
Dr. Malik Mujaddad Ur Rehman
Chairman/Dean/ Pro- Vice Chancellor
Chairman of Department Message :
The mission of the Department of Microbiology at AUST is to promote biomedical discoveries in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and beyond through excellence in education and research contributions. Department of Microbiology was established in 2002 for higher learning and research. This Department had been offering the degree of BS-Hons (4 year), M.Phil and Ph.D. in both campuses (Garden and Havelian campuses) of Hazara University. In 2014, Department of Microbiology was started in Havelian Campus under to the Faculty of Health Sciences. The Department of Microbiology Havelian Campus of Hazara University and now in Abbottabad University of Science & Technology is well recognized for teaching and research in Pakistan and is equipped with modern research facilities. The major equipments present are; UV visible Spectrophotometers, Fermenters (Lab Scale and Pilot Scale), Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer, High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), Gas Chromatography (GC), PCR Machines, Autoclaves, Microscopes, Shaking Incubators, Biological Safety Cabinets, Centrifuges and Incubators etc. Till March 2014, 3 Ph.D and 38 M.Phil degrees have been awarded to students working on various research areas in the domain of Microbiology. In addition to this 230 students have obtained the degree of BS-Hons in Microbiology.
The faculty members have been able to get research grants from USAID (IEP), British Council, Higher Education Commission, Pakistan Sciences Foundation, Biotechnology Commission, Pakistan Telecommunication and others. Young teachers and PhD students of the Microbiology Department have been availing the opportunity to go abroad for gaining research expertise under the Sandwich PhD program, IRSIP of HEC and Fulbright post-doctoral fellowships. Currently, the Department of Microbiology is offering BS-Hons (4 year), M.Sc., M.Phil and Ph.D. degree programs. Efforts are also being made to bridge the gap between the lab. scale to pilot scale productions of microbial metabolites of commercial importance. Broadly, the research programs for M. Phil. and Ph.D. degrees cover various areas of microbiology including;
- Applied Microbiology
- Microbial Physiology & Genetics
- Virology
- Mycology
- Fermentation / Bio-processing
- Medical, Molecular, Environmental, Industrial and Soil Microbiology