Gastroenteritis is a devastating illness prevalent in Pakistan and is of major concern for infants and elderly people across the country. Characterised by nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps or severe diarrhea. According to World Health Organization (WHO), Pakistan is ranked 5^th among the 15 developing countries that account for 73% of under-five diarrhoeal deaths occurring worldwide. In this regard, The Institute of Environmental Sciences and Engineering (IESE), School of Civil and Environmental Engineering (SCEE), at the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), has collaborated with the Medical Research Council (MRC), UK under (UKRI) in GastroPak. A project regarding transmission of non-viral Gastroenteritis in areas surrounding the tributaries of Rawal Lake and aims to develop targeted Interventions in future. This innovative project is being conducted under the Principal Investigator (PI) of Prof. Christopher Quince from Earlham Institute, UK and partners from other universities of the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland.

In order to improve the efficiency of those involved in GastroPak, a 5 day lab training on Anaerobic Bacteriology and Molecular Biology, from the 19^th to the 23^rd of February 2023, is being conducted which will serve as a capacity building exercise for the faculty and young researchers in the avenues of microbiology and molecular biology. Numerous scholars from the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) and the University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) have assembled at IESE and have undertaken this journey of enlightenment under the esteemed supervision of Prof. Elizabeth Wellington and Dr. Kimberly Summers from The University of Warwick.

The workshop aims to complete certain objectives which shall undoubtedly prove to be a gateway for collaborative schemes amongst the academia, industry and public sector of Pakistan. The inauguration of ‘The Anaerobic Laboratory’ facility is highly anticipated as it shall drastically improve the quality of research being conducted at IESE, SCEE, NUST. The scholars are being trained for the isolation, culturing and identification of targeted bacterial cultures. DNA extraction is also a skill being taught in this workshop which revolves around bacterial DNA extraction from a variety of samples including water, sediments, stool, sludge and soil. Furthermore, qPCR Analysis of the extracted DNA resulting in the identification and quantification of Salmonella, Shigella and E. Coli is being carried on simultaneously.

This lab training event shall be highly advantageous to the multi and interdisciplinary team of researchers, scientists along with the collaborators as it will provide hands-on experience and vastly increase potential for research based learning in the laboratories of IESE.