Nağı Musayev is celebrating his 75th anniversary today
Professor Naghi Alməmməd oghlu Musayev was born on May 22, 1950, in the village of Əlibəyli, Tovuz district. In 1957, he started first grade at A.S. Pushkin Secondary School in Tovuz and successfully completed his secondary education in 1967. That same year, he was admitted to the Faculty of Physics at Azerbaijan State University after successfully passing the entrance exams.
His special interest in biophysics led him in 1969 to the Laboratory of Spectroscopy of Biopolymers at the Institute of Physics of the Academy of Sciences of Belarus, where he conducted research on the infrared spectra of cellulose. This interest played a decisive role in his later choice of specialization in “Biophysics.” This choice proved highly successful, resulting in the defense of his diploma thesis, candidate’s dissertation, and doctoral thesis all within this field.
He graduated from university with honors in 1972.
In 1971–1972, he conducted his first significant scientific research at the Institute of Chemical Physics of the USSR Academy of Sciences under Nobel Laureate N.N. Semenov, during his pre-graduation internship and while working on his diploma project. The results of his work were published in the prestigious international journal Biophysics.
From 1973 to 1974, he worked as a junior researcher at the Institute of Virology, Microbiology, and Hygiene.
In 1974, Musayev was admitted to the full-time postgraduate program at the Faculty of Biology of Lomonosov Moscow State University, majoring in Biophysics. According to his academic interests, he was offered a research topic titled "Study of the effect of temperature and physiologically active substances on the electrochemical properties of cell membranes." His academic advisor was Lev Nikolayevich Vorobyov, who had undergone advanced training in Australia and was one of the pioneers of microelectrode techniques in the USSR.
His candidate dissertation was successfully defended on April 29, 1980, and he was awarded the academic degree of Candidate of Biological Sciences in Biophysics by the USSR Higher Attestation Commission.
After completing postgraduate studies, Musayev was assigned to the Institute of Physics of the Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences. There, he worked in the Sector of Physical-Chemical Biology, first as a senior laboratory assistant, then as a junior researcher, and later as a senior researcher. During this period, he obtained substantial results in the study of ion transport regulation mechanisms in cell membranes. These results were published in highly rated international and Azerbaijani journals, as well as in patents and inventions.
During that time, the application of advanced membrane technologies in industry began. This led Musayev in 1984 to the “Offshore Oil and Gas Design” Institute’s Department of Environmental Protection, where he worked until 1990. There, he developed several methods for determining oil content in seawater using technological membranes and received corresponding inventor’s certificates.
In 1990, he was invited by Prof. T.H. Mammadov to join the newly established “Biotechnology” Scientific Research Laboratory at Baku State University. After passing a competitive selection, he was appointed as a researcher.
While working in the laboratory, he developed a device called “Polyarograph” to regularly record the rate of oxygen release and absorption in liquid media. This device is still in use today at the Department of Biophysics and Biochemistry. It has supported the defense of four candidate and ten master's theses. In parallel, Musayev built two measuring devices that continuously record the electrical parameters of plant cell plasma membranes. These devices are used by doctoral and master’s students.
His scientific activity at Baku State University was closely connected with his teaching. Since 1993, he has served as a full-time faculty member at the Department of Biophysics, becoming an Associate Professor in 1996 and a Professor in 2016. His doctoral thesis titled “Biophysical Mechanisms of Modifications of Transport Properties of the Plasma Membrane” was defended and approved in 2012. He was awarded the titles of Associate Professor and Professor by the Republic’s Higher Attestation Commission in 1996 and 2016, respectively. The measuring devices he developed are successfully used in both teaching and research.
One of the electrophysiological devices developed by Professor Musayev records changes in four parameters of the plasma membranes of Chara algae simultaneously and is actively used in doctoral and master's training.
His scientific and teaching efforts have been repeatedly recognized with honorary diplomas and the Ministry of Education’s “Anniversary Medal of Baku State University.”
Professor Musayev is the author of nearly 200 scientific publications in high-ranking journals in Russian and English. His primary research interests include molecular mechanisms of ion transport regulation in biological membranes and mechanisms of functional activity regulation of macromolecules. He has authored 2 textbooks, 6 teaching manuals, 1 monograph, 8 methodological guides, and 15 syllabi.
His book “Mathematical Modeling in Biology” is successfully used in the teaching of several courses, including the eponymous subject, “Dynamic Models of Macromolecular Processes,” and “Simulation and Modeling of Biosystems.”
Under his supervision, 5 PhD and 8 Master’s theses have been completed. He is a member of the Scientific Council of the Institute of Biophysics of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan and a member of various dissertation and seminar councils under the Higher Attestation Commission. From 2018 to 2020, he served as an expert at the Commission.
Professor Naghi Musayev is currently a faculty member of the Department of Biophysics and Biochemistry at Baku State University.