The Open Public Thesis Defense of Ms. Madiha Shadab, PhD Scholar, Department of Zoology, was held in the Video Conference Room, CS&IT Building, City Campus of MUST, Mirpur AJ&K. Ms. Madiha conducted her research under the supervision of Dr. Ansar Ahmed Abbasi on the genetics of hereditary hearing loss. She has published two research papers from her PhD research with a combined impact factor of over 9. The defense was attended by Dr. Haroon Ahmed, Associate Professor, COMSATS Islamabad (External Examiner); Dr. Muhammad Irfan, Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi; Prof. Dr. Rashida Hussain, Dean, Faculty of N&AS MUST; Mr. Kamran Hameed, Controller of Examinations MUST; Dr. Amir Saghir, Director AS&RB; Prof. Dr. Khurram Pervez Amber, Director QEC; Dr. Abdul Jabbar, Dy. Director QEC; faculty members from different departments; PhD and MPhil research scholars; undergraduate students; and others.

After the scholar’s presentation, a detailed question-and-answer session was held, in which students, faculty members, and the external examiner actively participated. Following the discussion, the supervisory committee, external examiner, Dean FN&AS, Chairperson, Controller of Examinations, Nominee Director QEC, and Director AS&RB held a separate meeting to make the final decision regarding the defense. The external examiner announced the final verdict and appreciated the scholar and the Department of Zoology for conducting high-quality and exemplary research work. Finally, Dr. Usman Ali thanked all the respected guests, faculty members, and students for attending the thesis defense.