Prof. Liaquat Ali is a biomedical scientist, educationist, and sociocultural activist with national and international reputation. With graduation in Medicine and MPhil in Medical Biochemistry from Dhaka University and PhD in Medical Cell Biology from Uppsala University (Sweden) he served various public and private institutions including IPGMR, BIRDEM and the Bangladesh University of Health Sciences or BUHS where he was the Founding Vice-Chancellor. In collaboration with a fairly large number of institutions in home and abroad he has supervised and co-supervised more than 300 MS, MPhil, MD and PhD students in various health and biomedical disciplines who are now working all over the world. About one-fifth of these students are from regional and international origin. With >280 papers/articles in peer-reviewed journals/books and nearly150 invited lectures in 39 countries of the world Prof Ali is one of the most cited biomedical scientists in the region. He has made significant contributions in the etiopathogenesis of diabetes mellitus among Bangalee population, methodology of antidiabetic plant medicine research, nutritional evaluation of local food materials, epidemiology of cardiometabolic diseases, and health system research in general. Along with his academic and scientific works, he has always participated actively in health-related initiatives from the public as well as private sectors. He has been serving the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and its Directorates & Agencies as an Expert Member in a number of Committees. He is one of the 8 Public Health Advisors as well as the Convener/Member of several Committees of the Government to fight the COVID-19 Pandemic.
For his contribution in education, science and healthcare Prof Ali has been awarded with Fellowships/ Memberships/ Honors from various professional organizations including Bangladesh Academy of Sciences, Indian Public Health Association, Islamic World Academy of Sciences and Indian Association for the Study of Asian Traditional Medicine.
In addition to his contribution in his professional fields Prof Ali is also known as a sociocultural and literary activist in Bangladesh. He is the Founding Chair of Pothikrit Foundation which operates a popular intellectually oriented cultural Center (Sangskriti Bikash Kendra or SBK) in Dhaka. He is also a Visiting Faculty in the Department of Theater & Performance Studies of Dhaka University teaching the ‘Philosophy and Psychology of Theater’ Course. He has particular interest in history & philosophy of sciences, and among his writings in this field the book ‘Geometry and Philosophy’, published by Bangla Academy is widely acclaimed by the readers.