Health Biotechnology division 

The Health Biotechnology division at the Institute of Biotechnology (IoB) is dedicated to training highly qualified students and researchers in the area of health biotechnology through MSc and PhD programs. These programs are designed to equip students with advanced knowledge and skills required to tackle nationally important critical public health challenges using cutting-edge biotechnological tools. The division possesses a team of highly qualified experts specializing in diverse fields of health biotechnology. The division also has well-equipped laboratories and active research collaborations both locally and internationally. The academic and research staff bring extensive experience and diverse multidisciplinary expertise, demonstrating a strong commitment to student supervision and cutting-edge research in areas such as genomics, proteomics, bioinformatics, regenerative medicine, drug and vaccine discovery and development, and molecular diagnostics. Their expertise inspires and empowers students to explore innovative frontiers in medical biotechnology.

Academic programs 

The Division of Health Biotechnology provides training in two postgraduate programs:

1.  MSc in Medical Biotechnology, and 
2. PhD in Biotechnology (Health Biotechnology)

Research themes of the division:

The division's primary research themes cover diverse areas aimed at addressing critical health challenges: Infectious disease research focuses on pathogen biology, host-pathogen interactions, diagnostics, drug resistance, and the development of vaccines and therapeutics, with attention to emerging diseases and antimicrobial resistance. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) research includes epidemiology, molecular etiology, prevention strategies, and clinical trials, with special emphasis on the most prevalent NCDs in Ethiopia including regenerative medicine and neurodegenerative conditions. The pharmaceutical sciences area focuses drug discovery through computational design, nanotechnology, biotechnology, and cell/tissue engineering, while also exploring biopharmaceuticals, nutrigenomics, and the microbiome. Research in cell and molecular biology, genomics, and proteomics targets disease mechanisms, gene-disease associations, cancer biology, and personalized medicine approaches. Diagnostic innovation spans the development of point-of-care tools, serological and molecular techniques, biomarker discovery, nanotech-enabled biosensors, and forensic biotechnology. Finally, medicinal plant biotechnology explores secondary metabolites, their therapeutic properties, in vitro production, traditional knowledge documentation, and conservation of endangered species.

Contact person:

Abaineh Munshea (PhD)

Head, Health Biotechnology Division 

Email: abitew2003@yahoo.com 

Inst. Email: Abaineh.Munshea@bdu.edu.et

Cell phone: +251918705769