The Asia Pacific Bioinformatics Network (APBioNET), one of the oldest and most notable bioinformatics organizations in the Asia & Pacific region, is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Mohammad Asif Khan, Professor and Associate Dean for the College of Computing and Information Technology at the University of Doha for Science and Technology (UDST), as the President of the organization, following the election results for the term 2022-2024.
Dr. Khan has been re-elected by APBioNET members as the President of the organization for a third term. He is the fourth President to serve and lead APBioNET, first elected for the term 2018-2020 and subsequently re-elected for the term 2020-2022 and now 2022-2024.
Dr. Khan brings many years of experience in leading the organization, with outstanding and visionary contributions to the community at large, in shaping the path forward for bioinformatics in the region. He has been responsible for many of the novel initiatives and activities of the organization, particularly focused on connecting and advancing the community.
Among the notable initiatives achieved under his leadership, APBioNET has launched a Bioinformatics Grand Challenges Consortium (BGCC), bringing together leaders in the field from different parts of the world to reflect proactively and critically on the future grand challenges of the field and propose solutions. Dr. Khan is also championing the realization of the first-ever Asia & Pacific Bioinformatics Joint Congress (APBJC), which will be hosted by Japan in 2024 and aims to be the single largest event for bioinformatics in the region.
"It is an honor to be re-elected as the President of APBioNET for a third term," said Dr. Khan. He also commented on the relevance and importance of his presidency to UDST and the gulf region, adding "As a faculty member of the University of Doha for Science and Technology, it is a great opportunity for us to promote bioinformatics in Qatar and the broader GCC region through the APBioNET platform. I envision APBioNET as a catalyst to galvanize the broader life and health sciences community to work together in addressing the grand challenges in bioinformatics and computational biology."
Dr. Khan will be supported in his current role by a Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and other members of the Executive Committee (ExCo), representing different regions of Asia & the Pacific.
