Was born in Timişoara on December 13th, 1939. He is a graduate of the „C.D. Loga†Highschool Timişoara (1956). Forwards he attended the courses of the Faculty of Agronomy and Animal Sciences, Section of Animal Sciences within the University of Agricultural Sciences of Banat Timişoara (1956-1962). Some years later Zeno Gârban attended the courses of the Faculty of Chemistry of University “Babeş Bolyai†Cluj Napoca (1968-1973).
In 1982, he defended his doctoral thesis entitled Investigations on native and denaturated nucleic acids: Interactions of deoxyribonucleic acid and purine metabolites with divalent metals at the Institute of Chemistry Cluj Napoca of University “Babeş Bolyai†Cluj Napoca, becoming Ph.D. in chemical science-specialty biochemistry