He becomes the first Pakistani to receive a prestigious award for his contributions to public health and applied research.
Renowned Pakistani scientist Dr. Nousheen Zaidi. Photo:
Renowned Pakistani scientist Dr Nousheen Zaidi has become the first Pakistani to receive the prestigious Georg Forster Research Prize.
Dr Zaidi, a professor at the Public Health, Environment and Applied Research Laboratory (PEARL), Institute of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics (IMMG), Punjab University, received the honor in recognition of her academic and research contributions.
The Georg Forster Research Prize is awarded annually by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation to internationally recognized academics from developing and transition countries in recognition of their research achievements. The prize is named after the German ethnologist Georg Forster (1754-1794) and is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. It has research funding of 60,000 euros.
To honor Dr. Zaidi’s achievement, Deputy Head of Mission of the German Embassy in Islamabad, Arno Kirchhof, hosted a reception for distinguished academic and scientific representatives at the Annemarie-Schimmel-Haus in Lahore on Friday afternoon.
Great time for science!👏
Dr. Nousheen Zaidi becomes the first 🇵🇰i to receive the prestigious Georg Forster Research Prize from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation 🇩🇪
A leader in public health and community impact: uniting cutting-edge research with grassroots solutions. Inspiring! pic.twitter.com/V9aoyGj3j1—Ina Lepel (@GermanyinPAK) April 25, 2026
A significant achievement for the scientific community of Pakistan. Nousheen Zaidi has become the first Pakistani to receive Germany’s prestigious Georg Forster Research Prize, in recognition of her exceptional contributions to research and academic excellence.
This milestone highlights… pic.twitter.com/s2xmYemHcX
— Pakistan Youth Forum (@payf_official) April 25, 2026
He has a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Tübingen, Germany, and previously worked at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Janssen Pharmaceutical.
Beyond her laboratory research, Dr. Zaidi serves as director of the Action Research Collective (ARC), through which she leads a national water quality mapping initiative that is expanding to several cities in Pakistan.
She also manages the Roshan Clinics initiative focused on stunting, working through community-based interventions to address key public health challenges. Their work has been described as integrating advanced scientific research with grassroots impact.
