Africa Center of Excellence on Neglected
Tropical Diseases and Forensic Biotechnology
(ACENTDFB)
Briefs on ABU Zaria
Founded in 1962 with 2 campuses
• Faculties:
13
• Academic Departments: 87
• Institutes:
5
• Centres:
8
• Affiliated Institutions:
27
Aerial View of a Section of the University
ACENTDFB has the following mandates:
• Development of graduate curriculum for and mount MSc
and PhD Biotechnology programmes with exceptional bias
to regional needs
• Provision of skilled manpower in the diagnosis,
management and prevention of neglected tropical diseases.
• Provision of baseline data on the epidemiological status of
a number of neglected tropical diseases prevalent in the
study región
• Development and production of vaccines for prevention of
neglected tropical diseases.
• Training of manpower in the general area of molecular
biotechnology technique and forensic science for solving
related problems.
• Establishment of a facility and channel for the security
agencies and the society in resolving security, legal,
paternity and other related issues
Research Focus
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Trypanosomiasis
Filariasis/Onchocersiasis
Rabies
Forensic Biotechnology
• Participating Departments and Units in ABU
 Department of Biochemistry
 Centre for Biotechnology Research and Training
 Department of Zoology, faculty of Life Sciences
 Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical
Microbiology
 Department of Veterinary Public Health and
Preventive Medicine
 Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine
Collaborating Institutions
• Nigeria
 Nigeria Medical Research Council, Oshodi
 National Institute for Trypanosomiasis and
Onchocerciasis (NITOR), Kaduna
• West Africa
– University of Ngaundere, Cameroon
• International Institutions
 University of Bremen, Germany
 Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
 University of Cape Coast, South Africa
 Institute for Agricultural Research for Development
(IRAD), Cameroon
ACENTDFB RESRTUCTURING
 Design and Institution of a New Organogram
 Development of Terms of References for
Management Team memebers
 Establishment of Management Committees
ACENTDFB New Organogram
Vice Chancellor
Centre Leader
Project Coordinator
Deputy Centre
Leader
Dept. of
Biochemistry
CBRT
Capacity
Training
Coordinator
Admin
Secretary
Safeguard
Officer
Procurement
Officer
Finance
Officer
Audit
Committee
PI Rabies
PG
Coordinator
Teaching
Coordinator
PI
Trypanosomiasis
PI Filariasis/
Onchocersiasis
Student Welfare
Officer
Communication
Officer
Auditor
M&E
Officer
Management Committees
• Project Management Committee
• Project Academic Committee
• Audit Committee
• Procurement Committee
Composition of Teaching and Research Faculty
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Professors: 15
Readers: 3
Senior Lecturers: 4
Lecturer I: 4
Available Research Facilities
Department of Biochemistry
1. Horizontal gel electrophoresis set-up
2. Gel documentation system
3. Laminar flow hood
4. Refrigerator
5. Refrigerated Ultracentrifuge
6. Realtime qPCR
7. Sonicator
8. Biophotometer
9. Refrigerated Ultracentrifuge
10. Queue Cell Co2 Culture Incubator
11. Inverted Microscope
12. Compound Light Microscope with Digital Camera
13. Eppendorf Mini-Centrifuge
14. UV-Transilluminator
15. Microwave
CBRT
Microwave Oven MX310CSL
Vacuum Concentrator 5301
Laminar Flow Cabinet
Carbon Dioxide Incubator
Block Heater
Gel Camera
Spectrophotometer
Base Runner
Blotting Apparatus BDH
Realtime qPCR
Inverted Flourescent Microscope
Nanodrop Spectrophotometer
Thermal Cyclers (different types)
Centrifuges (high speed,
refrigerated, mini, etc)
Hybridization Incubator
Weighing Balance, various types
Water-baths (shaking, orbital, Ultra violet lamps
Autoclaves.
SDS
Page/Western-Blotting
Apparatus
Shakers/Mixers (orbital, mini,
etc)
Other Facilites for the ACE Students: Multi-User Science
Research Lab
1. Atomic absorption Spectrophotometer, Fast Sequential
2. X-ray Fluorescence Spectrophotometer
3. 4. Microplate Reader
4. HPLC, Preparative and Analytical
5. UV-Visible spectrophotometer
6. Fourier Transform Infra red Spectrophotometer
7. Elemental Analyzer, Thermo-Finnigan,
8. Amino Acid Analyzer, different brans
9. Centrifuge
10. Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrophotometer
11. GC-MS (Varian & Perkin Elmer)
12. LC-MS Quadruple
13. Fluorescence Spectrometer
14. NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) 90Mhz & 400MHz
ICT Library for Researchers and Students at the CBRT
Research and Capacity Building Focus
1. Postgraduate Degree programmes
• MSc Biotechnology - Enrolment-50
• PhD Biotechnology - Enrolment - 19
• PGD Forensic Biotechnology - Enrolment – 16
 Regular seminar presentations by students
• Short Courses
– Recombinant Protein Theory and Practice
– Molecular Diagnostics of Parasite Infections
– Molecular Determination of Genotypes
– Hands on Training on Basic Biotechnology
Techniques
 A total of 122 participants were trained
between 2014-2016.
No of Publications: 169
Accomplished Milestones
1. Rehabilitation of Physical facilities
2. Procurement and Installation of Research
Equipment
1. Physical Facilities Upgrade
• Upgrading of two lecture rooms in the
Department of Biochemistry; each lecture is
provided with multimedia boards and projectors
• Construction of Forensic Biotechnology Lab
• Renovation of Cold Room in the Centre for
Biotechnology Research and Training
• Lecture Rooms
2. Procurement and Installation of Research
Equipment in CBRT
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PCR Thermal Cycler
Real time qPCR,
Gel Electrophoresis
Gel Documentation System
Nanodrop Spectrophotometer,
Centrifuge, Mini
Freezers
A Researcher working with a Master Cycler at the DNA Lab
Some PCR at the Forensic Biotechnology Lab
A Nano Drop Spectrophotometer at rhe DNA Lab
Accreditation
• National Accreditation (NUC)
• PGD – 81.8%
• MSc- 83.0
• PhD – 83.3%
• International Accreditation
Intention form submitted to Royal Society
of Biology, UK
Other Planned PG Programmes
 MSc Forensic Science (Biochemistry Dept)
 PGD Entomology
(to be hosted in the Department of Zoology)
 PGD Pharmaceutical Microbiology
- to be hosted in Department of Pharmaceutics
and Pharm. Microbiology
Incentives to Students
• Waiver of School fees to Foreign students
• Refund of expenditure incurred by students
• Sponsorship to Conferences
Incentives to Faculty
• Sponsorship to Conferences
• Payment of page charges for publications
Progress on 2017 Implementation Workplan
• NgREN Basic Service Subscription
• NGREN Subscription & repository
• SCOPUS subscription
• Procurement of Additional Research Equipment
• List of needed additional Equipment compiled
• Bidding process initiated
• Procurement of Additional Reagents and Consumables
• Students
• Department of Biochemistry
• Construction of Animal House
• Architectural drawing completed
• Letter of No Objection being processed
• Strengthening Centre Research capability
• Workshops:
• Grantmanship planned for
• Sample Collection and Treatment
• Initiation of new partnership & collaboration
• Bayero University, Kano
• Nigerian Police Academy, Wudil, Kano State
• Institute for Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki, Japan.
• Publicity
• Publication of Student Handbook
• Publication of Brochure
• Organisation of Stakeholders meeting
NUC Executive Secretary Visit to ACENTDFB
• First ACE Centre in Nigeria to be visited (16th
March, 2017)
• Highlights
• Visit of facilities
• Update on the World Bank Supervision Report
• Appraisal of ACENTDFB