Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology “Georgi Efremov”

Research Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology “Georgi Efremov”

The Research Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (RCGEB) was established in 1986 as a scientific unit of the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts. Its founder was Acad. Georgi D. Efremov. In 2011, the Center was renamed the Research Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology “Georgi D. Efremov”.

The principal objective of RCGEB is to advance scientific knowledge in protein chemistry, molecular biology, genetic engineering and biotechnology through scientific research and educational and practical courses. RCGEB serves as a national reference center for research, education and the application of new technologies in the biomedical and biomolecular sciences. It is the country’s largest and most significant institution in the field of molecular genetics and has achieved broad international recognition. Since its establishment, the Center has been equipped with modern and sophisticated equipment. In December 2015, RCGEB received a Certificate of Accreditation and became an accredited laboratory under the MKS EN ISO/IEC 17025>2006 standard. The Center’s staff consists of scientific and administrative-technical personnel. Its research staff includes four scientists, five research associates, two researchers employed within a scientific project conducted in cooperation with Columbia University in New York, USA, entitled Building Research Capacity for the Study of Schizophrenia in Macedonia, four junior associates involved in the Center’s applied activities, and three administrative-technical employees.

Researchers specializing in medical genetics, postgraduate students and doctoral candidates are continuously hosted at RCGEB. During the past 30 years, more than 30 research projects have been carried out at the Center, most of them in molecular medicine, including the molecular characterization of the most common monogenic hereditary diseases in Macedonia and neighboring countries, the molecular epidemiology of infectious diseases, the molecular basis of the most common malignant diseases, and DNA markers in human identification. RCGEB has also conducted projects in other fields, including genetic studies of the Ohrid trout, isolation and production of Taq polymerase, molecular identification of tobacco strains, and identification of bacterial strains in Vrelo Cave, among others.

The following projects are currently underway:

  • Building Research Capacity for the Study of Schizophrenia in Macedonia, funded by the National Institutes of Health, USA;
  • Genetic screening for mutation in GH1 and GHRHR in a cohort of patients with isolated deficiency (IGHD), elucidating the genetic cause(s) for a distinct association of IGHD and myopathy, funded by ICGEB, Italy; 
  • Balkan Endemic Nephropathy, in cooperation with the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts;
  • Molecular Basis of Breast and Ovarian Cancer in the Republic of Macedonia;
  • Detection of urinary biomarkers for urogenital cancers using 2-D DIGE/MS and LC-MS proteomic technologies.

The following programs are currently underway:

  • Study of molecular defects in numerous monogenic diseases (hemoglobinopathies, cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, hemophilia A, spinal muscular atrophy, Huntington’s disease, fragile X syndrome, hereditary deafness, Friedreich’s ataxia, hemochromatosis, cystinuria, phenylketonuria, galactosemia, Rett syndrome, Darier’s disease, achondroplasia, etc.);
  • Genetics of Infertility
  • Molecular basis of malignant diseases (breast, prostate, testicular, cervical and lung cancer, etc.);
  • Rapid and non-invasive methods for prenatal diagnosis;
  • Study of DNA markers in the population of the Republic of Macedonia and their application in forensic medicine and criminalistics;
  • Study of infectious diseases (Human Papillomavirus in women with cervical lesions, hepatitis B and C viral infections and their role in the etiology of chronic liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma)
Over the past 25 years, the Center’s research activities have resulted in more than 150 scientific papers, most of them published in international scientific journals. RCGEB’s research results have also been presented through more than 200 posters or oral presentations at international and national scientific conferences.
Since 2001, ICGEB–MASA has prepared and published the international scientific journal Balkan Journal of Medical Genetics.
RCGEB was the first institution in the Republic of Macedonia to introduce recombinant DNA technology techniques for the diagnosis and prevention of hereditary, malignant and infectious diseases, as well as for use in forensic medicine.
In addition to research and applied activities, one of RCGEB’s principal objectives is to educate young scientists through research. Over the past 25 years, numerous young researchers have received training at RCGEB in molecular biology and in genetic engineering and biotechnology techniques.
RCGEB cooperates with numerous institutions in the Republic of Macedonia, medical institutions in neighboring countries, and research institutions in various European countries and worldwide. This cooperation includes joint research projects, specialization and training of scientific staff, invited lecturers, and exchanges of literature.

More information about the work of the Center is available on its website: icgib.manu.edu.mk