Health Research at Universities: Knowledge unutilised

Hundreds of biological science and technology graduates of the country cannot apply their specialised knowledge in practical settings due to the lack of well-equipped laboratories and funding.

Existing government policies also do not reinforce scientific research on viruses and other pathogens, immunology, vaccine development and biotechnology.

A postgraduate student of Dhaka University's microbiology department, wishing anonymity, said for a research project he wanted to study dengue virus at DU's BSL-2 laboratory, a well-equipped laboratory of the country.

"However, one of my professors said, 'Do you want to kill us all? Our laboratory is not suitable for working with these viruses.' So, I had to abandon that project."

Prof Muhammad Manjurul Karim of DU's microbiology department, said, "The BLS-2 laboratories in the university are not fit for research on highly contagious live viruses such as Ebola, dengue or Covid-19. For that, we need BSL-3 or 4 laboratories."

He asserted that their curriculum is designed in a way that graduates can both detect a virus and develop vaccines.

"Our extensive courses on virology include structure and replication process of virus, infectious behaviour of virus, host-virus interaction, genetic morphology, mutational behaviour, bio-informatics and genomics."

Though DU's microbiology department can conduct in-silico analysis for vaccine design, they don't have the lab set-up to actually do the task, he added.

According to the University Grants Commission, at least 19 public and four private universities currently offer graduate or postgraduate courses on subjects including biotechnology, genetic engineering, microbiology, biochemistry and molecular biology.

"Most of the contractors, who build the university structures, don't know how to build laboratory buildings where we can install pathogen protection mechanisms," said Prof AKM Mohiuddin of Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University's biotechnology and genetic engineering department.

During rainy seasons, their laboratory often gets damp, creating favourable conditions for the breeding of fungi and bacteria, he said, adding that accurate results cannot be expected from such a laboratory.

"That is why, we have to concentrate mostly on theoretical studies," he said.

In 2018, the National Institute of Biotechnology (NIB) designed a vaccine for the contagious human rotavirus, which causes diarrhoea, through in-silico analysis, a scientific research produced by computer simulation.

But the researchers could not go for a laboratory trial of the design because the country did not have a functional Biosafety Level-3 (BSL-3) laboratory.

Palash Kumer Sarker, senior scientific officer, microbial biotechnology division of NIB, said most of the researches are agriculture-based.

While these are important, the recent Covid-19 outbreak underscored the need to invest more on fundamental research on human pathogens, particularly on virus, and vaccine development, he added.

FUND SHORTAGE

Prof Md Anwarul Azim Akhand of DU's biotechnology and genetic engineering department said, "Reagents and instruments needed for our laboratory are very expensive and have to be imported. And, we have to allocate a significant portion from our limited budget."

He said postgraduate researchers have to invest more than 80 percent of their fund in equipping a laboratory, leaving little money for other parts of the research, thus affecting its overall quality. 

Budget allocated for research is very low in Bangladeshi universities.

For fiscal 2019-20, the research budget allocated to all the public universities is only Tk 64.40 crore, which is only 1.26 percent of the total non-development budget of more than Tk 5,000 crore.

Dr Firdausi Qadri, emeritus scientist of infectious disease division at icddr,b, pointed out that maintenance of lab equipment, keeping them certified and accredited is also costly.

The leading experts of infectious disease research in Bangladesh said there are at least three well-equipped virology laboratories in the country now.

Besides, the country has very few trained manpower for maintaining and certifying the biosafety cabinets and equipment, which is important for all the laboratories.

THE WAY FORWARD

Experts think that biological science research can be improved by forming a tripartite relationship between universities, physicians and industries.

DU's Professor Mohammad Manjurul said, "Industries such as pharmaceutical companies should support laboratories in the institutes where researchers will work on pathogens, drugs, vaccines, etc which in turn will benefit the industry.

"On the other hand, for clinical trials and to collect study samples, there has to be collaboration between physicians and researchers. It can be done by employing microbiologists, biotechnologists, pharmacists and molecular biologists in the government hospitals and medical institutes."

At present, there is no post for microbiologist, pharmacist or biotechnologists in the government hospitals. Medical institutes have microbiologists posts, filled only with physicians, not by microbiology graduates.

Md Sirazul Islam, additional secretary of the hospital wing of health services division of health and family welfare ministry, said the current recruitment policy, does not allow graduates of any other disciplines to apply for these positions.

"We fill these posts with successful BCS (health) cadre candidates. Only registered physicians can apply for BCS (health) cadre exam," he said.

Meanwhile, industry owners opined that industry-university collaboration can happen if universities show interest in industry-oriented research.

Abdul Muktadir, chairperson and managing director of Incepta Pharmaceuticals Limited, said, "Our universities should reform their curriculum and focus more on product oriented research. We have now started to produce high tech medicines. We are working to develop vaccines.

"So, our graduates will get ample opportunities to apply their practical knowledge on these fields in the near future which were not available in Bangladesh a decade earlier."

The country's pharmaceutical industry is still dependent on foreign research and imports active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), the main chemical component of the drugs, mostly from India and China.

SM Shafiuzzaman, secretary general of Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries, said, "An industrial park is being established to produce API in Bangladesh which will create employment opportunities for many Bangladeshi scientists and researchers.

"If we can establish a collaborative relationship with the universities and their laboratories centring this industrial park, we shall be able to produce many expensive high-tech drugs and vaccines at an affordable price."