April 28 , 2009

Bethlehem University hosts the first conference on biotechnology research and application in palestine

With the advent of a potential new pandemic called swine flu, biotechnology – an oft-ignored and little understood field of study – is in the spotlight, just as it was last month at Bethlehem University as it hosted the first ever conference on Biotechnology Research and Application in Palestine on the 3rd and 4th of April 2009.

The conference, organized by the Biology Department in cooperation with the UNESCO Biotechnology Center, was the first of its kind to be held in Palestine.  Over the course of two days, students and faculty from various Palestinian universities presented research papers on the fields of plant, medical and animal biotechnology. The program also included several lectures from scientists at the top of their field in the area of biotech research.

Professor Mike P. Hasegawa, from Purdue University in Indiana, United States, gave a lecture about plant adaptation and tolerance to salinity. He praised the conference and was impressed by the topics discussed. “I hope that this will be the first step to move forward in biotechnology research in Palestine,” he said.

Other attendees came from An Najah University, Bir Zeit University, Hebron University, Arab American University, Al-Quds University/Abu Deis, Polytechnic Hebron University, as well as from as far as the Jordan University of Science and Technology and Al-Balqa’ Applied Sciences University in Jordan.

The conference aimed at consolidating cooperative relations and exchanging ideas and experience. It also reviewed research activities and applications in various fields of biotechnology in Palestine in addition to identifying new trends of research in various fields of biotechnology to meet the needs of the Palestinian society. The conference aimed at giving Palestinian graduate students the opportunity to present the findings of their research and share ideas amongst other Palestinian researchers.

“Biotechnology is a hot issue which is occupying the front pages of research news world wide. This of course means more responsibility on our shoulders as scientists, researchers and administrators,” said Dr. Adnan Shquier, Chairperson of the Department of Biology. “We have to be active participants in this field rather than just being at the receiving end.”

At the same time, a workshop on Agrobacterium-Mediated Transformation of Tomato plants was organized and held by the UNESCO Biotechnology Educational & Research Center at Bethlehem University and directed by Dr. Naim Iraki.

The research team at the center of this program has acquired lengthy experience in the technology of gene transfer to plants through the research work financed by Middle East Research & Cooperation Program (MERC) of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

“This technology is an essential tool for young researchers working on plant molecular biology and crop improvement through genetic engineering,” said Dr. Naim Iraki, Director of the UNESCO Biotechnology Educational & Research Center. “The main objective of this workshop is to teach postgraduate students the basic methodology of introducing genes into tomato plants through the bacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens,” Dr. Iraki added.

Bethlehem University’s Vice Chancellor Peter Bray took part in the conference, as well as providing the opening speech. 

“None of us has a monopoly on knowledge,” he said. “So bringing together a group like this enables people who are at the forefront of biotechnology to share the wisdom they have acquired and to learn from one another. This enriches everyone.”

The conference and workshop coincide with the start of first Masters in Biotechnology which is now being jointly offered by Bethlehem University and the Palestine Polytechnic University of Hebron.