Research

The Department’s overall mission is to maintain an active and integrated research program for studying the interactions between pathogenic microbes and their hosts that influence the outcome of infections. The Department of Microbiology faculty members teach and perform research in the areas of bacteriology, immunology, virology, mycology, and molecular biology.
Specialty areas of research include: cellular and cytokine mechanisms regulating immune defenses, molecular mechanisms controlling the activation of immune cells, bacterial pathogenesis, mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance, cell growth and apoptosis, molecular virology, viral pathogenic mechanisms at the molecular level, and the interaction of viruses with the host immune system.
The research is maintained through a research lab in the department of Microbiology & Immunology at Alexandria Main University Hospital (AMUH) as well as through the Core Research Facilities which are a collection of centralized laboratories dedicated to developing and providing state-of-the-art research resources to facilitate biomedical research. They are available on a fee-for-service basis to the entire health sciences community as well as outside entities at AMUH.

Examples of Research projects

• “Cost effectiveness of introducing Nucleic Acid Testing (NAT) for HCV screening in Egyptian Blood Banks”, a major project supported by a grant from Science and Technology Development Fund, STDF, Egypt. March 2012 on-going
• “Establishment of Hepatitis C Awareness Media Unit”, a project supported by a grant from Science and Technology Development Fund, STDF, Egypt. March 2012 on-going
• “A Study of the Prevalence and Effects of Insulin Resistance in Chronic Hepatitis C Patients with Genotype 4” a project supported by a grant from ALEXREP (Alexandria University Research Enhancement Projects), Alexandria University, Egypt. July 2012 on-going
• Joint project between Microbiology Dept of Alexandria Univ., and NAMRU-III. Surveillance for nosocomial respiratory and diarrheal infections at select hospitals in Egypt and Jordan. 2010
• Joint project between Microbiology Dept of Alexandria Univ., and NAMRU-III (Naval American Medical Research Unit 3) on causes of diarrhoeal diseases in a rural setting near Alexandria, Egypt. July 1994-Sept 1995
• “Case-control study on causes of diarrhoeal diseases”. Joint project between Microbiology Dept of Alexandria University and NAMRU-III in Alexandria, Egypt. June1991-June 1993
• Screening of Hadara jail prisoners in Alexandria for HIV, Treponema pallidum and Hepatitis B virus (around 4,000 prisoners). Joint Project with NAMRU-III. Sept 1990-Oct 1992
• Screening sera from persons working at sea for Hantavirus antibodies and HIV-Abs. Joint Project with NAMRU-III. Sept 1990-Sept 1992
• Screening Rodent sera from all districts of Alexandria (around 1,000 rodents) for Hantavirus, Rickettsia typhi, Rickettsia conorii &Leptospiral antibodies. Joint Project with NAMRU-III Sept 1990-June 1993
• Microbiological diagnosis of Haemophilus aegyptius eye infections in a rural village near Alexandria, Egypt. A joint study with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). March 1988

Useful Microbiology, Immunology, and Virology Sites

• American Society for Microbiology
• American Society for Virology
• American Association of Immunologists
• American Society for Cell Biology
• USGS Microbiology Research
• American Society for Clinical Investigation
• American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB)
• International Center for Scientific Research
• International Endotoxin & Innate Immunity Society
• National Center for Biotechnology Information