD on the main lawn of the UoL.
Both winners have a long list of accomplishments to their credit.
Dr Ayesha Fahim, Associate Professor and Head of Department (HoD) Oral Biology, holds two bachelor’s degrees, two master’s degrees (MPhil Oral Biology and Masters in Medical Education) and a PhD in Oral Biology. She secured distinctions in 8 subjects during her BDS from University of Health Sciences. She has won a Gold medal in MPhil Oral Biology from PGMI and ‘Excellent PhD award’ from University of Malaya, Malaysia. She won ‘Phenomenal Woman Award’ in 2022 in the field of Research, along with ‘National Youth Award’ in 2021.
Moreover, she has published over 35 national and international articles in high impact factor peer- reviewed journals like Heliyon, Journal of Dental Education, BMC Oral Health, PeerJ, Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences, Science Progress etc., which have been widely cited in her field.
She is amongst the esteemed reviewers of reputed publishers like Nature, MDPI, Wiley, Dove Press Medical, Elsevier and Taylor and Francis etc. Her ‘Logbook of Tooth Morphology’ is being taught in several dental colleges across Pakistan. She is actively involved in conducting workshops relating to dental education and research in multiple institutions across the country.
The other award winner, Dr Arooj-ul-Hassan, Associate Professor and HoD of Department of Community and Preventive Dentistry, Deputy Medical Superintendent and Director Projects of UCMD Dental Section, is a gold medalist in Matters in Public Health. He has been an integral part of the university community for the past 12 years. Throughout his tenure, he has been an exemplary employee, consistently going above and beyond to serve the needs of students, faculty, and staff.
He organised more than 50 national and international seminars and workshops and has been a focal coordinator and speaker in 12 health-related conferences. He is a renowned international career counselor and a representative of educational exhibitions at Sri Lanka, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman and Africa since 2017. He is the head of oral health promotion programmes in coordination with international brands like GSK and Palmolive. He has won ‘Best Department Award’ as HoD in 2019 and ‘Eminent Researcher Award’ in 2020, and ‘National Youth Award’ in 2021. He has always endeavored to advocate oral health through educational campaigns and community-related events across the country.
UCMD Principal Prof Dr Riaz Warraich on the occasion highly appreciated Dr Arooj and Dr Ayesha, saying they are influential achievers striving hard for the prosperity of health education system in the country, becoming role models for aspiring young individuals who aim to achieve their academic goals and dreams in Pakistan.
