CAIRO: American and Egyptian scientists from Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland, and Fayoum University concluded a 10-day agricultural biotechnology research workshop at Fayoum University on Thursday, the US Embassy in Cairo reported in a statement online. The President of Fayoum University and the Public Affairs Officer from the embassy in Cairo attended the closing ceremony, where the participants received certificates recognizing their efforts in improving Egypt's capacity in biotechnology, a field that is helping to defeat diseases in key Egyptian crops like soybeans and cotton. “I am so happy to be here at Fayoum University with our good friend and partner Dr. Ahmed al-Gohary, president of the university, to celebrate a true US-Egyptian collaboration in sciences,” Haynes Mahoney, Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, remarked at the event. “Today, we conclude a successful workshop that brought together some of the best American and Egyptian scientists. This workshop reflected the cooperative spirit and the scientific progress possible during the 2011 U.S.-Egypt Science Year.” Professor of Microbiology at Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland, Dr. James Saunders, and Professor at Fayoum University and a specialist in biotechnology, Dr. Sanna Haroun held the workshop in a lab, which was constructed with USAID funds. 40 participants engaged in the training, mostly Egyptian graduate students and faculty. Additional participants from Sudan, Uganda and Saudi Arabia also participated. This is the fourth workshop Dr. Saunders has facilitated in Egypt since 2000. Dr. Saunders has engaged in significant biotechnology cooperation with numerous Egyptian universities over the last 10 years, and the collaboration between Doctors Saunders and Haroun goes back many years. This most recent workshop was supported by the Fulbright Commission, The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Towson University and the University of Fayoum. BM
