The importance of biotechnology and biotechnology-based methods in medical therapies and diagnostics as well as in the discovery, development, and manufacture of pharmaceuticals is undeniable. Moreover, biotechnologically manufactured pharmaceuticals form a significant amount of the total pharmaceutical market at the moment. So, the School of Pharmacy, as the pioneer center in establishing the Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, welcomes talented and self-motivated individuals who are interested in this field.
The Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology was founded in 1998. It has got some research laboratories in which several kinds of projects are performed, mainly in the development of recombinant proteins, enzyme technology, gene cloning, and nanobiotechnology. The Department has teaching and research programs which encompass various basic and applied aspects of modern biotechnology. Currently, the Department’s faculty members are enrolled in teaching of five credits in Pharm.D. program and about 20 credits of Ph.D. courses. In the past fifteen years, more than 250 academic papers have been published in international journals. We have also assumed and completed more than 100 research projects, published 6 specialty books and won 4 prizes from academic festivals at Tehran University of Medical Sciences. The Department has also been successful in manufacturing three pharmaceutical proteins and some laboratory test kits.
Currently, the department has 5 faculty members, about 10 undergraduate and 9 postgraduate students and 4 associated staff. The Department has four laboratories: Enzyme Technology, Genetic Engineering, Recombinant Protein and Cell Culture. Research interests of the Department are nanobiotechnology, cancer research, enzyme technology, biocatalysts, biomarker research, genetic engineering and recombinant protein production.
Mission
• To include the interdisciplinary field of biotechnology in the pharmacy education and research.
• To supply a steady stream of highly competent pharmaceutical biotechnology graduates required for the country
• To contribute to generating new knowledge and expertise in the field of pharmaceutical biotechnology
Vision
The objective of the Department is to provide academic training and conduct research in the interdisciplinary areas of biotechnology with a particular emphasis on extending the knowledge generated from these studies towards the development of products and technologies of commercial significance.