Zaman, Muhammad H. | Pakistan

Prof. Muhammad H. Zaman is an Associate Professor for Biomedical Engineering, Medicine and International Health and Associate Director of Kilachand Honors College at Boston University. He is the Director of the Laboratory of Engineering Education and Development. He is also the Associate Chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering. He received his PhD in Physical Chemistry from the University of Chicago in 2003 where he was a Burroughs-Wellcome Graduate Fellow in Interdisciplinary Sciences. After his Ph.D. he was a Herman and Margaret Post-Doctoral Fellow at MIT from 2003-2006. His research focuses on developing new experimental and computational technologies for high value healthcare problems in both the developing and developed world. He is also actively involved in engineering education and curriculum development in resource limited countries. As the co-Director of UN Economic Commission for Africa’s Biomedical Engineering Initiative, he is actively involved in creating and sustaining biomedical engineering programs across various institutions in Africa including universities in Kenya, Zambia, South Africa, Ethiopia and Uganda.

Project at IAS-STS: The challenges in socially conscious procurement of medicines in resrouce-limited settings: The case study of Pakistan.

According to the World Health Organization, substandard, counterfeit and/or falsified medicines represent nearly 16% of all medicines worldwide and amount to approximately $75 billion dollars annually. In developing countries, with poor regulation, mismanagement, complacency and incompetence, the widespread use of these drugs leads to mortality, morbidity and long-term drug resistance. Pakistan, due to its large population, a decentralized health system and high burden of disease has been severely affected by poor quality drugs in the recent past. The goal of this research is to understand the challenges in procurement processes that are socially conscious and can make a positive impact on the overall system of drug acquisition, storage and availability. We will look at current political, social, economic and technological challenges that influence the current state of affairs in Pakistan, in a way that allows for a broader global understanding of challenges in improving the quality of medicines globally.

Selected Publications

Grace Wu and Muhammad H. Zaman. Low-Cost Tools for HIV Testing & Monitoring in Low-Resource Settings. Bulletin of the WHO. 2012. 1: 90(12): 914-20.

Andrea Fernandes and Muhammad H. Zaman. The role of biomedical engineering in disaster management in resource-limited settings. Bulletin of the WHO. 2012;90:631-632.

Muhammad H. Zaman. The role of Biomedical Engineering Education in improving East African Health. EAPHLN Bulletin. 2012.

Darash Desai, Grace Wu and Muhammad H. Zaman. Tackling HIV through Robust Diagnostics in the Developing World:  Current Status and Future Opportunities. Lab on a Chip. 2011. 11(2):194-211.

Muhammad H. Zaman. Biomedical Engineering Education in Resource Limited Settings: Creating and Innovation Eco-System. Proceedings of the Institute for Engineering and Technology Conference on Appropriate Health Technologies for the Developing Countries, London, 2012.