Scope of Research

Most of my research is on the nitrogen transformations and balance in different soils with special emphasis on nitrogen fixation.

One year of post-doctoral research in University of Minnesota involved in the application of fluorescent antibody technique to the study of the ecology of Rhizobium. This technique was successfully used for studying competition between strains of rhizobia in the rhizosphere of soybean.

For the academic year 1980-1981, I was engaged in a joint Research Project with late Dr. B.B. Bohlool in the Department of Microbiology, University of Hawaii. My research was concerned with the study of the ecology of Leucaena rhizobia using the florescent antibody technique with other biochemical and physiological tests. I was able to develop a serological scheme for this group of Rhizobium. I conducted extensive field evaluations of different strains/inocula in two tropical soils (oxisol and molisol). The emphasis was on the competition among strains in single or multi inocula.

In 1989, I spent 10 months as visiting scientist with Food Legume Improvement Program at the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), where I was able to develop an integrated characterization scheme for large group of R. Leguminosarum isolated from the major lentil growing areas within ICARDA region. The characterization included differences in symbiotic efficiencies and serological diversity as well as the relatedness between the isolates. The outcome of this study is a step to conduct more detailed research in the Ecology of this group of Rhizobium with the final goal to improve legume/ Rhizobium symbiosis.

Presently, I am Professor and Chairman of Agricultural Microbiology Department, at the National Research Center, Egypt. I am involved in research and teaching in training courses. My research activities encompass four major areas of emphasis:

1. Application of molecular biology techniques in biological Nitrogen fixation Research.
2. The ecology of rhizobia
3. The use of 15N fertilizer for quantification of N2fixation under the field conditions.
4. Nitrogen cycling, with special emphasis on the transformations of fertilizer and atmospheric nitrogen in the soil.

In 1979, Dr. Hassan Moawad won an International Development Research Center Award to spend one year in the United States to study the ecology of the interaction between legume and rhizobia in symbiotic nitrogen fixation.

In 1984 Dr. Hassan Moawad won funding for a project on "The Competitive relationships between indigenous and inoculant rhizobia nodulating lentils and soybean" has been selected, approved and sponsored by competitive research grants committee, BOSTID, US National Academy of Sciences.

In 1987, Dr. Hassan Moawad won a DAAD fellowship to spend two months in Prof. W. Lotz laboraotry in Erlangen, West Germany, where I applied the molecular biology techniques to characterize the strains of R. Leguminosarum from lentil and faba bean.

In 1991, Dr. Hassan Moawad won funding for a project on "The Study of the ecology of chickpea and lentil rhizobia" has been approved and sponsored by UNDP/ ICARDA biotechnology program.

In 1992, Dr. Hassan Moawad won funding for a project on the " Application of genetic Engineering for Constructing Superior Nitrogen fixing Clover Rhizobia and their performance and stability in Egyptian soils" has been approved for funding and was sponsored by National Agricultural Research program NARP / USAID Egypt.

Dr. Hassan Moawad won a fulbright scholarship in 1993 to spend one year with molecular biology group at Soil Science Dept. Univ. of Minnesota. In collaboration with Dr. M. Sadowsky I was able to use the rep-PCR DNA fingerprinting to differentiate between near isogenic soybeen rhizobia. This new approach makes possible the study of competition between rhizobial strains within the same serogroups. The results of this study add new dimensions to the in-depth study of competitive relations between rhizobia for nodulation of host legumes.

In another project dealing with bioremediation. Dr. Hassan Moawad was able to construct a plasmid that included the toluene dioxygenase (Tod) gene which proven to play an important role in the degradation of trichloroethylene (a suspected carcinogen). The constructed plasmid was a step toward the use of flavonoid - inducible promoter region from Rhizobium leguminosarum to control the expression of Tod gene.

Dean of the Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Research Institute at Mubarak City 1995-1995. President of Mubarak City for Scientific Resarch and Technology Application 1997-2000.