Three important developments this month, involving the Biotechnology Research Center (B.R.C.) at PPU-Hebron, are worthy of note.

 

First, we thank Professor Charles P Gerba for his dedication and enthusiasm during a long week of research at The Biotechnology Research Center and we wish him a safe landing today in the U.S.A.

 

The ongoing research is about the distribution of solid waste and bacteria that pose a potential health hazard in solid waste, which Professor Gerba’s high-standing environmental engineering partner, Dr Akrum Tamimi, is continuing to sample this month from the main refuse dumping site of Hebron.

 

Professor Gerba is a highly distinguished scientist from the Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science at The University of Arizona. In addition to writing 11 books, he has written 79 book chapters and published over 300 peer-reviewed journal articles in the last 5 years.  Professor Charles Gerba and Dr Akrum Tamimi came to us from the University of Arizona with funding for the research, which continues throughout the summer with the involvement of an M.Sc. student of the B.R.C., Ms Maryam Amro, under the supervision of Dr Robin Abu Ghazaleh and Dr Akrum Tamimi with Professor Charles Gerba.

 

As part of the program of activities, the B.R.C. organized and hosted a workshop with Eng Yasir Dweik from the Joint Services Council for Solid Waste Management of the Hebron and Bethlehem municipalities.  The workshop participants appreciated all the highly relevant talks, with some of the highlights being “Identification and management of soil-borne pathogens” and “Detection and management of foodborne microbial pathogens from agricultural and environmental sources” given by Professor Charles Gerba along with “Microbial Risk Assessment” and “Risk Assessment: Sacramanto River as a Study Case” given by Dr Akrum Tamimi.