Dr Sultan Zeb (Late)

Dr. Sultan Zeb was born on 2nd March 1973 in Totalai, Buner. He completed his Secondary school certificate from Government High School, Totalai, where his name still adorns the Roll of Honor. He proceeded for FSc from Nisar Shaheed College, Risalpur, where he secured exemplary marks and was able to get admission in Khyber College of Dentistry. He completed his BDS in 1997 and got selected in Public service commission, serving as a dental surgeon before moving to Oman and serving as the same. Fate beckoned him in 2007 to the land of the rising sun where he got enrolled in a PhD program at the Department of Clinical Pathophysiology at Tokyo Dental College, Japan which he completed in 2011. Not content with stopping there, he then proceeded for his post-doctorate at the same institute and was awarded the degree in 2013, making him the only post-doctorate in Oral Pathology in all of Pakistan. On returning to his country, he joined Sardar Begum Dental College as an Assistant Professor in 2013 and worked there till 2017. Khyber College of Dentistry would become a part of his life again as he joined his parent institute as an Associate Professor and Head Department of Oral Pathology till his last days.

Though his time with us was very short, Dr Sultan Zeb accomplished a lot of feats during his brief tenure. He took over as Managing editor, Journal of Khyber College of Dentistry (JKCD) in 2018 during which the journal achieved several milestones like increasing the publication of the journal from biannual to quarterly, membership of Publishers International Linking Association (PILA) in 2018 and an agreement with CROSSREF which enabled JKCD to publish its first online issue in 2019. Along with Ex-Dean Prof. Dr Ghulam Rasool, Dr Sultan Zeb was instrumental in securing an MoU with University of Hokkaido for an international student exchange program which materialized in July 2019 when he accompanied final year BDS students as the first batch to avail this first of a kind program. Another MoU was also signed in December 2018 with Prof. Charlotte A.E. Houser of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) to utilize Dr Sultan Zeb’s and Prof. Charlotte’s considerable experience in Regenerative therapies. The year 2018 proved to be full of laurels for sir as he was given a fellowship and elected as the President of Pakistan Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology in August 2018. The upcoming year proved no different as Dr Sultan Zeb was selected by the HEC as an expert committee member for the evaluation and recognition of national journals. In addition, he was also able to recognize the Department of Oral Pathology, KCD for MPhil program by HEC in October 2019. In addition to his research and academic duties, he also took on an administrative role by becoming the Acting Dean of KCD from 4th March to 29th July 2020 and Associate Dean of Research on 21st September 2020.

As an Associate Dean Research, he had set big goals for the betterment of institute. He was also given the honor of editor in chief of the Journal of KCD and his plan was to get JKCD recognized by HEC and later on to put the name of JKCD at National Library of Medicine (NLM) in order to bring it to international standards. His plan for research was to carry out research activities at international level by establishing liaison with international institutions. He as the chairman looking after the matters of library and IT department as a chairman of the committee. He was also offered the post of Professor and Head department at various prestigious institutes like; Rehman College of Dentistry and Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences but he still wished to stay at his parent institution.

Given all his laurels and achievements, one could be forgiven for thinking that Dr Sultan Zeb had a chip on his shoulder, nothing could be further away from the truth. His peers would describe him as an intelligent and humble person who performed any task given to him to the very best of his abilities. His colleagues often spoke of his jovial nature, his effervescent smile and all round approachability as a mentor and friend in equal measure. Lastly his students, while appreciative of his strictness in the classroom, would see him as a friend and a positive life affirming guide for everyone who came across him. In his short sojourn with us, he greatly touched many lives, all of whom are remiss to see him taken so soon.
On 13th October, he developed symptoms of Covid-19 which led to a prolonged stay in Hayatabad Medical Complex where he battled long and hard but ultimately fell victim to this deadly disease and breathed his last on 31st October 2020. It is impossible to guess how far not only KCD but the entire dental community could have progressed if Dr Sultan Zeb would have stayed with us. In his short stay with us, he showed that he was a groundbreaker and trendsetter par excellence. We can’t not find words to express or admire him enough for his upright character, professional competence and loving nature.