Section Message
We seek to prepare highly qualified graduates who are qualified to work in the various fields of life sciences.
see section
The Department of Life Sciences constitutes one of the tributaries of the scientific community, which is an important
basis in the movement of society, so the department aims to spread awareness and knowledge in the fields of life sciences by providing the country with researchers and professors who are able to deal with the recent changes and developments taking place in the world and contribute to the development of our scientific, health, industrial and environmental institutions in solving problems encountered.
strategic goals
General goals
a. Keeping pace with global development in all scientific fields, especially in life sciences.
NS. Providing society and state institutions with scientific and technical expertise in the field of life sciences and developing its scientific, health and environmental institutions.
NS. Raising the level of performance and quality to the ranks of advanced international universities.
Educational goals
a. Developing and updating scientific curricula, both theoretical and practical.
NS. Developing scientific competencies and performance for teachers, researchers and students.
NS. The department aims to adopt modern technologies and develop research in scientific fields.
Scientific research goals
a. Finding solutions to contemporary environmental problems.
B. Understanding the study of the pathogens prevalent in our environment and our society and studying them scientifically” and participating in finding an effective treatment for them.
NS. Investing biotechnology research and genetic engineering techniques to develop industry in the country in its various fields, such as the medical, chemical, food and other industries.
Dr.. Contribute to addressing problems related to plant, animal and microbial flora in Iraq by focusing on biodiversity in our environment and combating the extinction of species and the entry of new species into our environment, especially genetically engineered species “that enter from outside our local environment.
community service goals
a. Supporting community activities by holding seminars, scientific conferences and practical courses in various fields of life sciences to support state institutions in the public and private sectors.
NS. Cooperating with the various state departments to advance the health, environmental, industrial and agricultural reality by providing scientific expertise, research results and postgraduate studies to transfer them to the ground.
NS. Seeking to advance society by broadening public horizons related to the importance of life sciences in solving many health, environmental and industrial problems.
Student activity goals
a. Supporting student, cultural, social, sports and artistic activities.
NS. Knowledge, cultural and scientific exchange with Iraqi and international universities.
NS. Training students in our scientific, health, industrial and environmental institutions during the summer vacation.
Dr.. Seeking to conclude agreements with universities and departments corresponding with our department outside the country to send distinguished students for training and access to scientific activity during the summer vacation.
e. Holding an annual scientific conference for research projects for the fourth grade (graduation projects) and honoring the distinguished among them.
And. Establishing an international scientific network unit in our department for students and encouraging students to benefit from it and be informed of the latest scientific developments.
Services and activities provided by the department to the community
- Preparing a generation capable of practicing its academic studies in applied fields in all research centers and various scientific and health institutions.
- Preparing scientific seminars and conferences to educate the community about the importance of life sciences.
- Contribute to the development of the educational process by graduating generations with scientific sobriety and accuracy in keeping pace with modern life sciences to complete what their professors have provided them with from a historical message in science and knowledge
- Developing students’ research capabilities and enhancing the capabilities of teaching staff through delegations and missions to communicate with the progress of science in international universities.
- Providing solutions to society’s various life problems using advanced scientific means and in proportion to the country’s capabilities for a better life.
- Providing scientific activity through its scientific laboratories, such as the central laboratory, which provides many possibilities for graduate students and academics for the purpose of completing their research, and the specialized herb for classifying all plant samples at the level of all universities in the country.
Brief history of the Department of Life Sciences:
The College of Science was established in 1949 under the name of the College of Arts and Sciences in its building in Adhamiya, which was originally the headquarters of Adhamiya High School. At the time, the college included five scientific departments, initially (animal, plant, chemistry, physics and mathematics). The College of Arts and Sciences continued as a single college until 1953, when the College of Science separated and became a stand-alone college, as well as the College of Arts. Gradually the College of Science expanded and established other departments until today it includes twelve departments and scientific units in which primary and higher studies are taught and scientific research is conducted, and it has become the distinguished scientific college in Iraq. The Departments of Zoology, Microbiology, Botany and Microbiology were the nucleus of the current Department of Life Sciences in the College of Science. The primary study was common in the first grade of all departments of the college at that time, and from the second grade onwards, students specialize in their departments. This was followed by the events of a third specialization in the life sciences, which is microbiology. In the beginnings of the College of Science, there was the Unified Animal Department in the Colleges of Science at the University of Baghdad, a scientific organization that included all zoology departments, and later it became the Department of Zoology. The Department of Zoology was directly connected to the presidency of the University of Baghdad, and this department was responsible for the scientific affairs of zoology in the faculties of science, education, girls, medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and veterinary medicine, in addition to the faculties of Mosul and Basra Sciences, in setting up zoology teaching curricula in a way that suits each of them and responsible for exams The appointments and secondments of faculty members and their distribution of these tasks. Similarly, the Department of Botany and other scientific departments for each of the scientific disciplines were linked to the presidency of the University of Baghdad and responsible for the teaching curricula for each of them. The Department of Animal and Microbiology occupied part of the front of the building of the College of Science in Adhamiya. The Department of Botany and Microbiology occupied the front of the upper floor with a herbarium full of various types of plants for diagnosis, research and study. The two departments were united in 1969 under the name of the Department of Life Sciences, which included the largest part of the front of the college on its upper and lower floors, in addition to the botanical garden and the greenhouse, where laboratory and field research was conducted, and the garden was equipped with a sophisticated environmental room for research and graduate studies. Another building was established for the department in the center of the college, which included halls, laboratories and other facilities for the department, which expanded a lot. Teaching was initially in English. All faculty members were graduates of foreign countries, in addition to Arab and foreign teachers who were fluent in English. They were able to continue teaching, discussing and writing research in English. After the two departments were united in the Department of Life Sciences, the process of canceling the College of Education at the University of Baghdad followed, so the biographers joined their colleagues in the College of Science, so the specializations were integrated and the department took its course towards development, expansion and postgraduate studies. Actively working each according to his specialty. The Arabization Committee decided that the primary and then higher studies should be in Arabic and activated the movement of authoring and translating into Arabic for the curricula of the two studies. The first registration for a master’s study in zoology was at the beginning of the academic year 1966-1967, and postgraduate studies for a master’s degree first and then a doctorate grew in the Department of Biology in 1970-1971 in line with the needs of the scientific renaissance that Iraq witnessed. The study curricula in the Department of Biological Sciences have changed and evolved. At first, the animal and plant specialists were separated, and when the two departments merged into one department, which is the life sciences, the study was unified for the first two years, and students specialized in the third and fourth years, either in animals, plants or microbiology. In a later period, these majors were canceled in the primary university study, and the students graduated at that time with a degree in life sciences. The specialization for postgraduate studies was transferred to the three mentioned specializations, and then a fourth specialization was added to it, which is environmental science. In a later period, these majors were canceled in the primary university study, and the students graduated at that time with a degree in life sciences. The specialization for postgraduate studies was transferred to the three mentioned specializations, and then a fourth specialization was added to it, which is environmental science. In a later period, these majors were canceled in the primary university study, and the students graduated at that time with a degree in life sciences. The specialization for postgraduate studies was transferred to the three mentioned specializations, and then a fourth specialization was added to it, which is environmental science.
Postgraduate studies in the College of Science have expanded and included theoretical and applied research in life sciences, and the number of students has increased. Environmental and agricultural (botany specialization) and the addition of facilities in the department that support scientific research such as the scientific imaging laboratory and experimental animal house to conduct animal physiology research, hormones, immunity, environment, insects and others. Today, the College of Science (Baghdad Science) has become the distinguished scientific center in Iraq, with scientific cadres specialized in life sciences and other sciences graduating from the twelve departments and institutions of the college. When the College of Science was established in 1949 under the name of the College of Arts and Sciences, it included within its five departments the Animal and Plant Departments. The herbarium of the College of Sciences contains the types of plants used for the purposes of diagnosis, research and study. This site was and still is the source to which all researchers in the field of plant classification resort. The two departments were united in 1969 under the name of the Department of Life Sciences and included the botanical garden and the greenhouse for research purposes. The language of instruction was English, then the Arabization Committee approved teaching in the Arabic language after canceling the College of Education and joining the College of Science. Registration for postgraduate studies began in 1966-1967 for master’s studies and then doctoral studies in 1970-1971. The department is, and still is, a shining scientific center that has been referred to as the most eminent, and many researchers and teaching staff have graduated from it, who have held prestigious positions in local institutions and in various countries of the world. The first batch of master’s students graduated in the academic year 1969-1970, the first batch of doctoral students graduated in the academic year 1981-1982. The department is currently awarding a master’s degree and a doctorate in the following specializations:
Microbiology
Zoology
Botany
Ecology
And from the specializations, multiple subspecialties branch out to cover all modern fields in basic, theoretical and applied biological sciences. The number of master’s students graduating from the department reached 564 and the number of doctoral students is 91. The department is currently seeking to activate the role of science in society through holding scientific seminars, forming various committees, and opening up to other state institutions to develop solutions related to the problems of environmental pollution, delay in agriculture, and the spread of bacterial and cancerous diseases in Iraqi society. Biology is very broad and divided into several branches, the most important of which are microorganisms, zoology, botany, as well as ecology. With the advancement of this science since the nineteenth century, it has become closely related to other sciences, theoretical and applied, and other technical fields that meet the necessary and continuous human needs.
Thus, today we are not talking about science, but life sciences, because it deals with the study of all forms of life, so it embraces within it many independent scientific disciplines and branches, but they all meet in their relationship with living organisms (the phenomenon of life) and in a wide field that begins with the study of viruses and germs and then plants and animals in While other branches specialize in studying the relationships between biology and the environment in ecology, not to mention genetic studies, it also studies the phenomena that have puzzled humanity throughout history. Despite all the difficulties that faced the organizational structure of the Department of Life Sciences, it refused to keep pace with and continue all the rapid progress and development in various contemporary life sciences, through the expansion of its specializations and the introduction of modern topics to the curricula of its students in the primary and higher studies in proportion to their peers in scientifically superior countries through Enriching them with research, research projects and scientific seminars, to create a generation with scientific talent and aware of the importance of their specialization. We hope in the near future that all the laboratories of our department will be modernized and equipped with the latest equipment, especially the postgraduate laboratories, and provided with the latest technologies to match in their scientific results the findings of researchers in international universities and provide direct communication via the Internet with the specialized laboratories by cooperating with them by providing scientific guidance that they may need. Students in their present and future experiences. Expanding the horizons of science and knowledge among students by holding mini-symposia for each stage by discussing modern scientific topics that students need in order to open their minds and expand their ideas to become researchers of the new generation. The department includes the following facilities:
• Laboratories for preliminary studies
Which is characterized by having a good absorptive capacity that provides comfort to science students and is equipped with chemicals and the latest academic and informational means, but it will still need advanced laboratory and research equipment to improve the practical performance of its graduates.
• Laboratories for postgraduate studies
It includes a microbiology lab, a cell genetics lab, a plant lab, an environment lab, and a zoology lab. Most of them are characterized by their precise specialization, modern devices and techniques, and their specialized scientific design, providing their students with the appropriate conditions for the atmosphere of their research projects, including digital incubators and other modern laboratory equipment, which had an effective impact on the accuracy of results and thus progress Society and patents for this extensive research. However, the continuous progress of science increases the desire to keep pace with the developed countries and parallel them in their practical research.
• Unit of experimental animals
This unit has witnessed great interest because of its effective impact in the development of experiments and laboratory studies in proving scientific theories that contribute to the development of practical reality for all branches of life sciences. Of the dead animals after completing the experiments on them. It also contains the Leishmania laboratory for the specialization of parasites. This unit is managed by veterinarians who are qualified in following up on this unit with specialized scientific services in this department.
• Herbarium unit
It includes the most important references for the classifications of thousands of dried Iraqi plants and preserved by the scientific methods recommended by the workers in the unit to preserve the Iraqi flora, to mimic their counterparts from the international research botanical units in preserving the country’s botanical heritage. The herbar also exchanges with many Arab and foreign scientific institutions, plant models of medical importance, and modern scientific publications. The department professors and postgraduate students have contributed to the revival of this unit and enriched it with many unscientific studies, thus becoming a scientific reference for researchers in the field of plant sciences.
• Botanical Garden Unit
This unit was established by allocating land for the establishment of a botanical garden in which research laboratories and greenhouses serve research in the fields of development and propagation of medicinal herbs and the study of plant physiology and in the fields of environment, insects, soil microbes and plant diseases in a practical reality that serves its students from the primary and higher studies.
• PCR unit
It is a unit that was recently developed after striving to obtain a PCR device used to diagnose the genetic material of all living organisms, which will contribute to the development and keeping pace with modern research that provides for advanced techniques. The unit is still under construction to make it an integrated genetic diagnostic unit that works with the rest of the department’s laboratories in reaching The best accurate results and the latest and fastest methods.
• Central Laboratory Unit
It is a laboratory with wide services for all the biotechnologies adopted in research so that it meets the needs of its students and the needs of all students of science and knowledge with its staff and modern equipment, including separation, filtration and extraction services, and all its money is related to modern laboratory techniques, which provided its students with all specialized means.
• Department Library
The idea of establishing a library within the department is considered one of the most important scientific achievements that saved the department students the trouble of searching and scrutinizing different sources. It included more than 800 books and more than 400 English-language magazines and their recent editions, in addition to theses and theses for graduates of the department for postgraduate studies.
• store
It is the most important unit that supplies the department with glassware, chemicals, and laboratory equipment that are used in various teaching and research studies.
In conclusion, it is necessary to mention the genius of the pioneering professors who left their scientific touches in the march of this ancient department since its inception, and we have all respect for them.
And we bow before them in reverence and honor for what they gave of the most beautiful years of their life and with generosity so that this department is at the forefront of the specialized scientific departments
At the level of Iraq, they are:
Prof. Youssef Mohamed Arab / Head of the Unified Animal Department
Prof. Dr. Abbas Taha Al-Najm / Head of the Department of Zoology
Prof. Dr. Helmy Saber Othman
Prof. Dr. Mounir Qaryaqos Bani / Assistant Professor – Vertebrates (Natural History of Birds) PhD in Science from Michigan University (USA) 1959, and the fields of scientific research and supervision of master and doctoral students were in the natural history of vertebrates, especially birds, and its relationship to reproduction and behavior.
Prof. Dr. Khaled Majid Hamid
Prof. Dr. Falah Abdel-Ghani Al- Neeb / Assistant Professor of Plant Environmental Physiology, Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma (USA) 1970, and she was in the fields of scientific research and supervising master’s and doctoral students in: Chemical interaction between plant species in relation to the pattern of vegetation.
Prof. Dr. Muhammad Ammar Al-Rawi / Professor of Environment and Insects – Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota (United States) 1958, and the fields of scientific research and his supervision of his master’s and doctoral students were in:
A – Environmental and life studies on economic insects. b- Reproductive life in some birds. C- Effect of light on sexual maturity in turkeys. D- Study the behavior of rodents.
Prof. Dr. Ahmed Shawky Abdel Wahab
Prof. Dr. Ibrahim Aziz Al-Suhaili / Professor of Fungi and Plant Diseases. The areas of scientific research and his supervision of master’s and doctoral students in fungal toxins and plant diseases.
Prof. Dr. Farouk al – Ani , Yas / Assistant Professor inherit Bktrella- Canutourah- University of Evervoll- Kingdom Altio- 1972, and the fields of scientific research and supervision on request masters and doctorate in: A- genetic mutations related to biochemical characteristics of Vallosan in Albesad and Mons. B- Genetic mutations and nitrogen fixation in Azotobacter. C- Genetic mutations and nitrogen fixation in rhizome. D- Improving the productivity of tetracyclines by mutations in streptomycetes.
Prof. Dr. Hussein Abbas Al-Ali / Associate Professor – Insect Classification Ph.D. University of London 1964. The fields of scientific research and his supervision of master and doctoral students were in: A – Classification of Iraqi insects from the phylum. B – Palm insects and dates in Iraq.
Prof. Dr. Ibrahim Kaddouri / Professor of Economic Entomology, Ph.D. from the University of California (USA) 1959. The fields of scientific research and his supervision of master’s and doctoral students were in: A- Study of the life of economic insects. B – Study of biological control factors: parasites and predators .
Prof. Dr. Faisal Abdul Qader Al Sukkari
Professor Dr. Abdul Hakim Ahmed Al-Rawi
Prof. Dr. Azur Noaman Khalaf
Prof. Dr. Bandar Al-Rawi 1991 – 1995
Prof. Dr. Rashid Mahgoub Al-Musleh 1996-2000 / Lecturer of Food microbiology at Cairo University – Ph.D. 1978. The fields of scientific research and his supervision of master’s students were in: A- Food poisoning bacteria and pathogenic bacteria related to food and water. B- Taxonomic and environmental studies on the bacteria that cause food and dairy spoilage. C- Microbial contamination of water, juices and soft drinks. D-Methods of food preservation and control of microbial growth in it. E – Relationships between microbes present in food and water.
Prof. Dr. Muhammad Nafie Al-Azzawi 2001- 2003
Prof. Dr. Martyr Raad Mohsen Al-Mawla 2003-2006
Professor Dr. Duha Saad Salih 2006 – 2008 / School – Microbiology – MA – University of Baghdad – 1977. The fields of scientific research were in the science of pathogenic bacteria and immunology (isolation and diagnosis of pathogenic bacteria and the study of their users using immunological methods).
Prof. Dr. Haifa Hadi Hassani 2008 – 2012
Prof. Dr. Sabah Al-Alouji 2012-2014
Prof. Dr. Abdul Latif Muhammad Jawad 2014-2015
Assistant Professor Dr. Samir Abdel Amir Alash 2015
Dr. Raghad Harbi 2018-2019
Prof. Dr. Hala Younis Fadel Al-Saadi from 2019 to the present