Key details
Dr Solomon Habtemariam
Principal Lecturer, Pharmaceutical Sciences
Dr Solomon Habtemariam is a leading expert on drug discovery researches from natural sources. By using ethno-botanical information and bioassay-guided isolation studies, Dr Habtemariam's research has identified several classes of bioactive compounds. His in-house bioassay screens and expertise areas include:
- Targeting inflammatory cytokines and adhesion molecules by natural products
- Search for anti-microbial agents: antileishmanial, antibacterial and antifungal agents
- Identification of potential anti-cancer and immunomodulatory compounds
- Search for anticachexic agents from natural sources
- Modulation of reactive oxygen species in health and disease.
- Neurodegenerative diseases: principally Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases
- Identification of antidiabetic agents from plant sources
- Search of potential natural products that promote weight loss.
Hand-in-hand with the above-mentioned pharmacological assays, Dr Habtemariam uses chromatographic and spectroscopic analysis methods for standardising herbal products, i.e. he provides the scientific bases of traditional medicines through both chemical and pharmacological assays.