Faizan Ahmad earned his BSc (1968), MSc (1970), Mphil (1972) and PhD (1978) degrees from Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh. He was supervised by Professor A Salahuddin. From 1975 to 1987 he worked in Canada and the USA, first as post-doctoral fellow at the Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada, at the NIADD, National Institutes of Health, in the Department of Chemistry, University of Calgary, and finally at the University of Manitoba. He returned to India to join Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, in July 1987.

Academic and Research Achievements: Ahmad established the Protein Research Laboratory in Jamia Millia Islamia and is now Director of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Basic Sciences in the University. Along with a large number of research students, he has published extensively, on problems relating to 'protein folding' and 'protein stability'. He has developed methods for the structural characterization of random coil state of proteins, conformational and thermodynamic characterization of partial denatured states of proteins, methods for the estimation of protein stability under physiological conditions, characterization of the phenomenon of stabilization of proteins by naturally occurring osmolytes and conformational and thermodynamic characterization of molten globule states of proteins.

Other Contributions: As Dean, Students' Welfare, Professor Ahmad was responsible for initiating scholarships for meritorious, financially weak, and girl students. He also initiated several academic programs such as the establishment of a University Counseling Centre, Centre for Dental Studies, and a Centre for Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation.

Awards and Honours: The Delhi Government honored Faizan Ahmad with the title, 'Pride of Delhi'. The Society of Biosciences, India, awarded him the Norman H Dill Gold Medal in 1997. He was elected Fellow of National Academy of Sciences (India), Allahabad and Member of Guha Research Conference in 1996.