The Institute of Biomedical & Genetic Engineering (IBGE) was established in Islamabad in 1992 as Pakistan’s premier biomedical and human genetics research facility. Its mission from the start has been basic biomedical and translational research to promote the understanding and prevention of human diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, metabolic disorders, cancer, neuropsychiatric and blood disorders.
Three decades of disease genetics
For more than 30 years IBGE has worked in medical genetics, specifically disease genetics. The institute became internationally recognized for its contributions to the Human Genome Diversity Project and built one of the world’s largest banks of human cell lines; some of these cell lines were deposited with CEPH, France, through UNESCO.
Working with families across Pakistan, IBGE scientists have mapped more than 25 novel genes and loci for blindness, deafness, skin disorders and other inherited conditions. Along the way they described a new phenotype, later named “Siddiqi Syndrome”, and two skeletal disorders now listed in OMIM as the Ain-Naz types of dysostosis multiplex and rhizomelic dysplasia.
From the laboratory to the patient
IBGE has steadily turned its research into services for patients and doctors – from bench to bedside. What began with HLA typing to assist surgeons in organ transplantation, hepatitis B and C testing, karyotyping, Y-chromosome deletion testing for infertility and carrier screening for inherited diseases has grown into more than 150 genetic and molecular diagnostic services, including cancer biomarkers, DNA forensics, FISH, chromosomal microarray and prenatal testing. IBGE introduced non-invasive prenatal testing for fetal RhD genotyping, one of the first implementations of this test in Pakistan.
In regenerative medicine, the institute developed stem cell therapies and human amniotic membrane (HAM) allografts for burns, eye surgery, wounds and diabetic foot ulcers, supported by its cGMP and stem cell banking facility.
Training scientists
Generations of MPhil and PhD students from Quaid-i-Azam University, International Islamic University, COMSATS, PMAS Arid Agriculture University, Muhammad Ali Jinnah University and Hazara University have completed their research at IBGE, and the institute runs a six-week internship programme for students and young researchers.
Recognition and partnerships
IBGE scientists have received national honours including the Hilal-e-Imtiaz, Sitara-e-Imtiaz, Tamgha-e-Imtiaz and Pride of Performance, as well as HEC awards for outstanding research papers, and IBGE researchers are ranked among the top 2% of scientists in the world. The institute works with partners such as the National Institutes of Health (USA), DKMS Life Science Lab (Germany) and the University of Sydney – see Collaborations.
Key milestones
- 1992 – IBGE established in Islamabad.
- Human Genome Diversity Project – contributions to the project and a large human cell line bank, partly deposited with CEPH, France, through UNESCO.
- Gene discovery – more than 25 novel genes and loci mapped; Siddiqi Syndrome and the Ain-Naz skeletal disorders described.
- 2017 – research on bone marrow failure syndromes with the NIH, USA.
- 2022 – high-resolution HLA typing with DKMS Life Science Lab, Germany.
- Today – more than 150 diagnostic services, four core research groups and a growing regenerative medicine programme.
Looking ahead
IBGE’s next chapter includes the proposed Pakistan Human Genome Project, a national database of rare diseases, a National Public Stem Cell Bank and a Bone Marrow Donor Registry – continuing more than three decades of work to improve health in Pakistan through genetics.