The government has appointed internationally renowned researcher Md Shakirul Islam Khan (Shakil) as special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Foreign Employment in the Asia Pacific region, with the status of secretary, on a contractual basis.
The appointment was announced through a notification from the Contract and Foreign Recruitment Branch of the Ministry of Public Administration on Thursday.
According to the notification, Shakirul Islam Khan will assume the responsibility on the condition of relinquishing any other profession, business, or employment relationship with any government, semi-government, or private institution. His appointment will remain in effect for the duration of the prime minister’s term or until the prime minister’s satisfaction, whichever comes first.
A former student and teacher of Bangladesh Agricultural University, Shakirul has over 150 scientific research papers and articles published in various international peer-reviewed journals.
As special assistant to the prime minister, his responsibilities will include work related to various programmes and policies of the prime minister, as well as overseeing various projects and programmes as directed, according to official sources.
Academic and professional background
Shakirul has set a unique example in teaching and research for over two decades. He is currently serving as full faculty in the Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine at Oita University in Japan and is also associated with the university’s Research Centre for Global and Local Infectious Diseases (RCGLID).
He earned his PhD from Ehime University in Japan in 2009 with a “Grade A+” distinction, following a Master of Science (JICA Scholar) from the same university in 2006, also with “Grade A+”. He completed his Master of Science and Bachelor of Science in first class from Bangladesh Agricultural University in 2004 and 2000 respectively.
With over 25 years of experience across various countries, he has played a key role in improving public health in developing nations. He has conducted research on emerging infectious diseases including dengue, bird flu, hepatitis, Covid-19, rabies, and Nipah virus, with ongoing research on dengue.
He has supervised the research of over 30 graduate and postgraduate students and has received a “Gold Medal Best Researcher Award” as well as numerous special honours and research grants from national and international organisations.
