On October 1, 2025, the well-known biologist, Director General of the Institute of Microbiology of the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and Corresponding Member of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS), Panah Zulfiqar oglu Muradov, celebrates his 65th anniversary.
Panah Muradov was born in 1960 in the village of Shahsevan, Aghjabadi district. In 1983, he graduated from the Faculty of Biology of the Azerbaijan State University (present - Baku State University), and in 1988 he completed his postgraduate studies at the Institute of Microbiology of the Academy of Sciences of the Azerbaijan SSR. He defended his candidate dissertation in 1989 and his doctoral dissertation in 2004, receiving the academic titles of associate professor in 1995 and professor in 2011. In 2007, he was elected a corresponding member of ANAS.
From 1985 to 1990, Panah Muradov worked at the Microbiology Sector of the Academy of Sciences of the Azerbaijan SSR as senior laboratory assistant, junior researcher, researcher, senior researcher, group leader, senior researcher, and head of laboratory. From 1995 to 2020, he served as Deputy Director for Scientific Affairs and Acting Director of the Institute of Microbiology of ANAS. Since 2021, he has been the Director General of the Institute of Microbiology of ANAS (currently under the Ministry of Science and Education).
Panah Muradov’s main scientific activity is devoted to the study of fungi distributed in the territory of Azerbaijan in terms of the physiological-biochemical, biotechnological, and ecological bases of the synthesis of biologically active substances of various (food, feed, and medical) purposes. His research also focuses on the complex evaluation of xylotrophic fungi belonging to basidiomycetes in terms of their efficiency in the biological utilization of plant waste, the degree of conversion, and the activity of enzymes catalyzing the degradation of complex polymers in waste composition. He has developed the scientific and practical foundations of a biotechnological method enabling the utilization of plant waste based on the “low-waste or zero-waste technology” principle. Furthermore, he carried out the first studies in Azerbaijan on xylotrophic fungi as objects of the “Red Book.”
Panah Muradov is the author of 290 scientific works, including 1 monograph, 4 books, and 6 authorship certificates. He has repeatedly delivered reports at international and national conferences, symposia, and congresses, and has served as a member of organizing committees of many international conferences. He has been the winner and leader of several international (SRDF and STSU) and local (AEF) grant projects. Under his scientific supervision and consultancy, 31 PhD and 4 Doctor of Science degrees have been awarded.
Between 2006 and 2009, Panah Muradov was a member of the Expert Commission on Biology and Agricultural Sciences under the Higher Attestation Commission of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and from 2009 to 2021 he served as Deputy Chairman of the Commission. Since 2021, he has chaired the Dissertation Council operating under the Institute of Microbiology of ANAS (now under the Ministry of Science and Education). Since 2020, he has been a member of the Scientific Council of the Division of Biological and Medical Sciences of ANAS. Since 2009, he has been a member of the editorial boards of the journals "Microbiology and Biotechnology" (Georgia) and "Bulletin of Moscow State Regional University, Series: Natural Sciences"; since 2016, of "Microbiology and Virology" (Republic of Kazakhstan); and since 2019, of ANAS’s "Life Sciences and Biomedicine" journal.
Panah Muradov has been awarded the "Honorary Diploma of ANAS" four times.
