Faculty of Medicine

About Us

In 2022, our department celebrated its 59th anniversary. We are very proud of our history as the nation's premier pathology department, producing the first locally trained pathologists. For nearly 6 decades, we have worked hard and maintained excellence in our mission to teach and train, provide high-quality diagnostic services and participate in research that adds to our body of knowledge - we hope to continue this journey with the rest of the pathology family as well as with our colleagues in the medical (and non-medical) fraternity.

We are not only intimately involved in the teaching of pathology at the undergraduate level, primarily Bachelor of Medicine & Surgery (MBBS) and Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS), but also run the Master of Pathology (MPath) programme as well as research-based postgraduate programmes such as the Master of Medical Science and PhD. In addition, we maintain the Pathology Museum, the largest of its kind in Malaysia and provide various diagnostic services to UMMC, UMSC as well as many other government-based and private healthcare institutions.

We hope that the information on this website will be useful to you. As a dedicated and dynamic team, we look forward to establishing connections and increasing collaborations. Our goal is to encourage growth, capacity building, and promotion of medical diagnostic services.

Assoc. Professor Dr. Man Kein Seong @ Mun Kein Seong

Head of Department

- ksmunum@um.edu.my

Read more.

Academic Staff

Bil	Salutation	Name	Email	Phone
1	Distinguished Professor Dr.	Datuk Looi Lai Meng	looilm@ummc.edu.my	03-7949 2776
2	Professor Dr.	Cheah Phaik Leng	cheahpl@um.edu.my	03-7949 2069
3	Associate Prof. Dr.	T. Malathi Theravarajah	tmalathi@um.edu.my	03-7949 2745
4	Associate Prof. Dr.	Pavai Sthaneshwar	norlisah@um.edu.my	03-7949 2052
5	Associate Prof. Dr.	Man Kein Seong @ Mun Kein Seong	ksmun@um.edu.my	03-7967 6623
6	Professor Dr.	Teoh Kean Hooi	khteoh@ummc.edu.my	03-7967 6623
7	Dr.	Farhi Ain Jamaluddin	ainj@um.edu.my	03-7949 2025
8	Dr.	Diana Ong Bee Lan	diana.ong@um.edu.my	03-7949 7540
9	Dr.	Chow Tak Kuan	tkchow@um.edu.my	03-7967 3672
10	Dr.	Chew Man Fong	manfog@ummc.edu.my	03-7967 5784
11	Dr.	Prashant Naresh Samberkar	samberkar@um.edu.my	03-7949 2139
12	Dr.	Toh Yen Fa	yenfa@um.edu.my	-

Support Staff

Bil	Salutation	Name	Email	Phone
1	Mr.	Ahmad Fahmi Dol Basir	ahmad_fahmi@um.edu.my	03-7949 4520
2	Mrs.	Bunita Kumari Hari Chand	bunita_27@um.edu.my	03-7967 5785
3	Mrs.	D. Diana Mary David	ddiana@um.edu.my	03-7967 5785
4	Mrs.	Faridah Ab Mahsim	faridahmahsim@um.edu.my	03-7949 2230
5	Mr.	Khairil Azlan Bahrin	azlanbahrin@um.edu.my	03-7949 2873
6	Mrs.	Maizatul Asiah Othman	myzatul@um.edu.my	03-7949 2230
7	Mr.	Mohamad Pozi Sasat	pozi@um.edu.my	03-7949 2064
8	Mr.	Nornahar Kassim	nornahar@ummc.edu.my	03-7949 2138
9	Mrs.	Rosmaya Ibrahim	rosmaya@um.edu.my	03-7949 2873
10	Mr.	Sivapragasam Kuppusamy	basspartners@um.edu.my	03-7949 2230
11	Mrs.	Yusniza Mohd Yunus	yusnizamy@um.edu.my	03-7949 2375

The Department of Pathology was formed in 1963, when the faculty of Medicine in the Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur was founded. Since its formation, the Department had been involved with the teaching of the undergraduate medical program (MBBS), starting from the second academic year with General Pathology, followed on by Applied (Systemic) Pathology. Clinical Chemistry, Clinical Hematology cum Transfusion Medicine and Forensic Pathology are introduced when the students enter their rotational clinical postings. A new integrated curriculum was introduced in 1999 in order to bring the curriculum more in-line with the modern concept and approach of self-directed learning.

In 1972, the Department, at the request of the University started an undergraduate pathology program for the newly formed Faculty of Dentistry. It involves the teaching of General Pathology and Applied Systemic Pathology courses in the undergraduate dental program (BDS).

In 1973, at the request of the Ministry of Health, the department started its 2 year post-graduate program (M.Path). Subsequently in 1991 the program was upgraded to a full four year masters. The current con-joint program consists of 2 parts. The Part I exam is taken at the end of 1 year of rotational postings in Anatomic Pathology (including autopsy pathology), Haematology (including Transfusion Medicine), Microbiology (including parasitology) and Chemical Pathology The part 2 is taken at the end of the 4th year is taken after sub-specialization in one of the 5 disciplines offered in UM – Anatomic Pathology, Haematology, Chemical Pathology, Microbiology and Forensic Medicine. In addition the candidate is required to submit a Research Report.

The Undergraduate Service by the Department of Pathology:

Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS)
Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS)

Modes of learning and teaching:

Lectures: These are delivered to large groups, and generally last for slightly under one hour.
Theme Sessions: These may be practical sessions in BCS-oriented subjects or seminar style sessions in which a number of speakers will provide different perspectives on a topic. Theme sessions are longer than lectures (1.5 to 3 hr).
Problem-based Learning (PBL) sessions: A group of 8 students solve a realistic clinical problem and work towards explaining the clinical manifestations with reference to basic-science mechanisms.

1. Prathap K. Diet-induced aortic atherosclerosis in Malaysian long-tailed monkeys (Macaca irus). J Pathol. 1975;115(3):163-74.

2. Prathap K, Lau KS, Bolton JM. Pentastomiasis: a common finding at autopsy among Malaysian aborigines. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1969;18(1):20-7.

3. Prathap K, Gilman R. The histopathology of acute intestinal amebiasis. A rectal biopsy study. Am J Pathol. 1970;60(2):229-46.

4. Pathmanathan R, Soo-Hoo Tuck Soon. Cryptococcosis in the University Hospital, Kuala Lumpur and review of published cases. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1982;76(1):21-4.

5. Beng CG, Rasanayagam LJ, Lim KL, Lau KS. Solubility and absorption spectra of complexes resulting from interaction among human albumin, bromcresol green and detergents. Clin Chim Acta. 1974;52(3):257-69.

6. Sumithran E, Prathap K. Hepatocellular carcinoma in the Malaysian Orang Asli. Cancer. 1976;37(5):2263-6.

7. Sumithran E, Prathap K. HBAg-positive chronic liver disease associated with cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma in the Senoi. Cancer. 1977;40(4):1618-20.

8. Pathmanathan R, Prasad U, Chandrika G, Sadler R, Flynn K, Raab-Traub N. Undifferentiated, nonkeratinizing, and squamous cell carcinoma of the nasopharynx. Variants of Epstein-Barr virus-infected neoplasia. Am J Pathol. 1995;146(6):1355-67.

9. Pathmanathan R, Prasad U, Sadler R, Flynn K, Raab-Traub N. Clonal proliferations of cells infected with Epstein-Barr virus in preinvasive lesions related to nasopharyngeal carcinoma. N Engl J Med. 1995;333(11):693-8.

10. Thornburg NJ, Pathmanathan R, Raab-Traub N. Activation of nuclear factor-kappaB p50 homodimer/Bcl-3 complexes in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Cancer Res. 2003;63(23):8293-301.

11. Morrison JA, Gulley ML, Pathmanathan R, Raab-Traub N. Differential signaling pathways are activated in the Epstein-Barr virus-associated malignancies nasopharyngeal carcinoma and Hodgkin lymphoma. Cancer Res. 2004;64(15):5251-60.

12. Looi LM. Tumour-associated tissue eosinophilia in nasopharyngeal carcinoma: A pathologic study of 422 primary and 138 metastatic tumours. Cancer, 1987, 59: 466-470.

13. Looi LM. Localised Amyloidosis in Basal Cell Carcinoma: a pathologic study. Cancer, 1983; 52: 1833-1836.

14. Prathap K, Looi LM, Prasad U. Localised Amyloidosis in Nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Histopathology 1984; 8: 27-34.

15. Looi LM, Sumithran E. Morphologic differences in the pattern of liver infiltration between systemic AL and AA amyloidosis. Hum Pathol, l988; l9: 732-735.

16. Looi LM. The pattern of amyloidosis in a Malaysian patient population." Histopathology 1991; 18: 133-141.

17. Looi LM. Isolated atrial amyloidosis: a clinicopathologic study indicating its raised prevalence in chronic heart disease. Hum Pathol 1993; 24: 602-607.

18. Peh SC, Sandvej K, Pallesen G. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in Malaysian upper-aerodigestive-tract lymphoma: incidence and sub-type. Int J Cancer. 1995;61(3):327-32.

19. Peh SC, Looi LM, Pallesen G. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and Hodgkin's disease in a multi-ethnic population in Malaysia. Histopathology 1997;30(3):227-33.

20. Chang HW, Chong SM, Peh SC, Lee SH. X-chromosome inactivation analysis of isolated Reed-Sternberg cells in nodular sclerosing Hodgkin's disease. Br J Haematol. 1999;107(3):641-7.

21. Peh SC, Kim LH, Poppema S. TARC, a CC chemokine, is frequently expressed in classic Hodgkin's lymphoma but not in NLP Hodgkin's lymphoma, T-cell-rich B-cell lymphoma, and most cases of anaplastic large cell lymphoma. Am J Surg Pathol. 2001;25(7):925-9.

22. Ohshima K, Kimura H, Yoshino T, Kim CW, Ko YH, Lee SS, Peh SC, Chan JK; CAEBV Study Group. Proposed categorization of pathological states of EBV-associated T/natural killer-cell lymphoproliferative disorder (LPD) in children and young adults: overlap with chronic active EBV infection and infantile fulminant EBV T-LPD. Pathol Int. 2008; 58(4):209-17.

23. Lee ES, Kim LH, Abdullah WA, Peh SC. Expression and alteration of p16 in diffuse large B cell lymphoma. Pathobiology. 2010;77(2):96-105. Epub 2010 Mar 22

24. Yap SF, Wong PW, Kenneth-Raj. Hybridisation analysis for serum hepatitis B virus DNA. Br J Biomed Sci. 1994;51(4):336-40.

25. Yap SF. Hepatitis B: review of development from the discovery of the "Australia Antigen" to end of the twentieth Century. Malays J Pathol. 2004;26(1):1-12.

26. Jayaram G, Mun KS, Elsayed EM, Sangkar JV. Interdigitating dendritic reticulum cell sarcoma: cytologic, histologic and immunocytochemical features. Diagn Cytopathol. 2005;33(1):43-8.

27. Jayaram G, Elsayed EM, Yaccob RB. Papillary breast lesions diagnosed on cytology. Profile of 65 cases. Acta Cytol. 2007;51(1):3-8

28. Sumithran E, Susil BJ, Looi LM. The prognostic significance of grading in borderline mucinous tumours of the ovary. Hum Pathol l988; 19: l5-l8.

29. Cheah PL, Looi LM. Expression of placental proteins in complete and partial moles. Pathology 1994; 26: 115-118.

30. Cheah PL, Liam CK, Yap SF, Looi LM. Squamous cell carcinoma antigen as an adjunct tumour marker in primary carcinoma of the lung. J Clin Pathol 1994; 47: 535-537

31. Cheah PL, Looi LM, Lin HP, Yap SF. Childhood Primary Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Hepatitis B virus infection. Cancer 1990; 65: 174-176.

32. Goh KL, Cheah PL, Md N, Quek KF, Parasakthi N. Ethnicity and H. pylori as risk factors for gastric cancer in Malaysia: A prospective case control study. Am J Gastroenterol. 2007;102(1):40-5. Epub 2006 Nov 13.

33. Goh KL, Cheah PL, Navaratnam P, Chin SC, Xiao SD. HUITAI rapid urease test: a new ultra-rapid biopsy urease test for the diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection. J Dig Dis. 2007 ;8(3):139-42.

34. Cheah PL, Looi LM, Sivanesaratnam V. Recent trends in histological pattern of cervical carcinoma among three ethnic groups in Malaysia. J Obstet Gynaecol Res 1999; 25: 401-6.

35. Cheah PL, Looi LM, Ng MH, Sivanesaratnam V. Telomerase activation and human papillomavirus infection in invasive uterine cervical carcinoma in a set of Malaysian patients. J Clin Pathol 2002; 55: 22-26.

36. Cheah PL, Looi LM, Sivanesaratnam V. Human papillomavirus in cervical cancers of Malaysians. J Obstet Gynaecol Res (In press).

37. Looi LM, Prathap K. Hepatitis B virus surface antigen in glomerular immune complex deposits of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, Histopathology 1982; 6: 141-148.

38. Prathap K, Looi LM. Morphological Patterns of Glomerular Disease in Renal Biopsies from 1000 Malaysian Patients. Ann Acad Med Singapore, l982; 11: 52-56.

39. Looi LM, Wang F, Lam KL, Chua CT. Mesangial IgM in Minimal Change Glomerular Disease: A Clinicopathological study in a Malaysian Populaton. Pathology 1985; 17: 41-44.

40. Weening JJ, D’Agati VD, Schwartz MM, Seshan SV, Alpers CE, Appel GB, Balow JE, Bruijn JA, Cook T, Ferrario F, Fogo AB, Ginzler EM, Hebert L, Hill G, Hill P, Jennette JC, Kong NC, Lesavre P, Lockshin M, Looi LM, Makino H, Moura LA, Nagata M. The classification of glomerulonephritis in systemic lupus erythematosus revisited. J Am Soc Nephrol 2004; 15 (2): 241-50.

41. Ng KH, Bradley DA, Looi LM, Mahmood CS, Wood AK. Differentiation of elemental composition of normal and malignant breast tissue by instrumental neutron activation analysis. Appl Radiat Isot 1993; 44: 511-516

42. Ng KL, Bradley DA, Looi LM. Elevated trace element concentrations in malignant breast tissues. Br J Radiol 1997; 70: 375-382.

43. Zheng WQ, Looi LM, Cheah PL. A comparison of the pattern of cathepsin D expression in fibroadenoma, fibrocystic disease, preinvasive and invasive ductal breast carcinoma. Pathology 1999; 31: 247-251.

44. Looi LM, Wan Azura WY, Cheah PL, Ng MH. pS2 expression in infiltrating ductal carcinoma of the breast correlates with oestrogen receptor positivity but not with histological grade and lymph node status. Pathology 2001; 33: 283-286.

45. Doustjalali SR, Yusof R, Yip CH, Looi LM, Pillay B, Hashim OH. Aberrant expression of acute-phase reactant proteins in sera and breast lesions from patients with malignant and benign breast tumours. Electrophoresis 2004; 25: 2392-2401.

46. Looi LM, Cheah PL, Ng MH, Yip CH, Mun KS, Rahman NA. Comparison of telomere length and telomerase activation between breast fibroadenoma and infiltrating ductal carcinoma in Malaysian women. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2010;11(3):713-6.

47. Looi LM, Cheah PL. An immunohistochemical study comparing clear cell sarcoma of the kidney and Wilms' tumour. Pathology 1993; 25: 106-109

48. Cheah PL, Looi LM, Chan LL. Immunohistochemical expression of p53 protein in Wilms' tumour: a possible association with the histological prognostic parameter of anaplasia. Histopathology 1996; 28: 49-54.

49. Cheah PL, Looi LM. Implications of p53 expression in clear cell sarcoma of kidney. Pathology 1996; 28: 229-231.

50. Jayalakshmi P, Looi LM, Soo-Hoo TS. Chromoblastomycosis in Malaysia. Mycopathologia. 1990;109(1):27-31.

51. Jayalakshmi P, Looi LM, Lim KJ, Rajogopalan K. Autopsy findings in 35 cases of leprosy in Malaysia. Int J Lepr Other Mycobact Dis. 1987;55(3):510-4.

52. Ong CS, Ngeow YF, Yap SF, Tay ST. Evaluation of PCR-RFLP analysis targeting hsp65 and rpoB genes for the typing of mycobacterial isolates in Malaysia. J Med Microbiol. 2010;59(Pt 11):1311-6. Epub 2010 Aug 5.

53. Wong KT, Puthucheary SD, Vadivelu J. The histopathology of human melioidosis. Histopathology 1995; 26: 51-5

54. Malik A, Cheah PL, Hilmi IN, Chan SP, Goh KL. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in Malaysia: a demographic, anthropometric, metabolic and histological study. J Dig Dis. 2007 ;8(1):58-64.

55. Lee WS, Looi LM. Usefulness of a scoring system in the interpretation of histology in neonatal cholestasis. World J Gastroenterol. 2009;15(42):5326-33.

56. Wong KT, Shieh WJ, Kumar S, Norain K, Abdullah W, Guarner J, Goldsmith CS, Chua KB, Lam SK, Tan CT, Goh KJ, Chong HT, Jusoh R, Rollin PE, Ksiazek TG, Zaki SR and the Nipah Virus Pathology Working Group. Nipah virus infection: Pathology and pathogenesis of an emerging paramyxoviral zoonosis. Am J Pathol, 2002; 161: 2153-2167

57. Wong KT, Lum LCS, Lam SK. Enterovirus 71 and neurologic complications. N Engl J Med 2000; 342: 356-8.

58. Wong KT. Emerging epidemic viral encephalitides with a special focus on henipaviruses. Acta Neuropathol. 2010 Sep;120(3):317-25. Epub 2010 Jul 23. Review

59. Goh KJ, Tan CT, Chew NK, Tan PSK, Kamarulzaman A, Sarji SA, Wong KT, Abdullah BSJ, Chua KB, Lam SK. Clinical features of Nipah virus infection, a new viral encephalitis among pig farmers in Malaysia. N Engl J Med 2000; 342: 1229-35

60. Wong KT, Grosjean I, Brisson C, Blanquier B, Fevre-Montange M, Bernard A, Loth P, Georges-Courbot MC, Chevallier M, Akaoka H, Marianneau P, Lam SK, Wild TF, Deubel V. A golden hamster model for human acute Nipah virus infection. Am J Pathol 2003; 163: 2127-37

61. Wong KT, Badmanathan M, Ong KC, Kojima H, Nagata N, Chua KB, Ong BB, Nagashima K. The distribution of inflammation and virus in human Enterovirus 71 encephalomyelitis suggests possible spread by neural pathways. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol 2008; 67: 162-169

62. Wee YC, Tan KL, Kuldip K, Tai KS, George E, Tan PC, Chia P, Subramaniam R, Yap SF, Tan JA. Alpha-thalassaemia in association with beta-thalassaemia patients in Malaysia: a study on the co-inheritance of both disorders. Community Genet. 2008;11(3):129-34. Epub 2008 Mar 26.

63. Nadarajan VS, Sthaneshwar P, Jayaranee S. RBC-Y/MCV as a discriminant function for differentiating carriers of thalassaemia and HbE from iron deficiency. Int J Lab Hematol. 2010 Apr;32(2):215-21. Epub 2009 Jun 26.

64. Tan SY, Ooi AS, Ang MK, Koh M, Wong JC, Dykema K, Ngeow J, Loong S, Gatter K, Tan L, Lim LC, Furge K, Tao M, Lim ST, Loong F, Cheah PL, Teh BT. Nuclear expression of MATK is a novel marker of type II enteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma. Leukemia (In press)

Contact Information

Address

Department of Pathology,
Faculty of Medicine,
Universiti Malaya 50603 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia

Phone Number

03-7949 2375 / 2064

Email Address

kj_pat@ummc.edu.my

Pathology Department