Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology of ANAS continues its online activities in accordance with the requirements of the Operational Headquarters under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan in connection with the coronavirus pandemic and special quarantine regime.

This was given an interview by the vice-president of ANAS, chairman of the Division of Biological and Medical Sciences, director of the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, academician Irada Huseynova.

Irada Huseynova noted that every morning she regularly communicates with the heads of departments and laboratories of the institute on the Internet, is interested in their activities, gives instructions and recommendations, and also attends distance classes. She also added that she holds consultations with her doctoral and graduate students and that the writing of dissertations and scientific papers is under full control.

Academician I. Huseynova said that the institute’s employees joined the mega-project under the COST program and noted that the institute’s scientists will represent Azerbaijan in the project “Oxygen sensing - a new tool for biology and fruit quality technology”, coordinated by France. In this regard, the project participants registered in the e-COST system and activated their profiles.

According to the scientist, at present the scientists of the institute are intensively working on the analysis of research results and writing papers: “In recent days, 4 papers have been prepared and submitted to such authoritative international journals with a high impact factor as “Journal of Agricultural Sciences”, “Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science”, “Journal of International Microbiology”, “International Journal of Molecular Sciences”. The work on the responses to the reviewers of the paper submitted for publication in the journal “Gene” is nearing completion. A paper reflecting the results of studies conducted by the Laboratory of Cellular Membrane Systems was accepted for publication in the journal Functional Plant Biology with an impact factor of 2,327."

She also said that work is underway to complete the monograph "Features of the regulation of the initial assimilation of carbon in higher plants", prepared under its scientific editorship.

I. Huseynova reported on the analysis of the research results of doctoral students and dissertators of the institute through various bioinformatics programs, and noted that the nucleotide sequences of the Dreb gene isolated from wheat and its wild species were placed in the NCBI international biotechnological database. She noted that in recent days, young scientists have participated in several international webinars in the field of molecular biology. Five young scientists of the institute took part in the online forum “Peace and youth in new conditions”, organized by the Ministry of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Azerbaijan on April 11.

The director of the institute noted that the laboratories of bioinformatics and international computational structural biology continue their activities and the planned studies are fully completed. She also added that the head of the International Laboratory for Computational Structural Biology, Professor at the University of Cambridge Garib Murshudov continues the on-line training of laboratory staff in the basics of structural biology and statistics.

According to the scientist, in connection with the implementation of the order of the President of ANAS, academician Ramiz Mehdiyev "On the organization of distance (remote) education for ANAS graduates", the institute's education department established contacts between the teaching staff and graduates of the institute using various means of communication in a short time, distance lessons in all specialties provided for in the curriculum.

 “The Department of International Relations and Public relations of the institute also successfully continues its activities in a special quarantine regime,” said academician I. Huseynova and noted that the latest information on the coronavirus pandemic in our country and measures taken to prevent the spread of this infection are regularly published on the website imbb.az.

She noted that the collection of articles for the IV volume of scientific works of the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology has begun. Papers sent to the editorial email address are sent for review and submitted to the editorial board for online discussion.

Academician I. Huseynova also added that the scientists and specialists of the institute made numerous reports and gave interviews in connection with the coronavirus pandemic in the media.