Molecular Medicine Research Group 

The Molecular Medicine Research Group

“A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

Principal Investigator: Dr. R. S. Katete

The Molecular Medicine Research Group aims to elucidate the molecular basis of diseases. The Group strongly believes that understanding the detailed molecular mechanisms involved in any disease development will help elucidate its transmission, diagnosis, vaccine development, rational drug design, and prevention. The topics covered by the research group include, but are not restricted to, biomarker discovery, transmission patterns, genotypic diversity, development of molecular diagnostic tools, and vaccine and drug discovery. The group welcomes new members who are working or interested in any of these areas. The Molecular Medicine Research Group regularly convenes to discuss the ongoing research of its members to enhance research productivity and high-profile publications; the group is also open to other forms of academic exchange/collaboration, joint workshop/conference hosting, peer review of research papers, common grant application, collaborative innovation projects, co-supervision, student exchange, invited talks by guest speakers, discussion of new books and articles, screening of documentaries, or public debates on ongoing developments in the medical field. For those far away, you are welcome to join us online.

The Molecular Medicine Research Group is part of the Southern Africa Centre for Genomic Pathogen Surveillance (SACGPS) in collaboration with other research groups. 

Available MSc, Ph.D. and Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Opportunities in the Molecular Medicine Research Group

Projects are offered in Biochemistry, Biophysics, Microbiology, Medical Genetics, Cell Biology, Biopharmaceutical Bioprocessing, Biotechnology, Medical Biochemistry, Medical Microbiology, Biology, Industrial Biotechnology and Entrepreneurship, and Molecular Biology. The following projects are currently available to prospective students/fellows in the Molecular Medicine Research Group: 

Postdoctoral Research Fellowships

1. Improvement of Viral Vaccine Efficacy through Alternative Codon Optimization 

2. Combination of CRISPR/Cas functional genomics and metabolomics in cancer malignancies. 

3. Development of a safe and efficacious vaccine against multidrug-resistant Shigella spp. 

Ph.D. Studentships

1. The Use of CRISPR/Cas9 as a Tool to Study Human Infectious Viruses

2. mRNA vaccines for Infectious Diseases

3.  The directed evolution of protein biocatalysts and vaccine design 

4. Biomarkers for Infectious Diseases 

5. Antimicrobial Peptides against Infectious Diseases 

MSc Studentships 

1. Applications of CRISPR/Cas System to Bacterial Metabolic Engineering

2. Isolation and Characterization of Antimicrobial Peptides

3. Isolation and Characterization of Biomarkers for Multidrug Resistant Bacteria  

4. Phytochemistry: Isolation and Characterization of  Bioactive Taxoids against Infectious Diseases 

5. MSc Bioinformatics: Comparative Genomics and Molecular Evolution of COVID-19: New Drug and Vaccine Targets 

Available Internships for Undergraduate Students 

If you are an undergraduate student or have just completed your first degree, look for available internships here. Please note that if you are an undergraduate student, you can use covert your Internship project to become part of your BSc Project. Internships are available in Bioinformatics, Molecular Dynamics, Homology Modelling, Molecular Docking, Protein Purification, Microbiology Techniques, Biochemical and Biophysical Techniques, Protein Characterization, Molecular Modelling, Cloning, Gene Expression, Chromatography, Data Collection and Analysis, Public Health Surveys, Renewable Energy, etc. The list of available Internship is based on the following topics: 

1. Structure Prediction or Modeling of Proteins

2. Genome Analysis and Annotation 

3. Cloning and Gene Expression

4. Mammalian Tissue Culture and Transfection 

5. Protein Characterization

6. Molecular Modelling

7. Molecular Dynamics

8. Comparative Genomics

9. Application of droplet digital PCR to detect the pathogens of infectious diseases

10. Biochemical and Biophysical Characterization of Proteins

11. Bioinformatics: Structure Prediction

12. Bioinformatics: Search for Potential Inhibitors

13. Environmental Chemistry

14. Environmental Microbiology 

15. Protein Purification

16. Entrepreneurship: Business Startups 

If you are interested in any of the above topics, please get hold of Dr. Katete for a brief introduction to a specific project, expected tasks, and prerequisite qualification requirements. 

Current Group Activities 

1. Three Personal Papers to Publish 

1.1. Katete, R. (2023). Hypertension: Unmasking the Silent Epidemic in Developing Countries. Manuscript submitted.

1.2. Structural Basis of Malaria Vaccine Design

2. Two Books to Publish 

2.1. Research Methodology for Medical and Allied Health Professionals

2.2. Biochemistry 

3. One Course Booklet to Publish 

3.1. Research Methodology for Medical and Allied Health Professionals

4. Minimum Two Papers to Publish with each of the Three MSc Students 

4.1. Mike Nundwe 

Project Title:  

Antimicrobial Resistance, Serodiversity and Genotypic Diversity of Multidrug-Resistant Shigella spp. and New Horizon for Treatment

Proposed Title of Papers to be Published: 

4.1.1. Genotypic Diversity of Multidrug-Resistant Shigella spp.: Elucidating New Novel Drug and  Vaccine Targets 

4.1.2. Prevalence of Multidrug-resistant Shigella Isolated in Zambia 

4.1.3. Antimicrobial Susceptibility Profiles of Multidrug-Resistant Shigella species  Isolated at the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka

4.1.4 One Research Paper from Your Lab Research Work 

Current Status Student: Graduated with MSc in Infectious Diseases in September 2023

4.2. Emmanuel Zulu 

Project Title: 

THE EMERGENCE OF SARS-Cov-2 IN ZAMBIA: CHARACTERIZATION OF ITS GENETIC DIVERSITY AND TRANSMISSION PATTERNS

Proposed Title of Papers to be Published:

4.2.1. Potential Antivirals target for SARS-CoV-2

4.2.2. Advances in structure-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccine design

4.2.3. One Research Paper from Your Lab Research Work

Current Status Student: Graduated with MSc in Infectious Diseases in September 2023

4.3. Benson Kaunda 

Project Title: 

Correlation between ART-related HIV Mutations and Renal dysfunction among people living with HIV on Tenofovir-based Antiretroviral Therapy

Proposed Title of Papers to be Published:

4.3.1. Evaluation of hepatic and kidney dysfunction among newly diagnosed HIV patients with viral hepatitis infection in Zambia 

4.3.2. Prevalence and Mutation Patterns of HIV among individuals with Renal and  Hepatic Dysfunction Co infected with HBV, HCV and TB

4.3.3. The Treatment and Prophylaxis of HIV and HBV Infections by Tenofovir  Alafenamide

4.3.4. One Research Paper from Your Lab Research Work

Current Status Student: Graduated with MSc in Infectious Diseases in September 2023

5. Ph.D.  STUDENTS

5.1. MENTOR FOR  ANNETTE BERTILLA MWIMBA LOMBE

Research Project Title:

Microbial Community Structure and Their Potential for Bioremediation – A Case of Selected Areas of Kabwe

Proposed Title of Papers to be Published:

5.2.1 Lombe, A., Pamba, J., Kasali, G., Mwaanga, P. and Katete, R. S. (2021). The current trends in lead contamination in Zambian towns: save the innocents. EQA – International Journal of Environmental Quality, 45-46 (2021) 9-25.

5.2.2 Lombe, A. and Katete, R. S. (2023) Lead Remediation Techniques – Lessons for Sustainable Remediation of Lead-Contaminated Sites in Zambia’s Mining Towns. Manuscript Submitted.   

5.2.2 Katete, R. and Lombe, A. (2023). Genomic and proteomic insights into the lead bioremediation by Enterobacter cloacae. (Working on the Manuscript). 

Papers Submitted and Published 

1. Zulu, E., Katete, R., Simusika, P., Mutengo, M., Chabala, F., & Kasonde, M. (2023). Characterization of SARS-CoV-2 Genetic Diversity in Zambia: Single Center Study. Microbes and Infectious Diseases, (), -. doi: 10.21608/mid.2023.229457.1592 https://mid.journals.ekb.eg/article_316798.html 

2. Rodrick Symon Katete, Given Kalonga, Magdah Ganashi, Ned Silavwe, Richard Mwenya, Photodynamic Therapy for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Cancer, Advances in Biochemistry. Volume 10, Issue 3, September 2022 , pp. 81-93. doi: 10.11648/j.ab.20221003.11 

3. Kalonga, G., Katete, R. S., Simfukwe, J. and Habanyama, A. (2022). Photon Characteristics and Behavior under Refractive Index. Journal of Advances in Physics, Vol 20 (1): 169-184. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24297/jap.v20i.9220 

4. Kalonga, G., Habanyama, A., Silavwe, N. and Katete, R. S. (2022). Generation and Storage of Hydrogen Gas from Non-Metal and Metal Hydrides using Metal Complex Catalysts: A Review. International Journal of Sustainable and Green Energy. Volume 11, Issue 1, pp. 29-34. doi: 10.11648/j.ijrse.20221101.14 

5. Lombe, A., Pamba, J., Kasali, G., Mwaanga, P. and Katete, R. S. (2021). The current trends in lead contamination in Zambian towns: save the innocents. EQA – International Journal of Environmental Quality, 45-46 (2021) 9-25.

6. Katete, R. S., Sankar, R., Rajendran, R. and Kalonga, G. (2020). Website Ranking Estimation through Fuzzy Logical Hierarchy Process. UNNES Journal of Mathematics, 9 (1): 69-76. https://doi.org/10.15294/ujm.v9i1.33969 

7. Given Kalonga, Rodrick Katete, Ededias, Richard Mwenya & Luke N. K. Zulu. (2020). Artificial Photosynthesis for Production of Hydrogen Gas for Fuel. To Physics Journal, 5, 138-151. https://www.purkh.com/abstract/artificial-photosynthesis-for-production-of-hydrogen-gas-for-fuel-62049.html 

8. John Pamba, Rajamuthu Rajendran, Rodrick S. Katete, Ravi sankar, Given Kalonga (2020). Scrutinizing the Discrimination of African Senior Citizens through Linguistic Delphi Adapted Fuzzy Associative Memories. International Journal of Mathematics Trends and Technology, 60-71. http://www.ijmttjournal.org/archive/ijmtt-v66i8p507

9. Kalonga, G. & Katete, R. S. (2019). Student Model and Elimination of Examination Malpractices - The Zambian Case. The Journal of Educational Development, 7(1), 186 - 196. https://journal.unnes.ac.id/sju/index.php/jed/article/view/31626/14946

10. Rodney Hull, Rodrick Katete, Monde Ntwasa. (2012). Therapeutic potential of antimicrobial peptides from insects. Biotechnology and Molecular Biology Reviews, 7(2): 31-47.

11. Katete, R. S. (2012). Biophysical characterisation of the manganese transporter MntH from Enterococcus faecalis. Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Sheffield, Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Western Bank Library Thesis 16213, Sheffield, UK.

12. Katete, R. S. (2008). Structural Basis of Transport Activity of Bacterial Membrane Proteins. MPhil Thesis - University of Sheffield, Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Sheffield, UK

13. Katete, R. S. (2006). Heterologous expression optimisation, solubilisation, refolding, purification and physicochemical characterisation of the recombinant c-Jun N-terminal Kinase 1. BSc Honours - University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, School of Molecular and Cell Biology, Johannesburg, South African.

14. Zulu, L. N. K. and Katete, R. S. (2022). Serological Evidence of Newcastle Disease in Unvaccinated Village Chickens in Selected Districts of Western and Southern Provinces of Zambia. Manuscript submitted.

15. Katete, R. (2023). Hypertension: Unmasking the Silent Epidemic in Developing Countries. Manuscript submitted.

16. Katete, R. S. (2024). Structural Basis of Malaria Vaccine Design. Working on the manuscripts.

In addition, members of the Molecular Medicine Research Group are encouraged to attend/organise/present weekly;

1. Journal Club

2. Seminar/Webinar Presentations

3. Lab Presentations 

They are also expected to attend or present their work at Conferences/Symposiums, Write Monthly Blogs, Provide Monthly Research Progress Reports, Provide Bi-Monthly Supervisor-Student Meeting Reports, Organise/Attend Workshops, Attend relevant courses to improve their knowledge and skills in their subject area, regularly apply for Grants and actively be involved in collaborative innovation projects.