Studies in Natural Products Chemistry Studies in Natural Products Chemistry Series

Natural products present in the plant and animal kingdom offer a huge diversity of chemical structures, which are the result of biosynthetic processes that have been modulated over the millennia through genetic effects. With the rapid developments in spectroscopic techniques and accompanying advances in high-throughput screening techniques, it has become possible to isolate and then determine the structures and biological activity of natural products rapidly, thus opening up to the pharmaceutical industry exciting opportunities in the field of new drug development. The series covers all of the above as well as the synthesis, testing and recording of the medicinal properties of natural products.

Natural product chemists, medicinal chemists, pharmacologists as well as researchers particularly those in academia and in the pharmaceutical industry

Atta-ur-Rahman, FRS, D.Phil., TI, SI HI, NI, is a leading scientist and scholar in the field of organic chemistry from Pakistan, especially renowned for his research in the various areas relating to natural product chemistry. With over 909 publications in the field of his expertise including 116 books largely published by leading publishers in Europe and USA and 27 patents, he is also credited for reviving the higher education and research practices in Pakistan.

Prof. Rahman was elected as Fellow of Royal Society (London) in July 2006 thereby becoming one of the 4 scientists from the Muslim world to have ever won this honor in the last 350 years when the Royal Society was established. He is also the only scientist from the Muslim world to have been conferred the UNESCO Science Prize in 1999.[11] He has been conferred honorary doctorate degrees by many universities including the degree of Doctor of Science (Sc.D.) by Cambridge University (UK) (1987) and an Honorary degree of Doctor of Education by Coventry University UK in November 2007. He was elected Honorary Life Fellow of Kings College, Cambridge University, UK in 2007. Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman was conferred the TWAS Prize for Institution Building in Durban, South Africa in October 2009 in recognition of his contributions for bringing about revolutionary changes in the higher education sector in Pakistan. He was awarded the Engro Excellence Award in Science & Technology 2011 for meritorious contributions.

He is President of Network of Academies of Sciences of Islamic Countries (NASIC) and the Vice-President (Central & South Asia) of the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS) Council, and Foreign Fellow of Korean Academy of Sciences. Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman was the President of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences (2003–06), and was again elected President of Pakistan Academy of Sciences in January 2011.

He was the Federal Minister for Science and Technology (14 March 2000 – 20 November 200

• Describes the chemistry of bioactive natural products
• Contains contributions by leading authorities in the field
• A valuable source for researchers in natural product and medicinal chemistry