The Late Professor Aklilu Lemma

Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathobiology (ALIPB), formerly known as Institute of Pathobiology, was established in 1967 by Addis Ababa University with the objective of conducting biomedical research. The Institute has evolved from a small unit known as Parasitology Research Unit, under the Faculty of Medicine, which existed as such for three years. It was the late Prof. Aklilu Lemma who made a great contribution to upgrading the unit to institute level, for which reason, in May 2005, the Institute was named Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathobiology (ALIPB) in his honor.

The Institute has existed for five decades as a research wing of the Addis Ababa University addressing important research issues of public and veterinary health, and made significant contributions to the development of the health sector of Ethiopia. Two of the major scientific contributions of the Institute are the discovery of Endod (Phytolacca dodecandra) as a low-cost plant molluscicide, and the mapping out of the geographical distribution of schistosomiasis and leishmaniasis as well as the identification of the respective snail intermediate hosts. The winning of the 1989 Right Livelihood Award by the late Prof. Aklilu Lemma and Dr. Legesse W/Yohannes for their work on Endod could also be cited as a major achievement of the Institute.

Achievements

The Institute has made significant contributions to the development of human and animal health sectors of the country. Some of the major scientific contributions of the Institute include the discovery of Endod (Phytolacca dodecandra) as a low-cost plant molluscicide, the mapping out of the geographical distribution of schistosomiasis and leishmaniasis as well as the identification of their respective snail intermediate hosts and sand fly vectors, the determination  of the dose and method of application of Endod as a molluscicide, the development and use of locally produced DAT antigen for the diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis and the development  of radiation attenuated vaccine against the sheep parasite Dictyocaulis filaria. Prof. Aklilu Lemma and Dr. Legesse W/Yohannes won the Right Livelihood Award for their work on Endod.

Additionally, the integration of research problems/agenda and activities in view of human-animal-environment considerations into teaching programs and the publication of a large number of research papers in different local and international biomedical journals are important contributions.