Welcome to the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology

The Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology is home to 10 academic and 11 support staff members and a large postgraduate cohort carrying out research in three disciplines, namely Biochemistry, Microbiology and Bioinformatics. In addition, the department hosts two research units, the Research Unit in Bioinformatics (RUBi), under the directorship of Prof. Özlem Tastan Bishop, and the Biomedical Biotechnology Research Unit (BioBRU), led by Prof. Edkins, the latter holding a DST/NRF Research Chair (SARChI) in the Molecular and Cellular Biology of the Eukaryotic Stress Response. All staff members are actively engaged in research, spanning a wide range of topics and sub-disciplines. Basic biomedical research projects include natural product and synthetic chemistry drug discovery programmes using computational and laboratory-based methods aimed at pathogenic bacteria, cancer, malaria, trypanosomiasis, tuberculosis, HIV, SARS coronavirus, diabetes and obesity. It further includes research into the stress response machinery of cancer and cancer stem cells, as well its role in Kaposi’s  sarcoma-associated herpesvirus biology, the interaction of picornaviruses, TB bacteria and Salmonella bacteria with host cells, and the identification of viruses associated with gastroenteritis in water sources. Research into biotechnological applications includes the investigation of mycorrhizal fungi for application as biofertilizers in horticulture, agriculture and forestry, the use of enzymes to generate prebiotics, foods/feeds and products of biomedical significance, the exploitation of insect viruses for agricultural pest control, and studying microbiome contributions to aquaponic crop production. The department offers undergraduate majors and Honours degrees in Biochemistry and Microbiology and Masters and PhD degrees in Biochemistry, Microbiology and Bioinformatics.

Last Modified: Fri, 26 Jan 2024 11:02:45 SAST