Rubrica - Issue 25

The Department of Anatomy recently organised the Human Anatomy Expo between 5th- 7th January 2023 at the Human Anatomy Lab. The 3-day expo was open from 10 am to 4.30 pm.

The department has been organising similar exhibitions for the past few years. However, this year, the exhibition was open to the public for the first time to promote education regarding human anatomy, as well as to create awareness and generate interest in the sciences and medical field among children.

There were some exciting and eye-catching booths throughout the event, which included videos presentations, book sales, photobooths, and games with prizes. Visitors had the opportunity to take a closer look at preserved body parts such as a 45-year-old human brain (dissected in half to show what it looks like on the inside), and the growth stages of a human baby. Two microscopes were also prepared for visitors to view different cellular morphologies of tissue samples from different parts of the human body. Another highlight of the Expo was the opportunity to touch a real cadaver that has been preserved!

The expo also coincided with an organ donation campaign where visitors could pledge to donate their organs.

The Annual Universiti Malaya Research Carnival 2022 (UMRC 2022) with the theme “Connect, Engage, Partner: Accelerating Research Excellence” was held from 8th-10th January 2023. During this carnival, a competition called My UM Pitch, was held at the Dewan Tunku Chancellor on 9th January 2023. The competition aimed to provide a great platform for academicians and researchers (including post-doctoral and research fellows) to exercise their communication skills through a three-minute presentation using language that was comprehensible for a non-specialist audience.

Two academics from the Faculty of Medicine, Dr. Chong Pan Pan from The Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, and Dr. Bavani Arumugam from the Department of Biomedical Science, successfully secured the 1st and 2nd prize in the competition respectively. Dr. Chong’s award winning project was on “Autologous and Allogeneic Platelet-derived Extracellular Vesicles (P-EV) for the Repair of Knee Cartilage Injury and Osteoarthritis”, while Dr. Bavani’s project was on “Oral Insulin for Diabetes Therapy: A Point Mutation (Lys29Arg) Approach”. The prizes secured by both women were a RM30,000 and a RM20,000 research grant respectively.

Phase 3 of Etiqa's Free Cervical Screening Programme with the ROSE Foundation (Removing Obstacles to Cervical ScrEening), was officially launched by YAB Dato’ Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Dr. Wan Ismail, Patron of PUSPANITA (Wives of Civil Servants and Women Civil Servants Association) as part of concerted efforts to eliminate cervical cancer in Malaysia. Funded by Etiqa and implemented by the ROSE Foundation, the one-year nationwide programme is worth RM1.22 million, aiming to screen 5,500 eligible women aged 30 to 65 from identified B40 communities.

Phase 3 of the programme introduces an on-site colposcopy treatment for women which includes an initial assessment using a mobile colposcopy device that produces high quality images of the cervix. Upon assessment, patients with pre-cancer virus will be treated at the location using a Portable Thermal Coagulator. Apart from providing an innovative solution to detecting pre-cancer-causing HPV viruses in women, the programme will now empower women to get themselves treated, which will eventually help to save more lives.

The event was graced by YAB Dato’ Seri Dr Wan Azizah Dr Wan Ismail, Patron of PUSPANITA (Wives of Civil Servants and Women Civil Servants Association). Also present at the event were Datuk R. Karunakaran, Chairman of Maybank Ageas Holdings Berhad (the parent company of Etiqa General Insurance Berhad, Etiqa Life Insurance Berhad, Etiqa General Takaful Berhad, and Etiqa Family Takaful Berhad), Paul Low Hong Ceong, Chief Executive Officer of Etiqa Life Insurance Berhad, Professor Dato’ Dr. Adeeba Kamarulzaman, Chair of the ROSE Foundation, Professor Dr. Woo Yin Ling, Founder and Trustee of the ROSE Foundation, and Puan Sri To’ Puan Seri Norizam binti Che Mohd Nor, Yang DiPertua of PUSPANITA.

The Rose Foundation hopes to reach more Malaysian women and their family members by providing accessible screening and a treatment facility. Professor Dato’ Dr. Adeeba Kamarulzaman, Chair of the ROSE Foundation said, “Thanks to Etiqa’s sponsorship, we are pleased to introduce the Mobile Colposcopy equipment that enables the volunteer medical teams to travel to rural/interior communities and treat the women screened who are HPV positive. With this new equipment, they can receive appropriate support, treatment and care.”

“Program ROSE embraces all aspects of cervical cancer screening that integrates self-sampling, primary HPV testing and the digital health platform using mobile technology, and ensuring women who require follow-up are linked to care for treatment,” she added.

Professor Dr. Woo Yin Ling, Founder and Trustee of the ROSE Foundation said that “Program ROSE has achieved another milestone in cervical screening with the mobile colposcopy, and is a step up in our outreach programme that allows on-site medical treatment for women tested positive with HPV, particularly in reaching out to remote rural areas. With the mobile colposcopy, Program ROSE can return to the location after the initial HPV PCR self-sampling screening and provide treatment for those tested HPV positive on-site. This helps boost the women’s confidence as they would be receiving linkage to care and further follow-up treatment, which is Program ROSE’s integrated approach for cervical screening.”

Thus far, Program ROSE has been introduced to over 150 health clinics across 12 states. 28 ROSE-friendly government hospitals with over 90 healthcare professionals are now engaged to provide follow-up treatment for women who have been tested positive through our programme. We are grateful for their extended support structure and achievements for Program ROSE.

The ROSE Foundation was established in 2019 as a company limited by guarantee and as a charitable foundation in Malaysia. It is a joint venture between Universiti Malaya and the Australian Centre for the Prevention of Cervical Cancer (formerly known as VCS, Victorian Cytology Service Inc.). The ROSE Foundation has set itself the ambitious goal of making Malaysia one of the first nations in the region to be free of cervical cancer. Program ROSE offers women the choice of using a self-swab: a quick, convenient and effective approach to enable molecular tests to be undertaken, followed by prompt delivery of results straight to women's mobile phones.

https://www.programrose.org/

The Faculty held its Chinese New Year Celebration to welcome the Year of the Water Rabbit on 7th February 2023 at Centrepoint, FOM. The event was officiated by the Dean of Faculty of Medicine, Professor Dr. April Camilla Roslani in the presence of the FOM Management Committee. The majority in attendance, including the academic and support staff, as well as medical students, were all dressed in red as a sign of prosperity and good luck to usher in the new year. There was also a Lion Dance performance and Best Dressed competition organised to add to the festivities. Below are some of the highlights from the event.

Special thanks to members of the Dean’s Office and the FOM Technical team who worked tirelessly for days prior to the event to ensure that the event setup was well-organised and in order for the occasion.

The Department of ENT recently organised the Advanced Otology and Lateral Skull Base Workshop from 14th to 17th February 2023. The objective and outcomes of this workshop are to train current ENT Surgeons, as well as residents to the pearls and pitfalls of endoscopic surgery in Rhinology & Anterior Skullbase as well as Otology and Lateral Skullbase.

The skull base region is highly complex and requires significant training to master. Our ultimate goal is to ensure our participants are familiarised with the anatomy and surgical techniques used around the skull base, and to enhance their learning curve for future practice. The practice on cadavers ensures that they are able to perform these surgeries with no risk to any living patient and to finetune their surgical technique and skills.

The course was conducted by Professor Dato' Dr. Prepageran Narayanan, who is an expert in Anterior and Lateral Skullbase Surgery. He was assisted by Professor Dr. Tang Ing Ping (UNIMAS) who is also a renowned skullbase surgeon, based in Kuching, Malaysia. Other Faculty members include Assoc. Prof. Dr. Revadi Govindaraju, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jeyanthi Kulasegarah, Professor Dr. Zulkiflee Abu Bakar and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tengku Shahrizal Tengku Dato’ Omar.

The event began with a Welcome Address by the Main Dissector (Professor Dato' Dr Prepageran) to all 24 participants. For the Lateral Skull Base and Otology Setup, 12 participants were involved in the dissection, while others were observers. A majority of the participants were from abroad, which includes countries such as India and Pakistan, as well as countries from Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. The 4-day course contained a comprehensive itinerary, which were 2 days for Rhinology and anterior skull base, and 2 days for the Otology lateral skull base.

Malaria has remained a global challenge since 100 years ago as it causes high morbidity and mortality rate. On 15th February 2023, Professor Georges Snounou presented an overview of malaria control as part of the Breakfast@UMHealth, chaired by Professor Dr. Fong Mun Yik. He initiated the talk by explaining the Plasmodium life cycle. The malaria infection starts with a blood meal by the infected mosquito, then it transmits the parasites into the human body in the form of sporozoites where the parasites infect human liver cells, this then develops into mature schizonts, the burst of liver cells, followed by the parasitic infection to human erythrocytes. The erythrocytic cycle of parasites causes humans to experience disease and symptoms. Professor Georges also presented the Plasmodium landmark events from 1880 until the present day by showing the number of malaria article publications where we can see the publication numbers increased substantially for the last 20 years. This was followed by the presentation on the prevalence, and areas where malaria often occurred. He said the understanding of the malaria epidemiology can be simple as it involves malaria transmission to humans by mosquitoes, and the mosquitoes can also be infected by taking infected human blood which consists of gametocytes. However, it can also be complex given the diversity of the anopheline mosquito species in the environment with different factors.

The malaria controls involve drug prophylaxis and treatment, reducing man-mosquito contact and vaccine development. Malaria drugs were found every time a war occurred (World War I, World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War). Professor Georges explained that the major problem of malaria control is drug resistance. This was followed by the explanation of multiple malaria vaccine candidates targeted against the sporogonic, pre-erythrocytic and erythrocytic Plasmodium. To date, there is only one of these targeted antigens called circumsporozoite protein (CSP), which is recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). Professor Georges mentioned the major obstacle of malaria eradication specific to Southeast Asia which is the zoonotic infections that were caused by P. knowlesi and P. cynomolgi. He ended his talk by mentioning the future hopes for malaria elimination by new drugs and insecticides discovery, and implementations of the genetically modified mosquito population.

Speaker’s Background

Professor Georges Snounou has been appointed as Research Director of Infectious Disease Models for Innovative Therapies (IDMIT) at Université Pierre et Marie Curie, CIMI-Paris, France since 1st January 2008. He is also the Head Unit of Comparative Parasitology and Experimental Models (USM 307), at the National Museum of Natural History, Paris, France from April 2004 until April 2008. Professor Georges has been dedicated to the research of Plasmodium protozoan parasites and the causative agents of malaria since 1984. His interest in these pathogens does not only rest on their major impact on Public Health, but also because they offer a quintessential model for fundamental biological studies.

Professor Georges obtained his PhD in Molecular Biology from University of London in 1984. He honed his molecular biology skills from 1984 to 2004 as a postdoctoral research fellow at the National Institute of Medical Research, Division of Parasitology, London, United Kingdom (1984 to 1994), Imperial College London, United Kingdom (1994 to 1999), and Institut Pasteur, Department of Parasitology, Paris, France (2000 to 2004). His research focuses on the understanding of the malaria infection from an epidemiological, immunological, clinical and biological perspective. He has devised tools and approaches that have been widely adopted by the malaria research community and now constitute a basis for the molecular epidemiological studies conducted on malaria. Professor Georges Snounou has authored over 300 peer-reviewed articles in international journals and he actively pursues the research that includes four broad topics: the genetic diversity of Plasmodium species, biology and immunology of the hepatic stage of the parasite, pathogenesis of cerebral malaria, and molecular characterization of Plasmodium species in higher primates.

The Asian Surgical Network Symposium was held in Singapore from 20th-21st February 2023, bringing together 46 surgical leaders and representatives from 17 institutions across Asia to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on surgical systems. The Symposium marked the progression of a global health research partnership spanning nine countries in Asia, aiming to understand the collateral impact of COVID-19 on surgical systems in the region.

The event was jointly organised by the Health Services Research Centre, SingHealth International Collaboration Office, and SingHealth Duke-NUS Global Health Institute, and was graced by Professor Kenneth Kwek, Deputy Group CEO, Innovation & Informatics, SingHealth, and CEO of the Singapore General Hospital. The symposium's Chairpersons, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tan Hiang Khoon, Group Director, ICO and Director, SDGHI, and Professor Pierce Chow, Academic Vice Chair, Research, Surgery Academic Clinical Programme, SingHealth, led the event.

On the first day of the Symposium, clinical leaders shared insights on the management of COVID-19 and its impact on health systems from four workstreams. These included The Impact of COVID-19 on the 3 Bellwether Surgeries, Breast Cancer Surgery During the COVID-19 Pandemic, The Impact of COVID-19 on Colorectal Cancer in South East Asia, and Surgical Systems Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The Symposium served as an important platform for surgical leaders from across the region to come together and share their experiences in managing the impact of COVID-19 on their healthcare systems. Co-investigators who participated in the COVID-19 IMPACTS study had the opportunity to meet face-to-face for the first time.

The second day of the Symposium focused on addressing other pressing global surgical challenges in the region, going beyond studying the impact of COVID-19 on surgical services. The day consisted of in-depth discussions on how to collaborate to enhance surgical skills, strengthen surgical systems, drive surgical innovation, and facilitate patient empowerment.

The Symposium provided multiple opportunities for surgical leaders to discuss the future direction of collaboration and working together in global surgery initiatives. The event brought together experts from various fields of surgery, including breast surgery, colorectal surgery, and surgical systems response. The Faculty of Medicine team led by the Dean, Professor Dr. April Camilla Roslani, Deputy Dean, Professor Dr. Sanjay Rampal Lekhraj Rampal, and consultant Breast Surgeon, Assoc. Prof. Dr. See Mee Hoong, joined the symposium in their efforts to advance global initiatives on Workstreams 1, 2, 3, and 4.

The Symposium showcased the research work being done by the SingHealth Duke-NUS Global Health Institute and their partners in understanding the impact of COVID-19 on surgical systems. While collaborating for the past few years, communication had been by remote means due to travel restrictions brought on by the pandemic. The Symposium was a highly anticipated event, and it offered a full programme of in-depth panels, workgroups, and presentations. The event provided an opportunity for surgical leaders to learn from one another and develop strategies for overcoming challenges posed by the pandemic.

The Symposium was not just about discussing the impact of COVID-19 on surgical services, but it also highlighted the need to develop and strengthen surgical systems, skills, innovation, and patient empowerment. Participants shared their experiences and knowledge in handling the challenges of the pandemic and discussed possible solutions for the future. The Symposium provided an excellent opportunity to network and build relationships with fellow surgical leaders in the region. Collaborations and knowledge-sharing were at the forefront of the event, which bodes well for the future of global surgical initiatives.

In a nutshell, the Asian Surgical Network Symposium was a significant event that brought together surgical leaders from across Asia to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on surgical systems. The Symposium provided an opportunity for collaboration and knowledge-sharing, and it showcased the research work being done by the SingHealth Duke-NUS Global Health Institute and their partners. The Symposium's focus on addressing pressing global surgical challenges in the region demonstrated the commitment of surgical leaders to advancing the field and improving patient outcomes.

The Clinical Ethics Grand Round Series is a bimonthly event organized by the Medical Humanities and Ethics Unit (MedHEU) at the Faculty of Medicine, held on the last Thursday of the month from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm. The series kicked off in 2023 with a session focused on the ethical complexities and issues faced by clinicians providing healthcare to undocumented children in Malaysia.

Undocumented children often lack access to health insurance and social welfare programs, making it difficult for them to obtain essential health services. They may also struggle to attend school or access other educational opportunities, which can have long-term effects on their prospects. Clinicians have a moral obligation to provide care to all patients, including undocumented children, but the legal and healthcare systems can create challenges.

This session, moderated by Dr. Chong Lee Ai, Consultant Paediatric Palliative Care at UMMC, began with a narrative case presentation by Dr. Sheila Gopal Krishnan, Head of the Pediatrics Department at Hospital Seri Manjung. Other experts, including Professor Dr. Mary Joseph Marret, Consultant Pediatrician at UMMC, and Ms. Sharmila Sekaran, Chairperson of the Voice of the Children, joined in to discuss the challenges and propose ways to provide compassionate, ethical, and culturally appropriate care that respects the fundamental human rights of undocumented children. About 40 participants from a diverse background of professional affiliations attended the webinar and contributed towards a meaningful and fruitful discussion.

The Clinical Ethics Grand Rounds Series is a Continuing Medical Education (CME) initiative that features a variety of clinical ethics topics from a diverse group of esteemed speakers. It aims to help healthcare professionals keep up with the latest advances in medicine while guiding them through everyday ethical dilemmas. The series provides a forum for participants to learn how to resolve cases based on the best ethical practices. All healthcare professionals, including physicians, clinicians, biomedical researchers, nurses, ethicists, philosophers, and students, are welcome to attend. Those interested in presenting at future sessions can contact MedHEU by emailing medheu@um.edu.my.

On 24th February 2023, the Faculty of Medicine hosted a visit by delegates from the Defence Services Medical Academy, The Republic of the Union of Myanmar. Professor Dr. Saw Aik and Professor Dr. Sanjay Rampal Lekhraj Rampal were the hosts where the representatives were given a briefing of the teaching and research conducted as well as a tour of the facilities around the faculty.

Professor Dr. April Camilla Roslani, Dean of Faculty of Medicine, presented her annual Majlis Amanat Dekan Tahun 2023 on 28th February 2023 to the Faculty both physically at the Auditorium TJ Danaraj, as well as virtually on YouTube. Professor Dr. April began her presentation by sharing the Universiti Malaya Transformation Plan 2021-2030 and the nine focus areas of the UM-Health project. The goal of the UM Health Ecosystem is to facilitate and encourage optimal education, research and clinical outcomes. It is envisioned to enhance community wellbeing by delivering efficient, comprehensive and patient-centred clinical care; nurturing and developing future-ready graduates by offering high quality educational programmes; and develop and share innovative solutions for the world’s healthcare challenges.

In order to create the foundation of this future eco-system, the ecosystem shall provide a platform for UM collaborations, share public and private facilities, extend partner networks, develop ventures and specialty centres, and expand across satellites.

Key Features of the Future UM Health include:

1. Platform for UM Collaboration
2. Shared Public & Private Facilities
3. Extensive Partner Networks
4. Ventures & Specialty Centres
5. Expansion Across Satellites to Support Hub Activities

The UM Health Programme (UMHP), an initiative consisting of five entities (Universiti Malaya Medical Centre, Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, Faculty of Pharmacy and UM Specialist Centre), had initiated Phase 3 of its planning via the UMHP 3 Feet Plan Workshop with the respective Head Entities, held on 30th August 2022 at the Pullman Hotel, Bangsar. The objective of this workshop was to consolidate all identified initiatives and to finalize the 3 Feet Plan. From this workshop, the team had identified 35 Immediate Term initiatives to be included in the concept paper for approval by the Universiti Malaya Higher Management Council (UMHMC). These initiatives included Telemedicine, UM Health Talent – Upskilling & Reskilling, Culture Transformation, Key Critical Behaviour, Grant Allocation, Philanthropy and Budget 2023.

Professor Dr. April also revisited the four thrusts of the FOM Strategic Plan 2021-2025, which are People & Empowerment, Academic Excellence, Impactful Global Research and Infrastructure & Financial Sustainability. From these four thrusts, twelve goals and strategies were devised to address: Sustainable Leadership, Talent Management, Culture and Legacy, High-Value Academic Programmes, Outstanding Teaching & Learning Experience, Student Empowerment, Skilled & Ethical Researchers, Interdisciplinary Research Partnership, Equitable Research Ecosystem, Efficient Fund Management, Sustainable Income Generation, and Enhanced Facility & Space Utilisation.

A summary of all Faculty events, infrastructure upgrades, mental health initiatives, results of the Employee Satisfaction and Happiness Survey 2022, and achievements by the Faculty, Departments as well as Academic Staff and students in 2022 were also presented. Moving forward, she reported on the planning phase of the updated Universiti Malaya Medical Programme (UMMP), which aims to address the bottleneck between the number of UMMP graduates with availability of permanent posts for medical officers, and the evolving medical community demands for multidisciplinary perspectives.

The Regional Intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) Symposium 2022 was a two-day event held on December 1st and 2nd. The theme of the symposium was "A venture into a multidisciplinary application," and it was chaired by Dr. Teoh Li Ying and advised by Assoc. Prof. Dr. See Mee Hoong from the Breast Surgery Unit, Department of Surgery, UM, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Khong Tak Loon, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yoong Book Koon, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Rozita Abdul Malik, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vairavan Narayanan.

The symposium was organized by the UM Faculty of Medicine, with co-organizers including the Breast Chapter College of Surgeons, Academy of Medicine Malaysia, Malaysian Oncological Society (MOS), Malaysian Association of Medical Physics (MAMP), Malaysian Nursing Association (MNA), Malaysian Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Surgeons Society (MyHPB), and the Neurosurgical Association of Malaysia (NAM).

The first day of the symposium began with a welcome reception, followed by opening remarks from Assoc. Prof. Dr. See Mee Hoong, the main advisor of the event. The Deputy Dean of Faculty of Medicine, UM, Professor Dr. Ong Teng Aik, delivered the officiating speech. The first plenary session of the day focused on IORT in colorectal cancer. Professor Dr. William Small from Loyola University, Chicago, USA, discussed the challenges of IORT in rectal carcinoma, followed by Dr. Sandya Subramaniam from the Kuala Lumpur General Hospital, who gave an overview of the outcomes of IORT among rectal cancer patients in Malaysia based on institutional experience.

The second plenary session of the day focused on IORT in pancreatic cancer. Professor William Small also discussed the role of IORT in the treatment of pancreatic cancer, followed by a keynote lecture by Professor Dr. Jayant S Vaidya from University College London, UK, on TARGIT-A IORT for low-risk early breast cancer. Professor JS. Park from South Korea presented on Intraoperative Radiotherapy for Resectable Pancreatic Cancer, followed by Professor William Small's discussion on IORT in the treatment of head and neck cancer.

The third plenary session of the day focused on IORT in breast surgery. Professor Yip Cheng Har from the Subang Jaya Medical Centre discussed the evolution of Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation (APBI) in breast cancer. Dr. P. Lara gave a virtual presentation on the radioimmunological basis for IORT in breast cancer. Professor Dr. Jayant S Vaidya gave a virtual lecture on the role of IORT in high-risk early breast cancer, followed by Professor William Small's discussion on the targeted IORT tumor bed boost during BCS after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Assoc. Prof. Dr. See Mee Hoong gave an update on the multicentre study on the evidence of IORT application among Malaysians.

The second day of the symposium featured a plenary live surgery session for breast IORT in the operating theater. Assoc. Prof. Dr. See Mee Hoong led the live surgery in the Breast OT at Menara Selatan, OT3. Participants could observe the live surgery and learn the steps to set up IORT services.

The concurrent session on the second day focused on IORT in neurosurgery. Professor Dr. Frank Giordano with Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vairavan discussed IORT in brain metastases, rationale, and initial results. He also presented on IORT in primary GBM-INTRAGO and the introduction to ZEISS CONVIVO In-Vivo Pathology Suite ZEISS. The successful Neuro IORT program and Kypho-IORT for localized spine metastases was also discussed.

In a nutshell, the Regional IORT Symposium 2022 was a highly successful event that brought together experts in the field of intraoperative radiotherapy from across the Asia Pacific region and beyond. The theme of the symposium, "A venture into a multidisciplinary application," was well-chosen, as it highlighted the diverse range of applications for IORT and the many different specialties that can benefit from this innovative technique.

Over the course of two days, attendees were treated to a rich and varied program that included plenary sessions, live surgeries, and concurrent sessions covering a wide range of topics related to IORT. The speakers were all highly knowledgeable and engaging, and the discussions were lively and informative.

The symposium provided an excellent opportunity for attendees to learn from each other and to share their own experiences and insights. It also served as a valuable platform for networking and collaboration, which will no doubt lead to many exciting new developments in the field of IORT in the years to come.

Overall, the Regional IORT Symposium 2022 was a resounding success, and its organizers and Zeiss as the main sponsor should be commended for their hard work and dedication in bringing together such a high-quality event. We look forward to seeing what the future holds for the field of IORT and to attending future symposia and conferences.

On 1st March 2023, a delegation of five academic and administrative staff from Stikes Panakkukang Makassar, Indonesia (Panakkukang is a district in the city of Makassar, South Sulawesi) visited the Faculty of Medicine (FOM), University Malaya. The purpose of their visit was to learn and understand the ins and outs of the admission process into the UM Medical Programme as well as the courses conducted by the University in order to prepare graduates for the field. The session was chaired by Professor Dr. Shahrul Bahyah Kamaruzzaman, Deputy Dean of Postgraduate Studies, FOM, Universiti Malaya.

Stikes Panakkukang Makassar is a private university under the auspices of the Indonesian National Nursing Association (PPNI) and the Nursing Foundation South Sulawesi (YPSS) which organizes universities in health-related fields, especially for the Nursing, and Medical Records and Health Information programs. STIKES specifically focuses on the National Nursing D3 study program, which was first introduced in 1991 under the name Akademi Keperawatan (AKPER) Panakkukang Makassar. The Medical Record and Health Information study program was established in 1998, under the name Medical Recording and Information Academy Health (APIKES) Panakkukang Makassar. Both study programs are offered in private universities and higher education institutions throughout Sulawesi, and STIKES is the first to offer the Medical Record and Health Information in higher education in South Sulawesi.

The Vision of STIKES Panakkukang Makassar is to be an educational institution that produces healthcare professionals with a global vision and excellence in Eastern Indonesia.

To learn more about STIKES, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pgmv1LOC4XQ

On 6th March 2023, the Centre for Epidemiology and Evidence-Based Practice (CEBP) organized a webinar titled ‘Optimizing HIV Research and Practice Impact in Resource-Limited Settings’, hosted by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Rafdzah Zaki, Head of CEBP and moderator Dr. Rumana Akhter Saifi, Assoc. Director of Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERIA). Dato’ Professor Dr. Adeeba Kamarulzaman, Director of CERIA, sadly had to opt out of the webinar due to urgent matters.

The webinar intended to explore the challenges and opportunities in HIV research and public health practice in resource-limited settings. Latest advances in HIV prevention, treatment, and care were heavily discussed where strategies were examined to maximize impact. Professor Dr. Sten H Vermund, Professor Dr. Frederick Altice and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sheela Shenoi makes up the expert panel that were invited to lead this discussion, all hailing from the Yale School of Public Health, Yale University, USA.

Dr. Rumana and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Rafdzah began the webinar with a welcome introduction, which was then followed by the scheduled segments from the three guest speakers. Then this was immediately followed by a question and answer session that was open to the audience who had been listening in to the live session.

The webinar concluded with closing remarks from Dr. Rumana and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Rafdzah.

UMeHealth organized a two-day visit by 6 delegates from The N.1 Institute for Health and The Institute for Digital Medicine (WisDM), National University of Singapore on 6th and 7th March 2023. This visit was a follow-up to an online meeting UMeHealth and N.1/WisDM had in November 2022. The objective of the visit by N.1/WisDM was to explore further the potential collaborative research opportunities with experts in Universiti Malaya and exchange notes on advancing digital health solutions in this region.

The delegates from N1/WisDM were led by Professor Dean Ho, Provost’s Chair Professor, Director of The Institute for Digital Medicine (WisDM) at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine; Director of The N.1 Institute for Health (N.1), and Head of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the National University of Singapore. The other delegates were Assoc. Prof. Agata Blasiak (Health of Digital Health Innovation at the N.1 and WisDM), Dr. V Vien Lee (research fellow at N.1), Dr. Kirthika Senthil Kumar (research fellow at N.1), Mr. Yoann Sapanel (Head of Health Innovation at WisDM) and Mr. Shang Wei Song (research engineer at N.1). The N.1. Institute for Health (N.1) is a clinical stage research institute focused on N-of-1 medicine.

This meeting was open to all faculty members in FOM. UMMC and UMeHealth’s collaborators from the Faculty of Computer Science & Information Technology, Faculty of Engineering and Faculty of Science were also invited to meet the team from N.1/WisDM. UMHealth was honoured to have Professor Dr. Ong Teng Aik, the Deputy Dean of Value Creation & Enterprise, give an opening remark and welcome the delegates and invited guests. On the second day of visit, the delegates had discussions with several academicians from various interest research groups. The visit ended with the agreement to sign an MoU to formalize the foundation for further exploration in the shared interests, namely AI in oncology, digital health for infectious diseases, and for rehabilitation.

The 4th Symposium on Intelligent Data Science for Radiological Imaging (iDSRI) took place on 7th March 2023, at the Department of Biomedical Imaging, FOM, Universiti Malaya. This successful event was jointly organized by Universiti Malaya and Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan, with the collaboration of the Medical Physics Division of the Malaysian Institute of Physics and the Department of Biomedical Imaging, FOM, Universiti Malaya. The primary objective of the symposium was to foster research and teaching cooperation in medical physics between the two universities.

The symposium marked the culmination of a long-standing partnership between Universiti Malaya and Kyushu University, which began with the signing of a memorandum of understanding. In 2017, Professor Dr. Arimura and his team made their inaugural visit, initiating a research collaboration in radiomics.

The symposium followed a hybrid format and featured seven distinguished speakers. The invited speakers included Professor Dr. Hidetaka Arimura, Assistant Professor Dr. Masatoshi Kondo, and Mr. Takumi Kodama from Kyushu University, as well as Emeritus Professor Dr. Kwan Hoong Ng, Dr. Li Kuo Tan, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mee Hoong See, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohammad Nazri Md Shah from Universiti Malaya. Dr. Jeannie Wong and Dr. Tan chaired the symposium, which attracted approximately 60 attendees, both online, and in person.

During the symposium, various topics were presented and discussed. Professor Arimura shared the accomplishments and challenges of their radiomics AI research. Professor Ng focused on the integration of humanistic artificial intelligence in medicine. Dr. Kondo emphasized the significance of big data in data science research, including his work on the reuse of dual-energy data. Dr. Tan presented on the dual use of imaging data, specifically the generation of digitally reconstructed radiographs from contrasted computed tomography volumetric data. Assoc. Prof. Dr. See, a breast surgeon, spoke about her research in 3D breast reconstruction using photogrammetry. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohammad Nazri, a nuclear medicine radiologist, discussed PET-CT scan time optimization and its impact on patient throughput and image quality. Mr. Kodama presented his research on the application of topology radiomics to predict cancer relapse in non-small cell lung cancer.

To conclude the symposium, Emeritus Professor Ng shared a quote from Antoine de Saint-Exupery's "The Little Prince": "Your task in the future is not to predict it, but to enable it." He emphasized the importance of enabling research for the betterment of humanity and encouraged everyone to be enablers themselves.

Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. Often heralded as the silent thief of sight, those affected do not realise they have the condition until the disease is advanced. By then, their vision is impaired to the extent that simple day-to-day tasks are severely affected. Due to the irreversible nature of the condition, prognosis is guarded at this late stage despite medical or surgical treatment.

Every year, the Ophthalmology Department of Universiti Malaya takes part in World Glaucoma Week, a global initiative to raise awareness of glaucoma in each of our communities. This year, our awareness and screening program was held at the MBPJ Hall in Petaling Jaya on 11th March 2023. Our industry partners also contributed by sponsoring equipment and manpower for the event.

The event kicked off with a welcome speech by Professor Dr. Norlina Ramli, our head of the Department of Ophthalmology in UMMC. Following that, there was an educational talk by Dr. Zulhilmi Abdul Razak, our current glaucoma fellow. Around 80 locals participated in the event, the majority of whom had never had eye screening prior. Upon screening, those who were found to be at high risk and glaucoma suspects were given referral letters for further evaluation at any Eye Clinic, PPUM included.

Overall, it was a fruitful day for both the organisers and participants alike. We hope to be able to reach more communities next year and help to reduce the burden of glaucoma in Malaysia. Kudos to the Medical Officers in Ophthalmology for organizing the event, and ward staff nurses and medical students for their contribution to this event.

On 13th March 2023, two delegates from Maastricht University, Netherlands visited the Faculty to discuss the potential to collaborate academically with FOM, in both undergraduate and postgraduate studies. The session was chaired by Professor Dr. Muhammad Yazid Jalaludin, Deputy Dean of Undergraduate Studies, and Professor Dr. Shahrul Bahyah Kamaruzzaman, Deputy Dean of Postgraduate Studies.

Maastricht University currently ranks 145th in the latest edition of the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings. Located in Maastricht, Netherlands, the university was founded in 1976, and it is the second youngest of the thirteen Dutch universities. The Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences (FHML) was established in 2007 as a merger between the Faculty of Health Sciences and the Faculty of Medicine. Not only do they offer a broad range of disciplines in healthcare sciences, their education format allows students to integrate their discipline and research work into all areas related to society, health and disease. They also have a dedicated Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience (FPN) which specialises in two contemporary approaches in psychology: cognitive psychology and biological psychology. Specialisations include cognitive neuroscience, fundamental neuroscience, neuropsychology, drug development and neurohealth, neuroeconomics, and psychopathology.

On 14th March 2023, 13 delegates from Universitas AirLangga, Indonesia, visited the FOM. They were greeted by Professor Dr. April Camilla Roslani, Dean of Faculty of Medicine, and was given a brief introduction about the history of FOM, its academic pursuits and research endeavors. The delegation was also given a tour of the Faculty, visiting both the Department of Biomedical Science, and the Department of Molecular Medicine to view the facilities and gain a deeper understanding of the research conducted.

Airlangga University is the second-oldest public university in Indonesia, located in Surabaya, East Java. Despite being officially established by the Indonesian Government Regulation in 1954, Universitas Airlangga was first founded in 1948 as a distant branch of the University of Indonesia, with roots dating back to 1913. Consistently ranked highly in major world university rankings, Universitas Airlangga has long been considered one of the "Big 5" Universities in Indonesia.

The QS Asia University Rankings 2023 has ranked Universitas Airlangga as number 81. The Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Pharmacy are among the best life science schools in Indonesia. Their Faculty of Medicine is affiliated with the Dr. Soetomo Regional General Hospital, the biggest hospital in Eastern Indonesia, and one of the central referral-hospitals in Indonesia.

The Faculty of Medicine held its Gala Dinner on 18th March 2023 at the Dewan Tunku Canselor, UM. Professor Dr. April Camilla Roslani welcomed everyone to the event with her opening speech, followed by a speech by Professor Dr. Tengku Shahrizal, the Gala Dinner Director. The VIP of the night was Toh Puan Dato' Seri Hajjah Dr. Aishah Ong, Pro-Chancellor of Universiti Malaya.

The main purpose of the FOM Gala Dinner was to assist our faculty in raising funds for the upkeep/upgrade of learning facilities for students, as well as uplift the welfare of underprivileged students. This was also an opportunity for faculty members and departments to contribute and/or engage with philanthropists and corporations to donate as part of our fundraising efforts. Both faculty staff (academic & non-academic) and students performed throughout the event in the spirit of working together for this cause, paired with a scrumptious selection of dining delights. There were also a plethora of lucky draw prizes handed out throughout the night.

The list performances for the night included:

1. Chocolate & Cherry Medley by Stage 3.1 UMMP Students - Lim Yee En & Teo Bo En (Vocal)
2. Violin & Grand piano performance by Professor Dr. Ong Teng Aik & Dr. Thevi Thanigasalam (Instrumental)
3. Lancang Kuning by Assoc. Professor Dr. Mohd Nahar Azmi (Vocal)
4. Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini by Dr. Thevi Thanigasalam (Vocal)
5. Aku dan Dirimu & Everything Has Changed Medley by Professor Dr. April Camilla Roslani & Ayla Ilaria Azlan (Vocal)
6. Memori Tercipta & My Heart Will Go On by Ms. Shivajoothi Selvarajan (Vocal)
7. Electric guitar performance by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tengku Shahrizal - Top Gun Anthem and Malaysia Prihatin (Instrumental)
8. Joget Kenangan Manis by Assoc. Professor Dr.  Mohd Nahar Azmi and Nursing students (Vocal)
9. I Know Him So Well & Lagenda by Prof. Dato' Dr. Tunku Sara & Dr. Thevi Thanigasalam: (Vocals and Instrumental) 
10. Through the Years (Medley) by The X-Ray Singers (Professor Dato' Dr. Yang Faridah, Professor Dr. Anushya Vijayananthan, Dr. Eric Chung) (Vocal)
11. Finale: Standing in the Eyes of the World (Karaoke Session) with all performers on stage and the audience.

To view the video of the event, visit https://youtu.be/v9Ad_irHO9I

On 21st March 2023, five delegates from the Chongqing City Council, China visited FOM with the purpose of forging a potential collaboration between universities in the city and UM. The delegates were greeted by Professor Dr. Ong Teng Aik, Deputy Dean (Value Creation and Enterprise). The delegates were given a comprehensive overview of the programmes, research, as well as the facilities in the Faculty. The municipality of Chongqing, roughly the size of Austria, includes the city of Chongqing as well as various other cities. Chongqing is the fourth largest Chinese city by urban population, with a population size of 16.34 million as of the 2020 estimation, after Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen. There are over 25 universities in Chongqing itself, including Chongqing University, Chongqing University of Science and Technology, and Chongqing Medical University.

On 29th March 2023, The Department of Parasitology Journal Club organized a talk by Professor Dr. Suresh Kumar Govind on E.A.S.E for better well-being. He initiated the talk by highlighting the examples of stresses in our lives and the effects of stress on our body, especially to our heart. He defined the term psychoneuroimmunology, the neurotransmitters and neuropeptide receptors found on the cell wall of the immune system, implying the communication between the nervous system and our immune system. He gives a solution to manage stress by implementing E.A.S.E in our daily life.

E - Exercise Regularly. It was shocking to know that globally, one-third of the world population is physically inactive and physical inactivity is the 4th leading risk factor of mortality. Some of the benefits of regular exercise include reducing cardiovascular disease, strengthening bone and lowers the risk of metabolic diseases namely diabetes. Exercise relieves stress as it pumps endorphins – which improve our moods. He explained that past studies have shown that athletes are known to have healthy bacterial species in their gut.

A - Attitude. To have a positive attitude is important to stay happy and healthy. The energy we release is the energy we get back, hence positive thoughts will have positive energy and negative thoughts will do the opposite. So, positive thoughts are known to lower the rates of depression and will have a better effect on stress management.

S - Sleep deeply. He emphasizes on the importance of having a good sleep. Lack of consistency in sleep quality will lead to mood swings and forgetfulness. He suggests practicing the following method to improve sleep quality: 10-3-2-1: not to consume caffeine 10 hours prior to sleep, not to consume food/alcohol 3 hours before sleeping, not to work 2 hours before sleeping, and finally no screen-time 1 hour prior to sleep. With this, we could have a consistent sleep pattern.

E - Eat responsibly. Eating Disorders could worsen our health conditions. Therefore, a healthy diet is very important to avoid metabolic disorders and to have normal cognitive functions. In short, practicing EASE daily helps us to manage our stress, and live a happy and healthy life.

Speaker’s background

Professor Dr. Suresh Kumar Govind is the former head and current Honorary Professor and former Head of the Department of Parasitology, FOM, Universiti Malaya. His specialization was on protozoan parasite, Blastocystis, and for the past 30 years have generated more than 170 scientific papers, presented more than 270 conference papers, and written several chapters in publications by the World Health Organization. He has supervised more than 100 elective, diploma, graduate, and post-graduate students including at doctorate level. He has won several national and international awards, including the National Young Scientist Award, Malaysian Toray Grant Award, Commonwealth Scholarship Award, Gold Innovative award at the national level, as well as the winner of a GOLD medal at the International ITEX exhibition. He has also won the Malaysian Society of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine Silver Medal, the Prime Minister’s Productivity award, and the prestigious Malaysian Toray Science award, as well as winning a few times, the University Malaya excellence award. He was conferred the global Malayalee Award for research in 2015 and the National Educators Award from the Association of Private Institutions. In 2016 he won the Parija Oration Award from the Indian Academy of Tropical Parasitology for outstanding contribution to the field of Parasitology. He was conferred a Fellow to the Malaysian Academy of Science in 2015 and the prestigious Sandosham Gold medal for outstanding contribution to the field of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine.

He has served as an expert member for the Drinking Water guidelines committee for the World Health Organization since 2004. He has also served as an International Consultant for the Indian Ocean Center for Education in Human Values, Mauritius. He has been appointed by the Prime Minister of Malaysia to be a member of the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) and the committee for inter-faith promotion (JKMPKA) , a board member to IKLIN and a board member of the Yayasan I Malaysia.

He is a member of several professional societies such as the Life member of the Malaysian Society of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine where he also served as the secretary, and the President of the Institute of Biology, United Kingdom (which carries the title CBiol, MIBiol), Malaysian Scientific Association (which carries the title A.M.S.A), Member of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, and Life member of the Indian Society of Parasitology.

Professor Dr. Suresh Govind was the former President of the Sathya Sai International Organization, Malaysia, an organization dedicated to the promotion of human values, service and national unity. He has been instrumental in many nation building programs in the country and have traveled extensively around the world upon invitation to speak to youth, educators, and members of the organization on human values and selfless service. He has authored 7 books mainly on human values.

He is also Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Yayasan Perpaduan Malaysia. He is currently the International coordinator for Community Engagement for 114 countries for the Sathya Sai International Organization, as well as the Coordinator for the Friendship Group of Inter- Religious Service, consisting of members from all the major religious groups in Malaysia.

Organized by Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya Website: https://medicine.um.edu.my/parasitology-department

Moderators: Dr. Khadijah Poh (Emergency Medicine Academic Unit, Faculty of Medicine), Dr. Ayeshah Syed (Faculty of Language and Linguistics)

Speakers: Dr. Aida Bustam (Emergency Medicine Academic Unit, Faculty of Medicine), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lim Ni Eng (School of Humanities, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore)

The latest ‘Difficult Conversations Series’ covered ‘End-of-life Conversations in the Emergency Department’ on the 31st March 2023. This webinar was organized by the Medical Humanities and Ethics Unit (MedHEU), together with the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics (FLL), and endorsed by the College of Emergency Physicians.

The aim of this two-hour webinar was to address a few circumstances of end-of-life conversations between physician and family members during the short but life-changing resuscitation event considering both situations: with and without prior discussions. Dr. Khadijah kickstarted the webinar with a welcoming speech, introduction to MedHEU, and a video made by the Emergency Department team. This video re-enacted a typical scenario of resuscitation, followed shortly by a clinical decision that further resuscitation efforts would be futile. Based on this video, Dr. Aida then covered the topic of ‘Withdrawing and Withholding Treatment’, addressing the clinical decision-making prior to the interaction between clinician and family members. This was followed by Dr Ayeshah’s analysis of the video from the linguist perspective. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lim then shared his experience on analysing patients and family members during real end-of-life conversations in his talk on ‘End-of-Life conversation as an inherently tripartite organization in the Asian context’. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Julia Patrick Engkasan, Head of MedHEU and Professor Dr. Rafidah Atan later joined for the wrap up.

The event garnered good support from about 160 participants (100 on Zoom and 60 on Facebook Live), and to date, the recorded webinar has 586 views on the MyCep Acad Facebook page. The team would like to express gratitude to all participants who joined the webinar.

A two-day symposium on colorectal cancer research, ‘Emerging Trends in Colorectal Cancer Screening and Management’, was recently held on 30-31st March 2023. This symposium was jointly organized by FOM, the UM Specialist Centre, and the Malaysian Society of Colorectal Surgeons, with their partners National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) Overseas Hub (Malaysia) and the Malaysian University Research Network (MURN). Dr. Amira Hajirah (Head, Dept. of Pharmaceutical Life Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Malaya) gave her welcoming remarks, followed by an Opening Ceremony, officiated by Professor Dr. April Camilla Roslani. There were a total of 4 sessions throughout the event, beginning with a Virtual CME for General Practitioners, which included presentations by Professor. Dr. April Camilla on Prevalence and Risk Factors for Colorectal Cancer, and Dr. Luqman Mazlan (Vice-President, Malaysian Society of Colorectal Surgeons) on Screening, Diagnosis and Surveillance of Colorectal Cancer.

The second session, chaired by Dr. Noor Hayaty Abu Kasim (Director, NCKU Overseas Hub in Malaysia), were academic talks by renowned scientists and clinicians, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Takuji Yamada (Dept. of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology), Dr. Yu-Min Yeh (Dept. of Oncology, National Cheng Kung University Hospital), and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Weerapat Suwanthanma (Dept. of Surgery, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University).

The 3rd session, held on 31st March 2023, began with a session on MRUN Research Updates, ‘Linking Obesity to Cancer: An Integrative Study from Molecule to Society”. The speakers included a Welcoming Remark by Miss Yogaambikai Paramanantham (Doctor of Pharmacy Candidate, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Malaya), followed by talks by Professor Dr. Hamid Jan B. Jan Mohamed (School of Health Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yong Yoke Keong (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia), Professor Dr. Ivy Chung (Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya), Ts. Dr. Rosnani Hasham (Faculty of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia) and Dr. Nur Nadiatul Asyikin Bujang (Doctor of Public Health Candidate, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya). The talk covered various areas of emerging research on colorectal cancer, including dietary patterns in colorectal cancer, role of bisphenol A on the development of CRC, potential roles of microRNAs in obesity-associated colorectal cancer, development of herbal-based product standardization for metabolic disease management, and living well with and beyond colorectal cancer.

The fourth and final session of the symposium were industry talks by Dr. Thin Thin Aye (Intervenn) on the Potential of AI-assisted Glycoproteomics in Screening / Diagnosis of Colorectal Cancer, and Dr. Jacky Dwiyanto (AmiLi) on the Roles of Gut Microbiome on Colorectal Cancer Development.

This session was chaired by Dr. Kwong Soke Chee (Centre of Innovation & Enterprise, Universiti Malaya).

On 4th April 2023, a delegation from the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (CGMH), Taiwan's largest non-government hospital group, visited FOM in hopes of forging a collaborative partnership with our Faculty and the UM Medical Centre. Professor Dr. Ong Teng Aik greeted the delegation, and was present to provide a tour of our faculty and facilities. At present, CGMH offers the largest and most comprehensive health care services in Taiwan, comprising a network of 7 hospital branches located in Linkou, Taipei, Taoyuan, Keelung, Yunlin, Chiayi, and Kaohsiung. Their hospital networks receive an average of 2.4 million hospitalisations and 8.2 million outpatient visits every year. The CGMH network is also further supported by various medical schools and healthcare-related institutions such as Chang Gung University, Chang Gung University of Science and Technology, and the Chang Gung Health and Culture Village.

Founded in 1978, CGMH itself has been listed among one of Taiwan's largest, most prestigious, medical and educational centers, with a total capacity of nearly 4,000 beds and a total of 29 specialty centers. The hospital has trained more than 1,700 practicing physicians from 75 different countries in the last decade. Today, CGMH has been recognized as the largest academic center ever accredited by the Joint Commission International [JCI (2014-2017)]. Recently, CGMH) had established its first medical technology (MedTech) center, Taiwan Advance Medtech Centre (TAMC), in Penang with an emphasis on smart solutions, Al (Artificial Intelligence)-empowered healthcare, advanced robotics, and cost-effective medical devices that are appropriate for local needs.

The Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya would like to extend our heartiest congratulations to Professor Dr. Woo Yin Ling from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology on winning the prestigious 2023 Rachel Pearline Award, a global award for Cancer Research.

The Rachel Pearline Award honours Dr. Rachel Pearline, a revered oncology fellow who received the award named in her memory in 2016 following her death at the age of 38, in November 2015, from gastric cancer. Dr. Pearline was virtuously committed to global cancer control and provided quality care to her patients. She viewed the practice of medicine as a privilege, always striving to serve her patients better. In honour of Dr. Rachel Pearline, each year the Annual Symposium on Global Cancer Research Steering Committee invites nominations for the Rachel Pearline Award. As part of the Symposium each year, one outstanding professional who embodies virtue and eminence in cancer research, practice, and/or training in a low - and middle - income country (LMIC) setting is recognised.

Professor Dr. Woo is a consultant gynaecological oncologist at the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre with clinical and research experience that ranges from prevention, to treatment of cervical cancer and hereditary/ familial gynaecological cancers. She completed her specialist and subspecialty training in gynaecological oncology in the UK and was conferred her PhD by Cambridge University for her post-doctoral research on HPV immuno-biology. Dr. Woo has always believed that any innovation in healthcare services must take into account local resources with input from the stakeholders, particularly the women themselves, along with a strong emphasis on advocacy. True to her “Malaysia-centric” research, one of her more outstanding achievements is conceptualizing and executing Program ROSE (www.programrose.org), an innovative cervical screening program incorporating HPV self-sampling.

In addition, Professor Dr. Woo is the clinical lead for the MaGIC study (Mainstreaming genetic counseling for genetic testing of BRCA1/2 in ovarian cancer patients in Malaysia) and the Every Woman Study (EWS-LMIC). She is currently the country representative for the Asia-Oceania Research Organisation in Genital Infection and Neoplasia (AOGIN), member of the Asia Pacific Economic Consortium (APEC) Cervical Cancer working group, committee member for policy at the International Papillomavirus Society (IPVS), and is a founding trustee of the ROSE Foundation.

Encouraging autonomy in patients who are diagnosed with clinical depression involves providing support and understanding while allowing the individual to make decisions and take actions that align with their values, beliefs, expectations and goals. This process includes fostering a sense of self-efficacy and control over their decisions through empowerment and active participation, thus creating a sense of sharedness in the treatment plan and long - term management.

On 27th April 2023, two of our esteemed speakers, Professor Dr. Ng Chong Guan, Consultant Psychiatrist, Universiti Malaya Medical Centre, and Honorary Professor Dr. Ng Chirk Jenn, a key expert in Shared Decision Making (SDM), shared their insights and thoughts on the SDM model when managing a patient with clinical depression. Moderated by Dr. Chong Lee Ai, the one-hour session was introduced with an interesting yet common dilemma often faced by healthcare professionals through a case presentation by Professor Dr. Ng Chong Guan. The session was also welcomed by a myriad of questions and ethical dilemmas posed by the attendees and led to a brilliant and meaningful discussion.

The Clinical Ethics Grand Round Series is a bimonthly event organized by the Medical Humanities and Ethics Unit (MedHEU) at the Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, held on the last Thursday of the month from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm. This is a Continuing Medical Education (CME) initiative that features a variety of clinical ethics topics from a diverse group of esteemed speakers. It aims to help healthcare professionals keep up with the latest advances in medicine while guiding them through everyday ethical dilemmas. The series provides a forum for participants to learn how to resolve cases based on the best ethical practices. All healthcare professionals, including physicians, clinicians, biomedical researchers, nurses, ethicists, philosophers, and students, are welcome to attend. Those interested in presenting at future sessions can contact MedHEU by emailing medheu@um.edu.my.

The traditional method of western blotting is time consuming as gel is needed to be prepared first, which is then followed by electrophoresis, transfer and antibody incubation which overall takes about 16 hours in total. On 19th April 2023, in a session chaired by Dr. Arutchelvan Rajamanikam, Mr. Edmund Lein from IMPACO PLT introduced the stain-free technology patented by Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc. that enables researchers to save time and quality assessment throughout the process of the western blot experiment. With the Stain-Free Western Blotting Workflow which takes only 5 hours to complete, protein visualization after electrophoresis becomes easy, and this allows room for quality checking, especially for the optimization and assessing the blotting performance.

Without staining, researchers can quickly verify the quality of transfer by imaging the gel post transfer. In addition, this workflow speeds up the western blot process and increases reproducibility as it eliminates the need to stain the gel and blot. It also provides a more robust and reliable loading control than conventional methods (i.e HKP, total protein stains) where de-staining, stripping, and re-probing are not needed. Therefore, this increases accuracy and produces reliable results. This new method however needs a special gel for protein electrophoresis, but it utilizes standard samples and chemicals (e.g Tris/Glycine/SDS) as the traditional method. The TGX Stain-free gel has a long shelf life (1 year for precast) which contains unique trihalo compounds that allow rapid fluorescent protein detection with the Bio-Rad stain-free imaging system. The use of this gel allows faster protein separation with fast run times (~15 mins at 300 V) and is compatible for western blotting. In conclusion, the Stain-free Western Blotting Workflow is faster, more efficient and convenient than the traditional western blot.

Speaker’s background

Mr. Yao (Edmund) Lein obtained his master’s degree in aquaculture from Universiti Malaysia Sabah, specializing in microbiota of marine animals, typically spiny lobsters. Prior to that, Mr. Edmund completed his Bachelor of Science in Aquatic Science and Management at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, where subsequently he served as the assistant consultant for City Aquaponics. Mr. Edmund has published a review paper entitled “Gastrointestinal Microbiota of Spiny Lobsters: A Review” and co-authored a paper entitled “Selection of suitable aquaponics system for empurau (Tor tambroides) fries nursery in polyculture method”. Mr. Edmund currently is a Product Specialist at Impaco PLT which is based in Kuala Lumpur.

Around 30 years ago, several celebrities and public figures made headlines with a shocking revelation – that they had contracted HIV. At a time when HIV was widely considered taboo, this news rocked the world as it involved Magic Johnson and Freddie Mercury, who were at the peak of their careers and were globally celebrated personalities. Both their careers were derailed, Magic Johnson faced opposition to continuing his basketball career after revealing his HIV diagnosis. However, he received support from influential figures, including President George H.W. Bush, and was able to play in the Barcelona 1992 Olympics with the "Dream Team." Ultimately, he still retired due to the controversy and the opposition surrounding his HIV-positive status.

While all this happened on the other side of the Pacific Ocean, the stigma towards people living with HIV in Malaysia is no different, if not worse.

Stigma in Malaysia

A recent survey by the Ministry of Health (MoH) found that one in four respondents believed that children living with HIV should not attend school with other children, and one in three respondents said they would not buy vegetables from a seller with HIV. The same survey also revealed that young populations between 15 and 19 years old are particularly vulnerable to stigmatization, which is perhaps the most worrying trend of all.

Public stigma towards HIV can lead to a lack of treatment and prevention initiatives, perpetuating the cycle of infection. Therefore, it is important to understand the truths about HIV & AIDS and the situation at hand to reduce the stigma and discrimination towards people living with HIV.

How bad is HIV and AIDS in Malaysia currently?

Globally, around 650,000 people had lost their lives to AIDS in 2021, making it the 14th leading cause of death worldwide and the 13th leading cause of death in Malaysia. Furthermore, more than 15% of the deaths worldwide are from children under the age of 15. Since the start of the epidemic, Malaysia has had over 120,000 people diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, and approximately 45,000 deaths. Although the incidence of new infection is on a gradual decline, 44% of newly diagnosed infections occur in the 20-29 year age group.

Who are we and what we are doing

Eradicate AIDS and Stigma for Equality (ERASE) is a student led initiative by students from the Faculty of Medicine, UM whose prime objectives are to contribute towards instilling awareness, strengthening factual knowledge, as well as tackling the controversy and misinformation concerning HIV/AIDS by just simply bringing a taboo topic to the spotlight. So deeply ingrained stigmas are within our society that the sole strategy to combat this is through education. Thus, this is where ERASE comes into action – in which we establish ourselves as a platform for the public to receive accurate information on HIV & AIDS!

Fuelled by a dedicated team of 82 individuals, ERASE 22/23 has incorporated both virtual and physical aspects in its awareness initiatives. By targeting the main population of interest – youth, the team leveraged on social media resources, initiating the “Weekly Themed Virtual Campaign” as their first advocacy effort as they kickstarted their term. Across three weeks, the themes “Overview of HIV & AIDS”, “Public Advocacy”, and “Comprehensive Sexual Health Education” are extensively explored with interactive and engaging visual contents, with a variety of posters and bite-sized videos. Cumulatively, a total audience reach of 5.7k is accounted for the entire Weekly Virtual Campaign.

Running across four fundraising initiatives throughout the term, the profit from these fundraisers will be donated to the Infectious Diseases unit of UMMC and the Malaysia AIDS Foundation (MAF), where it will be projected towards HIV testing, and to cover second-line treatment expenses for patients who failed the nationally subsidised first-line AIDS treatment. We have widened our promotional scope to other universities and organisations in Malaysia, with accepted invitations from students hailing from Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) RCMP in Perak, and even Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM).

Just recently, ERASE has published its first ever article on CodeBlue Malaysia, titled “Bridging the Science-Practice Gap in Malaysia’s Journey Towards Ending HIV/AIDS”. This article comprehensively covered our nation’s progress in ending HIV/AIDS, and thereby we hope that this provides readers with a sense of awareness and urgency to act, as well as a renewed perspective to cultivate positive change towards the HIV/AIDS communities. The article is also published on the online news portal, The Rakyat Post and on The Star, both in print and online. In closing, taking steps to normalise difficult conversations such as on the topic of HIV & AIDS, takes a great deal of work. Among the inherently sustained misbeliefs among society, it takes courage and persistence to simply initiate action and change. But as we progress through these challenges, it is always important to keep ourselves grounded and opened to learn, and to always, embrace the spirit of kindness and compassion towards others.

This year, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Khairul Azmi bin Abd Kadir, Head of Bio-Medical Imaging Department/Neuro Interventional Radiology Specialist, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tai Mei Ling Sharon, Senior Consultant, Department of Medicine (Department of Neurology), and the UMMC Stroke Team received the Platinum status rating for the World Stroke Organization (WSO) Angels Award in the first quarter of 2023 recently. The WSO Angels Award recognizes hospitals that have demonstrated a high commitment to quality stroke care and established systems of continuous improvement. This award is given every quarter and takes into account several criteria and qualifications that have been set.

The WSO Angels Award is part of the Angels Initiative, launched by Boehringer Ingelheim, which engages hospitals to improve the quality of stroke care through continuous training and consultations. Their aim is to increase the number of patients treated in stroke ready hospitals and to optimize the quality of treatment in all existing stroke centers, including (i) to provide practical support to improve stroke care globally, (ii) to recognize and promote best practice in stroke care, and (iii) to share key learning around implementation of quality stroke care.

First introduced in Malaysia in 2017, the Angels Initiative actively collaborates with the Malaysian Stroke Council (MSC) to engage with over 34 hospitals nationwide. As part of the ongoing engagement, hospitals are encouraged to submit records of their stroke cases including the procedures and therapies administered to qualify for the WSO Angels Award. The data is recorded in the Registry of Stroke Care Quality (RES-Q), which is then evaluated against various measures to determine if they qualify for the Gold Status, Platinum Status, or Diamond Status awards.

On 3rd March 2023, the President and representatives from the Dr. Wu Lien-Teh Society attended the award ceremony for the Dr. Wu Lien-Teh Award for the Best Student in Doctor of Public Health (DrPH), Universiti Malaya. The event was organised by the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine (FOM), Universiti Malaya. Dr. Wong Min Fui @Esther Wong from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, a mother of two, was the winner of this year’s award. This is the second year this award was presented.

Dr. Wong completed her Master’s in Master of Public Health (MPH) and DrPH over 4 years in time during the COVID-19 pandemic. She developed a digital psychosocial intervention for low-income urban dwellers for her project. Her passion for working with the poor urban community and mental health stemmed from her 12 years of working experience at the primary care and district health office in Sabah and Kuala Lumpur. She owed her success to her family. Growing up in a B40 family is never a barrier to becoming a successful person. In fact, she became more resilient and steadfast. She felt it is not enough to have a good policy in public health, as the implementers must believe it works and build trust in order to convince people to actually follow it.

1. Could you tell us about yourself and your background?

I’d be glad to. My full name is Wong Min Fui @ Esther. I am from Sabah. I’m a medical doctor serving in the Ministry of Health for 20 years, since 2003.

I graduated from University Putra Malaysia, where I obtained my medical degree. Following graduation, I embarked on my housemanship at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, gaining invaluable clinical experience. Upon completing my housemanship, I was assigned as a Medical Officer at a district hospital in Kota Belud. This placement provided me with a unique opportunity to serve the rural population and exposed me to a wide range of multidisciplinary medical cases. I encountered challenging situations, from caring for premature babies, to attending to frail and elderly patients, all within a resource-limited setting.

Subsequently, I was transferred to the Health Department KL & Putrajaya (JKWPKL & Putrajaya), where I continued my career as a primary care doctor. It was during this time that I discovered my passion for mental health. I actively managed primary care mental health cases, including those involving harm reduction programmes such as the methadone treatment. From 2015 to 2018, I held the position of Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) Officer at the health office, where I coordinated various NCD-related activities at the district level.

In recognition of my dedication and potential, I was awarded the Federal Scholarship, Hadiah Latihan Dalam Perkhidmatan (HLP) in 2018 to pursue a Doctorate in Public Health (DrPH). This opportunity allowed me to further expand my knowledge and skills in public health, enabling me to make a more significant impact in addressing health challenges at a broader level.

2. What was your very first reaction when you found out that you had won the Dr. Wu Lien Teh Award?

I was overjoyed when I received the news and truly humbled to receive this award as other students are equally capable. However, it is truly a blessing, a culmination of all the hard work I had put in. This achievement represents years of unwavering dedication, countless challenges faced, and a persistent commitment to my goals. It is not solely my own efforts that contributed to this success, but also the unwavering support and hard work of my parents who raised and nurtured me, as well as my spouse, who stood by my side throughout this journey. Every tear shed and every drop of sweat poured into my pursuit of this goal holds immense value and significance.

3. As an award recipient, what does this recognition mean to you personally and professionally? How has it impacted your career?

This award holds significant meaning to me, as it commemorates the exceptional contributions of Dr. Wu Lien Teh, a remarkable individual who displayed remarkable innovation and selflessness as a plague fighter during a time when health technology was still in its nascent stages. It serves as a reminder of the profound influence that individuals can have on public health and how they can shape the course of history.

I also can see how GOD moved me in my life and shaped me for a career in public health. As stated by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the overarching objective of public health is to safeguard and promote the well-being of all individuals within every community. I personally view public health as an integral aspect of my Christian faith, recognizing the importance of caring for, and advocating for the health of all individuals.

Through my experiences as an implementer within health settings, I have witnessed numerous unmet needs and gaps in care. With my decision to transition from Bahagian Kesihatan Awam to a Health System Research role, I aspire to amplify the voices of implementers within research endeavors, contributing to evidence-based policymaking and ultimately addressing the pressing issues within the healthcare system. By bringing the perspectives of those on the frontlines of healthcare delivery into the realm of research, I hope to facilitate positive change and bridge the gap between research and practice.

4. What were the major challenges you encountered along the way, and how did you overcome them? Were there any significant lessons you learned from those experiences?

One of the primary challenges I face is being a multitasking woman in the field of public health. Balancing my professional commitments with my family responsibilities requires constant juggling. To overcome this challenge, I believe open and effective communication with my spouse is crucial. By discussing and sharing the responsibilities of caring for our family, we can work together to find a harmonious balance that allows me to excel in my career while fulfilling my duties as a spouse and parent.

As a public health specialist with a particular focus on the well-being of the urban poor and their mental health, I encounter the limitations imposed by scarce resources. However, my engagement with the B40 community has taught me a valuable lesson: there are numerous potential funders available if we proactively seek them out. It is a matter of actively reaching out and engaging with these potential funders to explore collaboration opportunities. By actively seeking support, we increase our chances of finding the necessary resources to address the pressing needs of the communities we serve. It is a reminder that if we are proactive and persistent in our efforts, we can discover untapped resources that can make a significant difference in our endeavors.

5. Throughout your career, have there been any mentors or individuals who have had a significant influence on your growth and success? How have they shaped your professional journey?

Indeed, my life has been greatly impacted by numerous individuals who have played pivotal roles in shaping my journey. It all began with my kindergarten teacher, who recognized my potential and encouraged my parents to nurture and support me. Along the way, I was fortunate to have a series of exceptional teachers in both my primary and secondary schools, who not only served as role models, but also motivated me to excel academically.

When it came time for me to pursue my postgraduate studies, Dr. Fuad, my mentor, had a profound influence on my decision to choose public health as my field of specialization. His guidance and insights provided invaluable clarity and direction. Furthermore, my direct supervisors, Professor Hazreen and Professor Mas, have been instrumental in shaping my professional development. In particular, Professor Hazreen introduced me to an implementation study framework that laid a strong foundation for my research design. Their guidance and mentorship have been instrumental in propelling me forward and have sparked my interest in embarking on a career in implementation research.

I am truly grateful for the support and inspiration I have received from these remarkable individuals. Their belief in my potential and their guidance have been instrumental in shaping my path and instilling in me the confidence and determination to pursue my goals. Their impact on my life serves as a constant reminder of the transformative power of mentorship and the profound influence that teachers and mentors can have on the lives of their students.

6. Lastly, is there anything else you would like to share with our readers? Any message or words of encouragement for those who are aspiring to make a difference in their respective fields?

Never cease to pursue your passions. Maintain consistency and diligence in your work, approaching every opportunity as a chance to learn and grow. Give your best effort each time, understanding that failure is merely a stepping stone on the path to success. The true challenge lies in giving up altogether.

Authenticity should be the driving force behind your intentions and speech. By building trust and fostering genuine connections, you will notice that people become more attentive and receptive to your ideas. Cultivate humility, respect, and responsiveness towards your friends and acquaintances, recognizing the potential for these relationships to shape your future network.

In closing, I would like to share my perspective on implementing public health interventions: "It is not sufficient to have well-crafted policies in public health. The implementers must genuinely believe in their effectiveness and invest in building trust. Only then can we truly convince individuals to embrace and adhere to these policies."

On 12th March 2023, YAB Dato Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, member of Parliament for Bandar Tun Razak and wife of the current Prime Minister of Malaysia, YAB Dato’ Seri Dr. Anwar Ibrahim, visited FOM for a private brunch at the Gallery Rooom, FOM with the facult’s Higher Management Team, fellow alumni and distinguished donors to the Faculty. The event began with a Welcome Address by Prof. Dr. April Camilla Roslani, Dean of FOM, followed by a speech by YAB Dato’ Seri Dr. Wan Azizah. Attendees were subsequently provided with a briefing by Prof. Dr. Vickneswaran Mathaneswaran, Head of FOM Business Unit, on FOM’s current and future plans for infrastructure development pertaining to education and training. The event concluded with a visit to the Anatomy Museum, Clinical Skills Unit and MD labs.

On 8th May 2023, 15 MBBS graduates attended the Oath Taking Ceremony at the Faculty Room, FOM. The ceremony was attended by the Dean of FOM, Professor Dr. April Camilla Roslani, along with members of the Faculty Management Team (Professor Dr. Ong Teng Aik, Professor Dr. Yazid Jamaludin) and various Heads of Departments, course coordinators, lecturers and students’ families.

The ceremony is held to signify the entry of a graduate into the time-honoured medical profession which inculcates historical and ethical aspects to guide the behaviour of a doctor. Oath-taking is a promise made to oneself and to society, and is considered a rite of passage for all medical students at Universiti Malaya.

The ceremony began with a short prayer recital by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Khairul Azmi. Subsequently. Ong Yee Shi, as the appointed representative for the graduates, gave a short speech in which she expressed gratitude to the parents and academics who had guided them through their medical degree with patience and endless encouragement. Professor Dr. April Camilla Roslani, Dean of FOM, also shared a few words of her own. She reminded the students to reflect on their journey for the past 5 years in the medical school. She also encouraged them to never stop chasing their dreams and to hopefully be able to contribute back to UM in any capacity.

The Oath Taking ceremony was led by Ahmad Ridwan. During the ceremony, Ong Yi Shi was presented with the Anugerah Cemerlang Orthopaedic Surgery, which included a trophy, certificate and a cash prize. The graduates that were present during the ceremony were Adhikaran a/l Shanmugam, Ahmad Ridhwan Ahmad Ismat, Ahmad Shahrrizman Shah Hassan, Amanda Thien Tze Hui, Belinda Nicole Aloysius, Chong Sui Huat, Heng Wei Yang, Justin Ling Kwan Yeu, Langkeas a/l/ Mohanavel, Preshnna a/p Ganesh, Sheerah David a/p David Simon and Teh Ru En.

On 9th May 2023, FOM held its annual Hari Raya Aidilfitri 2023 celebration at Centrepoint, FOM. The event was officiated by the Dean of FOM, Professor Dr. April Camilla Roslani, in the presence of the FOM Management Committee, Head of Departments and Directors of the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), Universiti Malaya Specialist Centre (UMSC) and FOM. The Deputy Vice Chancellor of Universiti Malaya (Research and Innovation), YBhg. Professor Dr. ShalizaIbrahim, also made a special appearance to liven up the event. The event was emceed by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Muhammad Fazril Razif (Department of Molecular Medicine) and ChM. Wan Melissa Diyana (Central Research Laboratories). The festivities kicked off with a prayer recital by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Khairul Azmi, followed by a brief speech by Professor Dr. April Camilla Roslani.

Everyone in attendance was treated to cultural dance performances by MND Tradisi, along with a live vocal performance by 3rd Year MBBS student, Ms. Shivajoothi Selvarajan. This year, every stall hosted by each department in the faculty provided a wide selection of international cuisines and delicacies. As part of the yearly tradition, there was also the Best Decorated Stall competition, where each department was tasked to decorate their individual stalls in the most unique and creative manner. The 2023 winners were:

1. Department of Otorhinolaryngology
2. Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology and Department of Biomedical Science
3. Department of Anaesthesiology
    

On 17th May 2023, the Central Research Laboratories (CRL) and Matriox Sdn Bhd collaborated to organise a molecular genetics seminar at the Cube, FOM. The seminar’s primary objective was to enhance the knowledge and skills of participants in understanding genetics function at the molecular level. It also intended to explore how molecular genetics research has paved the way for future advancements in gene therapy research, RNA-based vaccinations, and customized medicine. The seminar featured three speakers from Matriox Sdn. Bhd, namely Casimir Pang, Shamin Azwar, and Dr. Ju Lin Tan. The attendees of the seminar included lecturers, postgraduate students, and research assistants.

The seminar was divided into two sessions. The first session focused on providing a basic understanding of genetically modified organisms, while the second session involved practical and hands-on sessions. Participants gained hands-on experience in operating the RT-PCR system, thermal cycler, and various types of pipettes. Overall, this seminar provided an opportunity for participants to expand their understanding of molecular genetics and acquire practical skills in the field.

On 17th May 2023, representatives from the University of New Mexico (UNM), US, visited FOM to outline and discuss details about their potential collaboration and involvement with the ECHO project. Leading the meeting was Professor Dr. Yvonne Lim Ai Lian (Department of Parasitology), Associate Vice-Chancellor (Global Engagement), Universiti Malaya. The UNM School of Medicine is one of the leaders in the USA for family medicine and rural health training. Their graduates account for nearly 40% of New Mexico’s practicing physicians, and is home to a nationally-ranked research enterprise and Biomedical Science Graduate Programs. From their humble beginnings in 1964, the medical school was established in order to provide the state with a greater opportunity for New Mexicans to have a medical education, and to help alleviate the severe shortage of medical care at that time.

Project ECHO® was founded by Dr. Sanjeev Arora. His mission began when his patient, a 43-year-old widow and mother of two, died of Hepatitis C, a treatable disease. The patient was seeking treatment for the first time after an initial diagnosis eight years earlier, but the untreated hepatitis C had caused advanced liver cancer that was not suited for surgery or liver transplantation. She died six months later.

Since then, he created Project ECHO, which is modelled around the philosophy of “all teach, all learn”, providing an infrastructure for knowledge-sharing in rural and underserved communities around the world. Dr. Arora recruited primary care clinicians throughout the state to create a virtual “community of practice” or a space where doctors could learn from experts and each other. In one year, these clinicians became experts in the treatment of hepatitis C. Today, Dr. Arora’s ECHO Model does not just apply to improving hepatitis C treatment. It is also being used to tackle the world’s greatest challenges: health care, education and climate change. With participants in more than 9,000 cities and 180 countries since the programme was launched, Project ECHO aims to touch one billion lives by 2025.

Mr. Yao (Edmund) Lein obtained his master’s degree in aquaculture from Universiti Malaysia Sabah, specializing in microbiota of marine animals, typically spiny lobsters. Prior to that, Mr. Edmund completed his Bachelor of Science in Aquatic Science and Management at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, where subsequently he served as the assistant consultant for City Aquaponics. Mr. Edmund has published a review paper entitled “Gastrointestinal Microbiota of Spiny Lobsters: A Review” and co-authored a paper entitled “Selection of suitable aquaponics system for empurau (Tor tambroides) fries nursery in polyculture method”. Mr. Edmund currently is a Product Specialist at Impaco PLT which is based in Kuala Lumpur.

Congratulations to Master of Medical Physics student, Nadia Mohd Shahrom from FOM, who managed to obtain the second runner-up prize in the Oral Presentation competition during the Malaysian Nuclear Medicine Annual Conference 2023 (MyNM2023). The conference was organised by the Malaysian Society Of Nuclear Medicine & Molecular Imaging (MSNMMI). Established in 2014, MSNMMI members include clinicians, nurses, pharmacists, physicists, technologists, radiographers and researchers, where their mission is to promote nuclear medicine imaging and therapy, and to enhance the knowledge of its members through conferences and academic related activities.

This year, MSNMMI organised the MyNM2023 on the 19th – 21st May 2023 at the Double Tree Hilton, Putrajaya Lakeside Hotel, Putrajaya, with the theme, ‘Broadening The Horizon of Nuclear Medicine Theranostics Through Multidisciplinary Approach’. The conference brought together local and international nuclear medicine specialists, medical physicists, radio-pharmacists, scientists, radiologists, oncologists, surgeons, technologists, nurses from all over to the annual scientific event.

Ms. Nadia’s research project focuses on the characterisation of a novel hybrid optical-gamma camera, SERACAM. The camera is a small field-of-view gamma camera with the ability to produce real-time high-resolution gamma-optical fusion images. The camera has a promising future for bedside imaging and operating theatre usage such as for the sentinel lymph node localisation procedure for breast cancer surgery.

On 22 - 25th May 2023, the National Orthopaedic Centre of Excellence for Research & Learning (NOCERAL), Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, in collaboration with the Department of Physiology, FOM, organized a workshop on “Histology Workshop: Hybrid Talk & Practical Session”. The workshop, under the coordination of Dr. Krishnamurithy Genasan, was conducted aimed at educating the fundamental modules that embrace theory and practical elements of histology to ensure the participants are competent in basic histology. This workshop was attended by participants from a wide range of professions and fields including lecturers, students, medical lab technologists, and researchers.

The workshop covered two major aspects of basic histology i.e. the theoretical components through taught lectures and technical details via hands-on sessions. On the first day of the workshop, the theoretical elements were undertaken by a professional in the field of pathology, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mun Kein Seong @ Man Kein Seong from the Department of Pathology, FOM. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mun Kein Seong intrigued the participants by revisiting her 25 years of experience in histology evaluation in a glimpse. She enticed the audience with mind-blowing histological images and highlighted the importance of histology in disease diagnosis and research evaluation. Furthermore, Dr. Mun shared the practical challenges and DOs and DON’Ts when dealing with histological specimens.

Besides Dr. Mun, the audience was also engaged with the technical aspects of histology presented exclusively by Mr. Hanan Kumar Gopalan from Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL). Mr. Hanan who graduated with a master’s degree in a histology-associated core subject comprehensively covered the nitty-gritty technical aspects, starting from specimen fixation, to the imaging of the histology slides. The audience internalized all the theoretical aspects and clarified doubts prior to the second day of the hands-on session. During this session, the participants (7 participants) were grouped in small numbers, making sure all of them had a chance to participate in the hands-on activities on all the technical aspects of histology. This session was conducted by Mr. Hanan, with the help of Mr. Kahar and Ms. Yasmin from NOCERAL and Mrs. Siti Rabiatul Madia from the Physiology Department. Mr. Hanan was able to revisit and associate his theoretical elements during this hands-on session which engaged the participants more effectively.

On 25th May 2023, a delegation from Universitas Indonesia (UI) (West Java, Indonesia) visited FOM, Universiti Malaya. The purpose of their visit was to learn and understand more about the admissions and medical education programme conducted by Universiti Malaya in order to prepare graduates for the field. The session was chaired by Professor Dr. Victor Hoe, Professor of Occupational and Public Health, FOM.

The Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia (FKUI) is the oldest medical faculty and one of the best medical faculties in Indonesia. FKUI received an “A” accreditation from the National Accreditation Board for Higher Education (BAN-PT) in 2014. FKUI is committed to ensuring the quality of medical education by providing competency-based international standard education to improve the public health status. The mission of FKUI is to “produce doctors with global insight and quality, capable of becoming agents of change and high ethics, through infinite experience within the framework of the Academic Health System (AHS)”. FKUI students come from various regions in Indonesia as well as overseas. Due to the diversity of its students, FKUI is committed to organizing a medical education plan that equips graduates with comprehensive knowledge of medicine and health at an efficient cost so that all levels of society can attain it.

Tan Sri Dr. Lim Wee Chai, the Executive Chairman and Founder of Top Glove Corporation Bhd., which was founded in 1991, recently paid a visit to FOM. Tan Sri Dr. Lim was greeted by Professor Dr. April Camilla Roslani, Dean of FOM, and members of the Faculty Management Team (Professor Dr. Ong Teng Aik, Professor Dr. Shahrul Bahyah Kamaruzzaman, Professor Dr. Yazid Jalaludin, Professor Dr. Sanjay Rampal). As the commissioner and volunteer at the Tzu Chi Foundation, Malaysia (TCF), Tan Sri Dr. Lim Wee Chai visited FOM with the goal of further bridging the medical initiatives of TCF with FOM, UM.

The Tzu Chi Foundation was established in 1972, in Taiwan. One of the first major initiatives started by TCF was the "Tzu Chi Medical Mission". The Foundation successfully established its first Tzu Chi Hospital in Hualien in 1986, where a 600-bed general hospital was planned in 1979 to service the impoverished eastern coast of Taiwan. There are currently six Tzu Chi Hospitals in Taiwan that are in collaboration with TCU for training their medical students. The foundation also established the Tzu Chi College of Medicine (1994), which was upgraded to a University in 2000.

Universiti Malaya is a sister school of Tzu Chi University.

On 31st May 2023, two science teachers and 43 students from SMJK Chio Min (Kulim, Kedah) visited the Anatomy Museum at FOM. The students were eager to immerse themselves and apply their knowledge of human biology using the specimens exhibited in the museum as reference. Below are some of the photos from their visit:

On 1st June 2023, FOM welcomed candidates enrolled in the various Clinical Masters Programme here in Universiti Malaya. FOM offers a total of 22 different Clinical Masters programmes. For those undertaking a research-based postgraduate programme, they will be exposed to a long standing tradition of research undertaken at the Faculty of Medicine that has made major contributions to the understanding of disease and conditions such as cancer, infectious diseases, and diabetes and improving patient care and outcomes. FOM strives to offer the highest quality laboratory and study facilities for students and postgraduate researchers. The Faculty offers a stimulating study and research environment with recent investment in the state-of-the-art equipment and research facilities. Throughout the years, the academic staff of the Faculty of Medicine has developed a vast network of international collaborators who can provide further opportunities to enrich their learning and research experience. In attendance to welcome the new candidates were Prof. Dr. Shahrul Bahyah Kamaruzzaman (Deputy Dean of Higher Degree, FOM) and Prof. Dr. Nazirah Hasnan (Director, Universiti Malaya Medical Centre).

A heart-warming reunion recently took place as esteemed alumni from the Class of 1973 returned to their alma mater for a nostalgic tour of the Faculty of Medicine as part of the Alumni Meet: Class of 1973 Golden Jubilee Homecoming which was held on 10 June 2023. The event brought together prominent alumni, their families, faculty members and students in a celebration full of fond memories.

The event left an indelible mark on those present as alumni from the Class of 1973 embraced the opportunity to reconnect, reminisce, and honour their remarkable accomplishments. This event showcased the enduring impact of this exceptional cohort on the medical field and their unwavering dedication to inspiring students to continue making strides in the field.

The ceremony was graced by an opening speech delivered by Professor Dr. April Camilla Roslani, the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, who warmly welcomed the beloved alumni to a truly heartfelt and momentous occasion where alumni reconnected with old friends and faculty members, sharing fond memories and stories from their time at the Faculty of Medicine. Laughter and joy filled the room as they reminisced about their shared experiences and remarkable journey together.

Stepping back into familiar halls and classrooms, memories came flooding back, evoking laughter and shared stories. The visit provided a unique opportunity to relive the transformative moments of their study, from late-night study sessions to collaborative projects and the unwavering support of faculty members. It was a journey that reignited their passion for medicine and reminded them of the profound impact their alma mater had on their lives. The tour served as a beautiful testament to the enduring connection between alumni and their cherished memories within the Faculty of Medicine.

"It was a pleasure and honour to host the Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya’s Class of 1973 for their Golden Jubilee Homecoming.," said Professor Dr. April Camilla Roslani, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine. "So much has changed since they were students here - many have gone on to greater things, or distant shores. What has not changed is the spirit of camaraderie and belonging. This was an opportunity for our first-year medical students to engage with their illustrious predecessors, and they did not disappoint. I am constantly impressed by the enthusiasm, intelligence and respectful candour of our students. We must not fail them. Thank you to Datuk Yeoh Poh Hong for reconnecting us. Our students were inspired by your cohort’s achievements, but even more so by your enduring bond. Many thanks also to the FOM team for making the vision a reality”

The Alumni Meet: Class of 1973 Golden Jubilee Homecoming successfully brought together a community of trailblazers. The event's resounding success serves as a testament to the lasting bonds forged within the Faculty of Medicine and the enduring impact of the Class of 1973.

On 15th June 2023, the FOM witnessed a Biotechnology Industry-Academia-Healthcare Institution collaboration – a much sought after partnership by Universiti Malaya where a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between Universiti Malaya and LiGNO Biotech Sdn. Bhd. was signed for the research project entitled: A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial investigating the use of TM02® as adjunctive treatment in post-acute COVID-19 patients with respiratory conditions (TM02®-PACOVIR) at The Gallery, Faculty of Medicine.

This is a project fully funded by LiGNO Biotech Sdn. Bhd., the world’s first Tiger Milk Mushroom (Lignosus rhinocerus) cultivation expert, and will be headed by Dr. Wong Chee Kuan (Consultant Pulmonologist, Department of Medicine) and members of the Medicinal Mushroom Research Group (MMRG). This MOA is a testament to the successful partnership between our researchers, clinicians and a leading biotechnology company in Malaysia. As Malaysia’s top university, we are very much focused on understanding some of the most complex and challenging issues to address the current needs of industry and our community. This is not the first time Universiti Malaya is collaborating with LiGNO Biotech Sdn Bhd. In fact, Universiti Malaya has had an MOU signed with LiGNO since 2019 and has recently renewed the MOU for another 5 years. In that sense, LiGNO Biotech has been contributing in kind by supplying research materials to our researchers, in particular the Medicinal Mushroom Research Group (Department of Molecular Medicine) here in FOM, working hand-in-hand with the university to shed light on Malaysia’s national treasure, the Tiger Milk mushroom.

This MOA serves as an extension of the existing MOUs to address current health crisis post pandemic, placing Malaysia’s medicinal gem to trial, hopefully with promising outcomes. This tripartite collaborative project among industry, hospital and university can be used to develop cost effective, evidence-based practice to improve health care outcomes and benefit society as a whole. We are proud to know that the FOM houses pioneer researchers in Tiger Milk mushroom. It is a privilege, as Malaysia’s first and oldest university to be participating in active research on Malaysia’s medicinal gem. We are proud to have been able to deliver high quality research outcomes and be able to train students in the field of science and biotechnology, giving them a variety of exposure in all aspects of biochemistry, molecular biology, biotechnology and translational allied health sciences. We hope to achieve our aspirations to carry out research and provide quality services on a global level, generate and enhance knowledge through continuous improvement efforts for the benefit of our community and beyond.

On 19th June 2023, five delegates from the National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (Taiwan) visited FOM in hopes to develop a collaborative project together. The meeting was attended by Prof. Dr. Ong Teng AIk (Deputy Dean of Value Creation and Enterprise), Assoc. Prof. Dr Vairavan Narayanan (Head of Internationalisation Unit) and Prof. Dr. Sanjay Rampal (Deputy Dean of Research). The National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University was created in 2021 through the merger of two universities: National Yang-Ming University and National Chiao Tung University. At present, NYCU has 19 colleges and 74 university/college-level research centers. The university also established a hospital based in Yilan, which offers practical teaching experience within various departments outside of the classroom.

After the merger, the university now has a total of 1,400 teachers and over 17,000 students, with 11 Nobel Prize winners across the fields of physics, chemistry, biomedicine, and economics. In line with its vision, NYCU hopes to establish Taiwan’s most innovative smart medical research. NYCU will combine the strengths of Yang Ming and Chiao Tung to jointly develop medical applications in terms of AI, telemedicine, medical robots, Internet of Things, wearable devices, and block-chain biomedical as Eco-system amongst other developments. The College of Medicine includes the School of Medicine, 12 institutes and 4 programs, covering three major fields: clinical medicine, basic medical sciences, and public health.

Since then, he created Project ECHO, which is modelled around the philosophy of “all teach, all learn”, providing an infrastructure for knowledge-sharing in rural and underserved communities around the world. Dr. Arora recruited primary care clinicians throughout the state to create a virtual “community of practice” or a space where doctors could learn from experts and each other. In one year, these clinicians became experts in the treatment of hepatitis C. Today, Dr. Arora’s ECHO Model does not just apply to improving hepatitis C treatment. It is also being used to tackle the world’s greatest challenges: health care, education and climate change. With participants in more than 9,000 cities and 180 countries since the programme was launched, Project ECHO aims to touch one billion lives by 2025.

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On 8th June 2023, a webinar titled "Gene Editing and Genetic Selection" featuring leading expert Professor Dr. Julian Suvulescu, the Chen Su Lan Centennial Professor in Medical Ethics and the Director of Centre for Biomedical Ethics, National University of Singapore (NUS) was held. The webinar is a part of the Master of Health Research Ethics (MOHRE), Hot Topic in Research Ethics, a regular session that provides in-depth discussion on various research ethics issues involving human subjects.

The webinar explored the ethical implications of manipulating human genes and emphasized the concept of procreative beneficence, which advocates for the selection of embryos with desirable genetic traits to maximize the well-being of future generations. The discussions involved contrasting viewpoints, with critics raising concerns about tampering with nature and promoting a "designer baby" mentality, while proponents highlighted the potential benefits of preventing hereditary diseases.

With over a hundred participants joining from various regions, the webinar provided a platform for robust dialogue on autonomy, justice, and the consequences of altering the human genome. The aim was to foster a deeper understanding of the moral complexities surrounding human genetic manipulation and encourage responsible applications of gene editing technologies that align with ethical principles and societal values. The webinar served as a catalyst for further research and critical analysis in the field, emphasizing the need for informed and inclusive discussions on the ethical boundaries and societal implications of genetic interventions. By shedding light on these considerations, the webinar highlighted the importance of a balanced approach that acknowledges both the potential benefits and risks associated with gene editing, thus ensuring a responsible and ethical path forward in shaping the future of humanity.

Liver transplantation is the standard treatment for paediatric patients with biliary atresia who have end-stage liver disease. However, the scarcity of donor organs presents complex ethical challenges related to distributive justice and equity. Through the Clinical Ethics Grand Round Series webinar organized by the Medical Humanities and Ethics Unit (MedHEU) on 22nd June 2023, at Universiti Malaya, esteemed speakers Dr. Thong Pui Ling and Associate Professor Dr. Ng Ruey Terng shed light on this ethical dilemma. The session that was carefully moderated by paediatrician Dr. Chong Lee Ai, who prompted meaningful discussions and raised important questions from attendees.

The speakers discussed a case that highlighted the ethical issues surrounding the limited availability of donor organs and the need for fair distribution. They emphasized the importance of involving hesitant parents in decision-making and obtaining their consent to navigate the complexities of transplantation. Parental cooperation and support play a vital role in ensuring the child's well-being and long-term success. The webinar stressed the significance of ethics in transplant medicine, urging healthcare professionals to consider ethical principles such as distributive justice, beneficence, and respect for autonomy when making decisions. Striking a balance between individual patient interests and the broader societal good is crucial.

Overall, the webinar provided valuable insights into the ethical challenges faced by hesitant parents in the context of paediatric liver transplantation. By addressing these complexities and considering ethical dimensions, healthcare professionals can improve decision-making, outcomes, and the well-being of paediatric patients in need of life-saving interventions.

The Clinical Ethics Grand Round Series, organized by the Medical Humanities and Ethics Unit (MedHEU), is a bimonthly event that offers continuing medical education (CME) on various clinical ethics topics. The series aims to help healthcare professionals stay updated on medical advancements and navigate ethical dilemmas. It provides a forum for participants to learn about resolving cases based on best ethical practices. Healthcare professionals and students from diverse backgrounds are welcome to attend, and those interested in presenting at future sessions can contact the MedHEU at medheu@um.edu.my.

On 22nd June 2023, Sunway University and FOM, Universiti Malaya signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish a working relationship across numerous aspects of medical education and research. The event kickstarted with an introduction of guests by Prof. Raja Affendi Raja Ali (Dean, School of Medical and Life Sciences, Sunway University), followed by Welcoming Remarks by Prof. Sibrandes Poppema (President of Sunway University) and remarks by Prof. Dr April Camilla Roslani (Dean, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya). This MOU hopes to develop academic, research, and clinical exchange opportunities between both medical faculties, including trainee exchange programmes and participation in joint or collaborative research projects and grant applications.

The first FOM Inaugural Lecture for 2023 by Dr. Choo May May, Professor of Opthalmology, was held on 20th June 2023. Her lecture titled "Keeping Up with the Pandemic of Retinopathy of Prematurity: A Blinding Disease of Premature Infants - Sharing 3 Decades of Experience with this Disease in Malaysia" was livestreamed via the Fakulti Perubatan Universiti Malaya YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/live/kyWVtrUwJIM?feature=share

On 15th June 2023, the University of Malaya Public Health Master’s students’ movement submitted a memorandum on Prioritize Health Care: Pass the Tobacco Product Control for Public Health Bill 2023 and Generational End Game (GEG). The memorandum was to highlight the urgent need to re-list liquid and gel type of nicotine into the Poisons Act 1952 following the delay in approving the Bill.

When the students’ movement met the parliamentary special select committee (PSSC) led by YB Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly bin Ahmad, it was clear that the intention to re-list nicotine into the Poisons Act 1952 aligned among both parties.

“Health is beyond political views. The health minister should exercise her ministerial power to re-list nicotine into the Poisons Act 1952 before it's too late. Just like when she delists it.” said YB Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly bin Ahmad UM, students’ Movement is the first student representative body who submitted a memorandum on this and the PSSC is very proud of it. They emphasized that student involvement is very important in it and hope to get continuous support from it.

On the other hand, a press conference was held. YB Dato' Dr Ahmad Yunus bin Hairi highlighted that the revenue from the tax is not justified for the young souls that were harmed by exposure to liquid nicotine and e-cigarettes. Expecting miracle results from the old method of purely focusing on education about the harm of vaping is not the way to move forward. Besides, governance should not be the sole responsibility of the Ministry of Health alone but a collective effort from the local government which is responsible for the issuance of certificates to run the business. “It’s never too late if our Prime Minister is willing to make a flip-flop decision- re-listing liquid and gel form of nicotine into the Poisons Act 1952 for the sake of our People” YB Dato' Dr Ahmad Yunus.

The profound relationship between University of Malaya (UM) and the National University of Singapore (NUS) was established since their establishment. In the past, the UM-NUS Games (MUNUS) was one of the main events in strengthening the bond between medical societies of both schools. The annual event symbolises medical students as holistic individuals who are active in sports, aside from academics. However, it was discontinued due to unavoidable reasons. This year, to revive this meaningful connection, the medical societies of both schools had agreed and decided to reinstitute the MUNUS. The highly anticipated event was organised at the NUS grounds in June 2023.

A total of about 200 students from both schools participated in the event. The journey for the UM team started on 2nd June 2023 with a simple and meaningful ceremony which was held at Dewan Tunku Canselor. The team had the honour of Prof. Dr. Shahrul Bahyah Kamaruzzaman, Prof. Dr. Muhammad Yazid Jalaludin and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Khairul Azmi Abd Kadir who were present to ignite and flag-off the team. The participants were in high spirits and all ready to face the challenges ahead.

The event commenced on 3rd June 2023 with preliminary rounds of badminton, ultimate frisbee, football, volleyball, basketball and netball, followed by the final rounds on the same day. Teams from both schools projected excellent sportsmanship. With the UM emblem on their chests, UM athletes competed courageously. Kudos to all the winners for their triumphant achievements. It was definitely a long but fulfilling day.

After the games, NUS students graciously hosted the UM team for a night outing to selected tourist attractions, which included the Marina Bay Sands, Gardens by the Bay, Esplanade, and the ArtScience Museum. The night brilliantly ended with the participants enjoying Spectra - A Light and Water Show. It was such a memorable experience for all.

Taking advantage of the presence of both medical societies, a life-sharing session was also conducted on 4th June 2023. It was such an enlightenment as students from both schools were able to discuss, exchange opinions on challenges, lifestyles and culture surrounding their capacities as medical students.

The event proceeded with a sharing session between the Excos of both medical societies. It was an eye-opener for most, especially when given the opportunity to exchange ideas on improvement in various aspects. Simultaneously, the UM athletes went on a faculty tour led by NUS representatives. A simple but memorable closing ceremony was carried out at the lecture theatre, marking the end of the event.

UM MEDSOC would like to thank the Top Management of the Faculty of Medicine for their support, the resourceful advisors, Dr. Ahmad Hazwan bin Ahmad Shushami and Dr. Muhammad Kashani bin Mohd Kamil, the committee members for their relentless effort and the athletes for their commitment and fighting spirit.

In a nutshell, MUNUS Games 2023 was deemed a success and surpassed the targets and expectations set upon. Relationship between UM and NUS was consolidated. We could finally say, “We do not only have friends; we have families.”

The 13th Malaysian Symposium of Biomedical Sciences (MySymBios) was organised by Biomedical Science students from Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR). The event was held at the Faculty of Science, UTAR Kampar Campus on 3rd-4th June 2023. The aim of MySymBios was to provide a common ground for students and researchers from different Biomedical Science institutions across the country to present their research findings, exchange ideas and information, and to enhance their knowledge in the field. A total of 7 universities participated in the 13th MySymBios which included both public and private institutions such as Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), International Medical University (IMU), Monash University Malaysia, Taylor’s University and Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR).

Prominent scientists in the Malaysian Biomedical Science field such as Prof. Ts. Dr. Cheah Yoke Kqueen (UPM), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Leong Pooi Pooi (UTAR), and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Wan Amir Nizam Wan Ahmad (USM) were invited to give insights into their respective research. The talks introduced the research process and topics ranged from discussing pluripotent stem cells to miRNA for diagnostics and treatment of cancer. Two lecturers, Dr. Nur’ain binti Salehen and Dr. Chai Hwa Chia, from the Department of Biomedical Science (UM) accompanied the 39 UM Biomedical Science students to the event, which included 19 students participating in either Oral or Poster presentations. Four research categories were contested, which were (1) Communicable Diseases, (2) Non-Communicable Diseases, (3) Natural Products, and (4) Others.

The UM delegation successfully secured a placing in every category contested, except for the Others category (Poster presentation).

The winners are as listed: 

Oral presentation 

• 1st place: Teow Jun Yao (Non-Communicable Diseases)
• 2nd place: Nurul Asyikin bt Basri (Communicable Diseases), Nur Aina Najihah bt Rosle (Natural Products), Teh Hao Li (Others) 
• 3rd place: Ikmal Danish Leong bin Muhammad Shariff Leong (Others); 
   

Poster presentation 

• 1st place: Low Hui En (Communicable Diseases)
• 2nd place: Nur Aliah Faqihah bt Muhammad Hafidzi (Non-Communicable Diseases)
• 3rd place: Thivashini Selventhiran (Natural Products)
   

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On 6th July 2023, representatives from the Cardiff Metropolitan University (Cardiff, Wales) visited FOM. The purpose of their visit was to learn and understand more about the admissions and medical education programme conducted by Universiti Malaya and to discuss potential collaborations between the two institutions. The session was chaired by Professor Dr. April Camilla Roslani (Dean, Faculty of Medicine) and Professor Dr. Nazirah Hasnan (Director, Universiti Malaya Medical Centre).

Cardiff Metropolitan University offers degree courses in a variety of disciplines at the undergraduate and postgraduate level. The university boasts more than 11,500 students from over 140 countries studying across two campuses in Cardiff, the Llandaff Campus for the School of Art & Design, School of Management, School of Sport & Health Sciences, School of Technologies, as well as the Cyncoed Campus for the School of Education and Social Policy, School of Sport & Health Sciences, with more than 10,000 students at 17 partner institutions in 15 countries around the world. In November 2021, Cardiff Met was awarded the title of UK and Ireland University of the Year 2021 by the Times Higher Education. Their School of Health Sciences is made up of 9 research centres/units, which includes: the Centre for Biomedical Research, the Centre for Health, Safety & the Environment, the Food Research & Consultancy Unit, the Zero2Five Food Industry Centre, the Wales Centre for Podiatric Studies and the Department of Applied Psychology. Cardiff Met offers and provides applied research and consultancy services across these fields.

On 15th and 16th July 2023, a collaborative event hosted by the Gathering of the Great Minds (GOTGM) and Malaysian Medical Summit (MMS) was held. Titled “The Fusion Summit: Emerging Visions”, the event itself carried a profound mission: To highlight the importance of strengthening medical students' professional and soft skills, as well as equipping medical students and junior medical practitioners with the necessary updates, informed changes, and abundant empathy. This event was open to all pre-university students, medical students and other healthcare practitioners. Approximately 120 people were in attendance. The event was officiated by YB Dr. Kelvin Yii Lee Wuen, Special Advisor of the Minister of Health, who was also the first keynote speaker. He presented various issues surrounding brain drain in the medical sector, as well as national-level initiatives designed to address these concerns. Honorary guests in attendance included Professor Dr. April Camilla Roslani (Dean of Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tengku Ahmad Shahrizal bin Tengku Dato’ Omar (Deputy Dean of Student Affairs, Universiti Malaya), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Khairul Azmi bin Abd Kadir, Advisor of Universiti Malaya Medical Society (UM MEDSOC), Professor Dr. Yang Faridah Abdul Aziz (Advisor of GOTGM 2023), Miss Priyanka Sekaran (President of UM MEDSOC 2023), Mr. Tan Wei Zhen (Director of GOTGM 2023) and Mr. Khe Jia Siang (Co-Convenor of MMS 2023).

Throughout the event, there were numerous insightful forums regarding specific specialties in the field of medicine such as emergency medicine, disaster medicine and military medicine; captivating debate sessions focusing on the contrasting experiences of practicing medicine in tertiary and non-tertiary settings; and sharing sessions from exceptional speakers on the ever-relevant topics regarding research and presentations. A memorandum crafting session was also included for participants to recap and reflect on what they have learnt where they had the opportunity to present onstage their ideas in revolving brain drain issues and the proactive measures . The highlight of the event was when all participants had the opportunity to take part in immersive experiences in a plethora of hands-on workshops, including the Ultrasound, Electrocardiography (ECG), and Emergency Medicine Simulation. Overall, “The Fusion Summit: Emerging Visions” was a resounding success.

The ceremony was graced by an opening speech delivered by Professor Dr. April Camilla Roslani, the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, who warmly welcomed the beloved alumni to a truly heartfelt and momentous occasion where alumni reconnected with old friends and faculty members, sharing fond memories and stories from their time at the Faculty of Medicine. Laughter and joy filled the room as they reminisced about their shared experiences and remarkable journey together.

Stepping back into familiar halls and classrooms, memories came flooding back, evoking laughter and shared stories. The visit provided a unique opportunity to relive the transformative moments of their study, from late-night study sessions to collaborative projects and the unwavering support of faculty members. It was a journey that reignited their passion for medicine and reminded them of the profound impact their alma mater had on their lives. The tour served as a beautiful testament to the enduring connection between alumni and their cherished memories within the Faculty of Medicine.

"It was a pleasure and honour to host the Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya’s Class of 1973 for their Golden Jubilee Homecoming.," said Professor Dr. April Camilla Roslani, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine. "So much has changed since they were students here - many have gone on to greater things, or distant shores. What has not changed is the spirit of camaraderie and belonging. This was an opportunity for our first-year medical students to engage with their illustrious predecessors, and they did not disappoint. I am constantly impressed by the enthusiasm, intelligence and respectful candour of our students. We must not fail them. Thank you to Datuk Yeoh Poh Hong for reconnecting us. Our students were inspired by your cohort’s achievements, but even more so by your enduring bond. Many thanks also to the FOM team for making the vision a reality”

The Alumni Meet: Class of 1973 Golden Jubilee Homecoming successfully brought together a community of trailblazers. The event's resounding success serves as a testament to the lasting bonds forged within the Faculty of Medicine and the enduring impact of the Class of 1973.

Based on the 2023 Journal Citation Reports that was released by the Web of Science, the Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health (APJPH) has achieved its highest impact factor ever of 2.5 compared to 2.270 last year! APJPH is ranked 133/207 in the “Public, Environmental & Occupational Health (SCIE)” and 101/180 in the “Public, Environmental & Occupational Health (SSCI)” categories.

Published in association with the Asia-Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health (APACPH), APJPH is a peer-reviewed journal that is indexed in ISI, SCOPUS, and other databases. APJPH publishes 8 issues per year and welcomes systematic reviews, original articles, short reports, short communications, and letters to the editor that are of concern and relevance to the public health issues in the Asia-Pacific region.

Led by Editor-In-Chief, Professor Dr. Low Wah Yun (Universiti Malaya, Malaysia) and Editor, Emeritus Professor Dr. Colin Binns (Curtin University of Technology, Australia), the team at APJPH mainly consists of Associate Editors from Universiti Malaya (Professor Dr. Awang Bulgiba Awang Mahmud, Professor Dr. Noran Naqiah Mohd Hairi, Professor Dr. Hazreen Abdul Majid, Professor Dr. Claire Choo Wan Yuen, Professor Dr. Jennifer Geraldine Doss, Dr. Daniel Chow Ung T'chiang) as well as other Asia Pacific institutions [Dr. Noor Ani Ahmad (Institute for Public Health, Malaysia); Assoc. Prof. Dr. Rosediani Muhamad (Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia); Dr. Masamine Jimba (University of Tokyo, Japan); Professor Dr. Emily Ying-Yang Chan (Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong); and Professor Dr. Ho Kim (Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea)]. APJPH Editorial Officers: Bairave Shunnmugam and Tee Guat Hiong (Universiti Malaya, Malaysia).

The Department of Parasitology Journal Club hosted product specialist, Ms. Shaaleni Muruthy (TreeCode Sdn. Bhd.) to talk about the latest advancements in OMICs and sequencing technologies.

The first part of the talk offered a comprehensive overview of these technologies. According to Ms. Shaaleni, the transition in sequencing technologies can be traced back through three generations. The first generation of sequencing started when the Sanger sequencing method was first developed. This technique is suitable for sequencing short reads and it was employed in sequencing the first complete genome of PhiX174 bacteriophage. Second generation sequencing emerged following the introduction of the pyrosequencing method, which is an early form of high-throughput sequencing data generation. Techniques in this generation were pioneered by remarkable platforms like Illumina and Ion Torrent. Third generation sequencing was made possible with the establishment of single molecule sequencing (SMS) and real-time sequencing techniques, which allowed long-read sequencing ranging from 5 kb to 30 kb. One of the platforms involved in this generation included PacBio. Ms. Shaaleni also provided clarification for the audience on how to differentiate between short-read and long-read sequencing. Short-read sequencing has the ability to generate vast amounts of data. However, it does come with certain limitations, providing only incomplete biological data information. On the other hand, long-read sequencing, while generating less data in comparison, offers a more comprehensive and complete biological information.

Advancements in emerging OMICs technology have proven to be advantageous in a wide spectrum of disciplines, including human genomics, clinical diagnostics, pharmacogenomics, infectious disease genomics, cancer genomics, host-microbiome interactions, as well as epidemiology and population studies. The molecular landscape in OMICs technology is divided into four stages: genomics (DNA and histone modification); transcriptomics (RNA and RNA modification); proteomics (proteins); and metabolomics (metabolites). The genomics stage (DNA and histone modification) involves approaches of whole genome sequencing, metagenomics sequencing, meta-transcriptomics sequencing, whole exome sequencing, targeted sequencing, and epigenomic sequencing. The transcriptomic stage (RNA and RNA modification) involves the technique of transcriptomic sequencing, which is commonly used for sequencing mRNA, total RNA, and small RNA.

At present, services that can be found in Malaysia include whole genome sequencing, whole exome sequencing, RNA and isoform sequencing, base modification (epigenetics) sequencing, targeted/gene panel sequencing, metagenomics and meta-transcriptomics, barcode-tagged sequencing (BTSeq), and metabolomics. Among the highlights was the Celemics BTSeq technique. This technique is considered as a cost-effective alternative to Sanger sequencing which can be used for both de novo sequencing and reference-based sequencing. Its sequencing capability covers a wide range of DNA sizes (200 bp to 200 kb) at high accuracy and fidelity, able to analyze GC-rich sequences (a feat not easily achievable via Sanger sequencing), and it does not involve sequencing primers.

Speaker’s background:

Ms. Shaaleni Pandian Muruthy is a Sales and Application Specialist at TreeCode Sdn. Bhd. She obtained her BSc with Honors in Medical Biotechnology from Sunway University. She has developed a deep professional experience in OMICs and medical biotechnology. Her contributions have been invaluable in guiding the research planning for numerous postgraduate projects and supporting researchers in their pursuit of scientific excellence.

The Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya was honoured to host the 12th edition of the ASEAN Medical Deans Summit and the 8th ASEAN Medical School Network: Student Chapter on 27th- 29th July 2023. The ASEAN Medical Deans’ Summit (AMDS) was founded by twelve ASEAN higher education institutions on 17th September 2012. AMDS was established to promote collaborations among leading medical schools in the ASEAN region and to leverage medical education and health systems towards international excellence. The universities that participated in this year’s event were Malaysia (Universiti Malaya, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Sains Malaysia); Singapore (NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine); Cambodia (International University); Myanmar (Defence Services Medical Academy, Yangon); Thailand (Mahidol University); Vietnam (Hanoi Medical University; University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City); Indonesia (Universitas Indonesia; Universitas Gadjah Mada); Philippines (University of the Philippines College of Medicine); and Brunei (Universiti Brunei Darussalam)

The Summit commenced with opening remarks by Professor Dr. April Camilla Roslani (Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya) and Professor Dr. Charlotte Chiong (Chair of the ASEAN Medical School Network; Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, University of the Philippines). The opening ceremony was officiated by Professor Dato’ Ir. Dr. Mohd Hamdi Abd Shukor, Vice Chancellor of Universiti Malaya. In attendance were the founding members of the ASEAN Medical Schools Network, esteemed Deans, Rectors and delegates of AMDS, as well as distinguished guests of UM Health and various Heads of Departments of FOM. Themed “Towards the Development of Future-Ready ASEAN Health Professionals,” the three-day summit featured four insightful sessions:

Session 1: Preparing Graduates for Practice
Session 2: Coaching in Learner-Centered Medical Education
Session 3: Best Practices in Assessments
Session 4: Harmonization of Curricula Across ASEAN: Education Without Borders

The ASEAN Medical School Network (AMSN) Student Chapter was concurrently held at The Cube, FOM with the theme “Comprehensive Assessment for Future-ready Medical Practitioners”. This event engaged students from ASEAN universities in exploring three sub-themes:

1. Authentic Assessments (WPBA): Evaluating clinical competencies through workplace-based assessments
2. Assessment of Professionalism: Ethical practices and behaviour as future doctors
3. Simulation-Based Assessments: Technical and non-technical skills acquired via simulated scenarios and OSCE

AMDS 2023 concluded with a Gala Dinner at the Alumni House, Universiti Malaya, where academics and students were able to interact and socialise with each other. Throughout the dinner, students from each university were able to showcase their talent through dance, singing and cultural performances.

Overall, the AMDS2023 provided an invaluable platform for knowledge exchange among medical professionals, academics and students, fostering a promising future for the ASEAN medical education and healthcare sector.

Highlights from Day 1 and 2 of the 12th ASEAN Medical Deans’ Summit

Highlights from the student activities and discussions during the ASEAN Medical School Network - Student Chapter

Highlights from the AMDS Gala Dinner 2023

On 3rd August 2023, delegates from Trisakti University, located in West Jakarta (Indonesia) visited the Faculty of Medicine, University Malaya. The purpose of their visit was to learn about the UM MBBS Programme, as well as the courses/clinical training piloted by the Faculty to prepare graduates for practice. The session was chaired by Professor Dr. Shahrul Bahyah Kamaruzzaman, Deputy Dean of Postgraduate Studies, FOM, Universiti Malaya.

Trisakti University was established by the Government of the Republic on 29th November 1965. The name, ‘Trisakti’, which means political sovereignty, economic independence and cultural personality, was given by the former President of Indonesia, Dr. Ir. Soekarno. When Trisakti University was first established, it had five faculties: Faculty of Law, Faculty of Economics, Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry and Faculty of Engineering. It now has an additional six faculties and offers 46 programmes, with a study body of approximately 18,000 students, making it the largest private university in Indonesia.

Since 2005, their Faculty of Medicine (Usakti) has instituted a competency-based curriculum which focuses on basic principles, categorized into several modules that have a series of face-to-face learning experiences, tutorials, seminars, expert lectures, basic medical practices, basic clinical skills training, and clinical clerkships in both teaching hospitals and public health centers. Their medical curriculum is divided into two continuous study programs, namely the Medical Science Programme, followed by the Medical Profession Programme.

On 11th August 2023, Professor Teresa Lambe, Calleva Head of Vaccine Immunology at the University of Oxford, graced FOM to give a special lecture on `Lessons Learnt From COVID-19’ at the TJ Danaraj Auditorium. In attendance at the event included Duli Yang Maha Mulia Paduka Seri Sultan Perak Darul Ridzuan Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah Ibni Almarhum Sultan Azlan Muhibbuddin Shah Al-Maghfur-Lah (Canselor Universiti Malaya), Toh Puan Dato’ Seri Hajjah Dr. Aishah Ong and Tan Sri Dato’ Seri DiRaja Ramli Ngah Talib (Pro-Chancellors of Universiti Malaya), Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar (Chairman, Board of Directors, Universiti Malaya); Professor Dato’ Ir. Dr. Mohd. Hamdi Abd. Shukor (Vice-Chancellor, Universiti Malaya); Dato’ Dr. Afifi al-Akiti (Kuwait Fellow in Islamic Studies, Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies) and Professor Dr. April Camilla Roslani (Dean, FOM).

Professor Lambe was one of the Principal Investigators for the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine programme, co-designing the resultant vaccine that was instrumental in the fight against COVID-19, and was estimated to have saved million lives globally in 2021 alone. For her services to the Sciences and Public Health, Professor Lambe was awarded the OBE during the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2021, and received the Presidential Distinguished Service Award for the Irish Abroad in 2022.

Professor Lambe’s group is particularly interested in delineating the protective immune response post infection and using these findings to rationally design vaccination strategies to prevent disease. The establishment of long-lived immunity post vaccination is also critically important in protecting against infectious disease and is a key focus of the research. The Lambe group is currently developing and testing vaccines against a number of outbreak pathogens, including the Crimean - Congo haemorrhagic fever virus, Ebola virus, Marburg virus Disease and Coronaviruses. A number of these vaccines have progressed to clinical trial assessment, including a vaccine against Ebola virus diseases (ChAdOx1 biEBOV); in late 2022, this vaccine was one of three chosen by the WHO to be included in a ring vaccination protocol against the Sudan ebolavirus outbreak in Uganda. In 2023, the team's candidate vaccine against the Marburg virus disease was selected by WHO for inclusion in trials to combat the Marburg virus disease.

On 22nd August 2023, a Retirement Ceremony for one of our most beloved and decorated academics, Professor Datuk Dr. Awang Bulgiba Awang, from the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, was held at the Alumni House, Universiti Malaya. The event was attended by Professor Dr. April Camilla Roslani, Dean of FOM, Professor Dr. Victor Hoe Abdullah, fellow academics, support staff, and Datuk Dr. Awang’s family and friends.

To briefly recap his illustrious career, Professor Datuk Dr. Awang Bulgiba was the first Malaysian doctor to gain a PhD in Health Informatics and also the first public health physician in Malaysia to garner these four prestigious fellowships (Fellow of Faculty of Public Health UK, Fellow of Public Health Medicine Malaysia, Fellow of Academy of Medicine Malaysia, Fellow of Academy of Sciences Malaysia). He also held the position of Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic and International) for UM from 2015-2018 and oversaw the restructuring and transformation of the UM’s academic reputation and internationalization.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Professor Dr. Awang Bulgiba was appointed by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) to head the COVID-19 Epidemiological Analysis and Strategies (CEASe) project and the Independent COVID-19 Vaccination Advisory Committee (ICVAC). Professor Dr. Awang Bulgiba has published more than 100 Web of Science-indexed journal articles and continues to be active in research. He was the lead author for “Strengthening Academic Career Pathways and Leadership Development”, a book used for the University Transformation Programme in Malaysia.

At present, he serves on the editorial boards of the Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health (APJPH) and the Malaysian Orthopaedic Journal (MOJ), as well as several national committees such as the National Committee on Research Integrity, MoHE R&D Funds Steering Committee and the MOSTI R&D Expert Panel. He is also the Secretary-General for the Academy of Sciences Malaysia and Council Member for the Academy of Medicine Malaysia (2019-2023). The Faculty wishes him all the best in his future endeavours.

The KIDScience Labs programme is designed to stimulate children's curiosity through an exciting and educational interactive experience. Twenty-five kids showed up to the second KIDScience Labs session conducted on 28th August 2023, ready to learn and explore.

The heart of the KIDScience Labs program lies in its innovative and hands-on approach to learning. This year’s event featured five captivating activities designed to captivate young minds and make science not only accessible, but also tremendously entertaining.

1. Mysterious Living Under the Microscope: Kids explored the hidden world of microorganisms, introducing them to the wonders of the unseen.
2. Discover Your Blood Type: An educational adventure in understanding different blood types.
3. Pipette Your Rainbow Fireworks: Blending art and science, the children created miniature fireworks, learning about chemistry in a vibrant way.
4. What is Inside the Egg?: The young scientists dissected eggs, unveiling the mysteries within, and sparking their curiosity about anatomy and physiology.
5. Soap the Germs Away: Emphasizing cleanliness and hygiene while explaining the science behind soap's germ-fighting power.

The response from parents was heartwarming, emphasizing the importance of initiatives like KIDScience Labs in nurturing children's curiosity and interest in STEM.

Feedbacks from the parents:

“Thank you for planning this. My kids had a great time, they stated they learnt a lot, and they want to come again” Madam Fareen
“I wish there is a session for adults too” Madam Tze Chin Chak
"Thank you very much to the organisers, my daughter loves this programme, and it provides great exposure for the youngsters. Please consider organising the programme again in the future.” Dr Mohammad Ershadul
“Thank you, organiser; my kids haven't stopped talking about it” Madam Wan Nurazreena
“Thank you for all your hard work and dedication, my daughter has a pleasant memory of the event” Madam Myra
 

The Department of Parasitology Journal club was held on 14th June 2023 with a seminar titled “An Update on the Malaria Therapeutic Efficacy Studies and PCR-Correction Strategy”, presented by Dr. Wahib Mohammed M. Atroosh. Antimalarial drug resistance has been a threat for successful treatment and prevention of malaria. Dr. Wahib’s talk covered three main factors: drug resistance, drug efficacy studies, and strategies of PCR-correction. He introduced antimalarial drug resistance, which includes chloroquine, sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine, artemisinins, and mefloquine, as well as defined different types of antimalarial drug resistance. The presence of antimalarial drug resistance has led to the possible increase in transmission and is associated with increased severe malaria and mortality cases.

Dr. Wahib then elaborated on efficacy studies of antimalarial drugs that can be classified as chemoprevention efficacy studies (CPES) and therapeutic efficacy studies (TES). CPES evaluates the ability of a chemopreventive antimalarial drug to prevent a new infection for a predefined period of follow-up (28 days). This efficacy study requires no PCR correction as no parasites are detected at admission (day-0). CPES is also used to monitor intermittent preventive treatment for pregnancy (IPTp) and infancy (IPTi). Meanwhile, TES is the gold standard for monitoring the efficacy of antimalarial drugs (ACTs) or new drugs. The outcomes of TES are classified based on parasitological and clinical responses for a predefined period of follow-up (28-63 days). However, it requires a longer follow-up period to capture additional recrudescence or several reinfections. Thus, molecular correction is necessary to distinguish new infections from recrudescent parasites.

Dr. Wahib then reinforced the importance of PCR-correction. TES without PCR-correction in high transmission areas may lead to a high failure rate of an efficacious drugs. This is because new infections would be mistaken as recrudescence. The false high failure rate may mandate unnecessary change of treatment policy. Hence, PCR-correction is essential to limit overestimation of treatment failure. The current WHO-recommended markers are merozoite surface protein-1 (msp1), msp2, and glumate-rich protein (glurp). Dr. Wahib also shared on the worldwide spread of P. falciparum drug resistance to artemisinin- based combination therapies (ACTs) based on the TES outcome from 2021-2022.

In Malaysia, no drug resistance was reported according to findings from six TES. Following this, Dr. Wahib elaborated on the primary end-point of P. falciparum TES protocols based on FDA, WHO-MMV and 2/3 molecular adoption. He also explained their limitations and urged the need for alternative techniques or genotyping markers for improving the genotyping of multiclonal P. falciparum infections.

He then introduced P. falciparum histidine-rich protein 2 (Pfhrp2) as an alternative genotyping marker as the gene is highly polymorphic, has acceptable length between alleles, undergo neutral selection, and is stable through the follow-up period. He also provided justification for the selection of Pfhrp2 over the WHO-MMV markers. Furthermore, the Pfhrp2 gene could be typed with the use of restriction enzymes, PvuII and AluI. The findings from his study suggested that Pfhrp2 could be used as a genotyping marker to differentiate new infections from recrudescence.

Speaker’s background:

Dr. Wahib obtained his PhD in Molecular Parasitologyfrom the Universiti Malaya (UM) in 2017. Later, he joined the Department of Parasitology, FOM as a lecturer and contributed to different academic and research activities. Dr. Wahib's work has been dedicated to the falciparum malaria parasite, the most malignant cause of human malaria with top-ranked mortality rate and is at the forefront of parasite resistance to antimalarial drugs, specifically on the monitoring of antimalarial drug resistance using in vivo clinical trials and molecular gene markers. He joined an external research collaboration with the Medical Research Center, Jazan University, Saudi Arabia and local research collaboration with the School Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) on the epidemiology, genotyping and molecular evaluation of antimalarial drugs resistance of falciparum malaria isolates from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Nigeria, respectively. In addition to malaria research, Dr. Wahib has contributed to other research projects including intestinal protozoa, schistosomiasis and other soil-transmitted helminths (STH) as well as health education programs for parasitic infections. More recently, Dr. Wahib has contributed to the design of genotyping protocols for falciparum malaria, suitable for correcting in vivo malaria clinical trials. Over the years, Dr. Wahib has published 35 papers in ISI-indexed journals with an H-index of 16, with more than a thousand citations.

Her Excellency Dr. Zainab Shinkafi Bagudu's visit to the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) in Malaysia on 5-6th September 2023, was a significant event marked by several notable interactions and engagements. The purpose of her visit was to attend the launch of the Global HPV Consortium at KLCC, fostering networking and discussions with Malaysian UICC members.

Upon her arrival at the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), H.E. Dr. Zainab Shinkafi Bagudu was warmly welcomed by Professor Dr. Aishah Mohd Taib. Professor Dr. Aishah, who serves as the Head of the Universiti Malaya Cancer Research Institute (UMCRI), provided a brief and informative introduction to the facilities and research endeavors at the UMMC before embarking on a tour of various centres within the institution.

During her visit to the Faculty of Medicine, H.E. Dr. Zainab Shinkafi Bagudu received a gracious welcome from Professor Dr. Sanjay Rampal, the Deputy Dean of Research, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jeannie Wong from the Department of Biomedical Imaging. This engagement allowed for a deeper understanding of the research and academic contributions of the Faculty of Medicine in the field of cancer and healthcare.

In addition to these formal engagements, her visit included a tour of the Pediatric Oncology and Breast Cancer Resource Center at the UMMC, further enriching her knowledge of the institution's comprehensive approach to cancer care and research. Following these informative visits to UMMC and the Faculty of Medicine, H.E. Dr. Zainab Shinkafi Bagudu and her delegation were set to continue their exploration of healthcare and research in Malaysia with a visit to the ROSE Foundation. This collaborative effort aimed to strengthen ties and cooperation in the fight against cancer and the promotion of global health initiatives.

The Department of Parasitology hosted the grand opening ceremony of the Dewan CP Ramachandran on 5th September 2023. This momentous event was graced by a distinguished panel of guests, including Professor Dr. April Camilla Roslani, the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, Dr. Sam Mohan, a representative from the Malaysian Society for Parasitology and Tropical Medicine (MSPTM), Datuk Rajan Menon, President of the All Malaysia Malayalee Association (AMMA), Dr. Idris Nordin, Treasurer of the Malaysian Scientific Society (MSA) and the cherished family members of Professor CP Ramachandran, in whose honour the hall was named. Other attendees included the members of the societies, fellow academicians, and postgraduate students from the department.

The event commenced at 10:30 AM with a heartfelt welcome from the emcee, setting the tone for the day. Esteemed guests and participants gathered with anticipation, ready to embark on a journey through the event and to experience first-hand the legacy of Professor CP Ramachandran. Professor Dr. April Camilla Roslani graced the occasion as the guest of honour and delivered the welcoming speech. She underscored the profound impact of the Dewan CP Ramachandran in shaping the future of Medical Parasitology and Entomology education in Malaysia. She also praised the dedication and vision that brought the lecture hall to life and expressed her gratitude to all the contributors for their support.

Dr. Sam Mohan, representing MSPTM, delivered an enlightening speech on the vital role of medical parasitology in public health. He stressed the importance of institutions like Universiti Malaya in advancing research and education in this field as well as the need of NGOs to give back for the betterment of education. Datuk Rajan Menon, President of the AMMA, conveyed his admiration for the hall's namesake, Professor CP Ramachandran, and commended the university for honouring his legacy. Dr. Idris Nordin, Treasurer of the MSA, highlighted the opportunities that the Dewan CP Ramachandran offers to foster research and innovation.

The highlight of the event was the official inauguration of the Dewan CP Ramachandran, a moment of great significance. Professor Dr. April Camilla Roslani, took center stage to mark the occasion. She was accompanied by other esteemed guests. With grace and determination, she struck the gong, its resonating sound signifying the formal opening of the hall. This symbolic act was met with applause, symbolizing a shared commitment to the pursuit of knowledge and excellence. As the ceremony concluded, a delightful treat awaited esteemed guests and all attendees—a sumptuous lunch that provided an opportunity for networking, camaraderie, and the exchange of ideas.

The Universiti Malaya’s Faculty of Medicine (FOM) was visited by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yu-Ming Wang and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sheng-Dean Luo from the Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (KCGMH) on 8th September 2023. In conjunction with the visit, a seminar with the theme “The state-of-the-art head and neck cancer management” was jointly organised by the Clinical Oncology Unit, Department of Otorhinolaringology, Internationalisation Unit FOM and KCGMH. The aim of the seminar was to foster knowledge exchange on the current status of head and neck cancer management, including the advancement of the proton beam therapy.

The seminar was held in hybrid mode, allowing more than 150 participants from both local and overseas to join. It began with welcome remarks by the Dean of FOM, Professor Dr. April Camilla Roslani, followed by the representative of Superintendent of KCGMH. A series of lectures were featured during the seminar, given by the experts from both institutions. The seminar was concluded with a forum led by Professor Dr. Ho Gwo Fuang, aiming to explore potential collaborations for clinical, teaching, and research, as well as to encourage the exchange of ideas and the creation of innovative solutions to the complex challenges in cancer management.

Medical laws and ethics have recently become a topic of increasing concern in the medical field, particularly as numerous medicolegal issues and cases are being reported. In most medical schools in Malaysia, courses on ethics and law have been integrated into the curriculum to help students understand and apply these values in clinical practice. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Faculty of Medicine at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) houses a Department of Medical Ethics & Law (MELD). This department had taken the initiative to organize the first-ever Malaysian Medical Ethics & Law Intervarsity Competition, held on 8th September 2023. I was proud to join Chang Zhao Xuan, who served as our leader, along with Tan Wei Zhen and Ang Ruolin, in representing the Faculty of Medicine at Universiti Malaya for this golden opportunity in the competition.

The competition was part of the third day agenda during the UiTM International Conference on Clinical Ethics (UICCE) 2023. The conference featured academic talks and forums on various aspects of medical laws and clinical ethics. Unfortunately, we were unable to attend the conference due to our academic commitments. It was our first time participating in such a competition, and we had little idea of what to expect. However, our supervisors, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Julia Patrick Engkasan and Dr. Nishakanthi Gopalan, along with the invited speaker, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sharon Kaur from the Faculty of Law, provided invaluable guidance on how to prepare.

Although we secured a spot in the top five during the first round, we were eliminated in the subsequent round. Nevertheless, I believe we gave our best effort within the limited time available to us. We found satisfaction in the process rather than focusing solely on the outcome. As we look at the future, we anticipate that medical laws and ethics will become a “trending” and increasingly interesting area to explore. We certainly look forward to participating in the next competition!

On 10th September 2023, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Royal College of Surgeons of England (UK) and UM for the Joint Conduct of Annual Membership Exams to advance surgical education and training in the region. As part of this collaboration, Universiti Malaya will serve as an examination center for the 'Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons' (MRCS) examination in Kuala Lumpur. Specifically, the Faculty of Medicine will be the host institution of the MRCS (OSCE) examinations, held annually in September. This collaboration emphasizes the mutual commitment of both institutions to upholding excellent technical practices, and the shared goal of advancing surgical knowledge and expertise. To ensure the success of this initiative, Professor Dr. April Camilla Roslani has been appointed as the Project Leader, supported by a dedicated team from the Faculty of Medicine. Professor Dr. Yatimah Alias, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic & International) was also present at the event.

On 19th September 2023, the “Ergonomics in the Workplace” workshop was held at the Faculty Room from 9.00 am to 5.00pm. The goal of this workshop was to provide awareness to employees regarding the importance of proper ergonomics, ensuring employees work with good posture, minimal fatigue, and maintain a comfortable work environment. The workshop was conducted by Dr. Faiz Baharudin, Head of OSHE, Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC).

On 19th September 2023, delegates from the Tsinghua University, China, visited FOM to learn about the faculty, its facilities, and our research and academic programmes in hopes of establishing a joint collaborative relationship. This future collaboration will entail the development of nurturing project-related startups and mobility programs that facilitates both academic and cultural exchanges. This is to hopefully provide students with a platform to transform innovative ideas into thriving businesses and cultivate a deeper understanding of diverse cultures.

Tsinghua University (THU) is one of the world's most esteemed institutions renowned for its academic excellence and innovation, ranking 12th on the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024, and 1st in the Asia University Rankings 2024. The School of Medicine at THU was founded in October 2001. At present, there is a large number of ongoing cutting-edge studies undertaken at the faculty including research on virus nucleic acid detection and antibody vaccine development. The Tsinghua School of Medicine is made up of three departments, Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Department of Biomedical Engineering and Department of Clinical Medicine. The nine priority research fields at TU, include immunology, oncobiology, infectious diseases, neuroscience and neural engineering, cell and molecular biology, medical imaging, biomedical engineering, public health, and clinical medicine. THU is currently ranked in the top 1% worldwide in four of those disciplines - immunology, microbiology, infectious diseases, and neuroscience.

On 20th September 2023, the Sleep Hygiene Symposium was held at the Faculty Room, FOM to promote the importance of proper sleep for the optimal functioning of the human body. The program began with a talk by Dr. Goh Liang Chye (Department of Otorhinolaryngology) on the “Stages of Sleep and Sleep Hygiene”. This was proceeded by two talks on “Hidden Consequences of Sleep Deprivation” by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Adina Abdullah (RUKA) and “Lack of Sleep and Mental Health Disorders” by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Rusdi Abd Rashid (Department of Pyschological Medicine”. After a short tea break, the programme resumed with talks on “Sleep Disorders” and “Sleep Disorders and Dentistry” by Professor Dr. Goh Khean Jin (Department of Neurology) and Dr. Roziana Mohd. Razi (Faculty of Dentistry), respectively. The event concluded with a talk by Dr. Loh Thian Chee titled “Do I have OSA (Obstructive Sleep Apnea)” from the Respiratory Unit, Department of Medicine.

On 24th September 2023, the MBBS alumni from the year 1983 visited FOM to celebrate their 60th year anniversary. The celebratory reunion brought together prominent alumni and faculty members on a journey back in time. Laughter definitely filled the lecture theatre as attendees reconnected and reminisced about their shared experiences in FOM. The faculty also prepared a surprise anniversary cake as part of this special occasion. The reunion was a resounding success and provided a heartwarming reminder of the lasting bonds forged within the walls of FOM.

The Central Research Laboratories (CRL) in partnership with Pfizer Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. had successfully organised the CRL-PFIZER Workshop 2023: The Role of Diagnostic and Research in Addressing the Challenging Emergence of Multi-Drug Resistant Organisms on the 25th - 27th September 2023. The program includes a seminar on the 25th, followed by two engaging workshops on the 26th and 27th September 2023.

The primary objectives of the workshop were to raise awareness and impart knowledge to participants regarding the emergence of multi-drug resistant organisms (MDROs). The programme also sought to give attendees hands-on experience with MDRO testing. The session was successfully executed, drawing 72 people on the first day and filling to a capacity of 50 participants on the second and third days.

The topics covered on Day 1 were as follows:

1. Antimicrobial Resistance: Challenges in Tackling the Silent Crisis
   Professor Dr. Sasheela A/P Sri La Sri Ponnampalavanar, Department of Medicine
    
2. Pathological Diagnosis of Bacterial Infections
   Assoc. Prof. Dr Mun Kein Seong, Department of Pathology
    
3. Non-Molecular Approaches to Multidrug-Resistant Organisms (MDROs)
   Dr. Kartini Binti Abdul Jabar, Department of Medical Microbiology 
    
4. Molecular Methods and Platforms in Detecting Multidrug-Resistant Organisms (MDROs)
   Dr. Kumutha Malar A/P Vellasamy, Department of Medical Microbiology
    
5. Strengthening the Science and Research in Addressing Antimicrobial Resistance
   Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cindy Teh Shuan Ju, Department of Medical Microbiology

Day 2 and 3 of the training provided the participants with practical experience in identifying MDROs using a variety of methods, such as gel electrophoresis, AST and E-Test, and sequencing analysis.

Mr. Shee Loke Yuan, a fourth year MBBS student from FOM, Universiti Malaya, managed to secure a 2nd place win for the Poster Awards at the European Developmental Biology Congress 2023 which was recently held in Keble College Oxford (UK) from the 25th-28th September 2023. Mr. Shee presented his research work titled "Investigating the Mechanisms Underlying Hydrocephalus in Glycine Decarboxylase-Deficient Mice".

This research work was conducted when he undertook a 2-month research elective at the Institute of Child Health, University College London (UK). He was supervised by Dr. Chloe Santos and Professor Dr. Nick Greene from the Department of Developmental Biology and Cancer.

During his time there, he was able to contribute to the development of a new immunostaining method for visualisation of key brain structures in glycine decarboxylase-deficient mice. The European Developmental Biology Congress is a quadrennial meeting hosted by the British Society for Developmental Biology. It aims to bring together developmental biologists from across Europe to discuss the latest advances in the field. “I would like to express my appreciation to the Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya who was supportive of my endeavors and provided ample opportunities for us to carry out research electives in our curriculum. This research elective not only provided me with the opportunity to conduct impactful research, but also helped me to connect to science around the world. Lastly, I would also like to thank my supervisors, Dr. Chloe and Prof. Nick from UCL, and Dr. Noraishah, my former Academic Advisor, for making all of this possible.

The UM Health Academia Month and Research Carnival 2023 was successfully organized from the 2nd - 6th October 2023. This year marks a significant milestone as we celebrate 50 years of medical specialty training at UM Health. The event was not just a gathering; it was a celebration of all UM Health entities – the Faculties of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmacy, as well as the two UMHealth hospitals, Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) and UM Specialist Centre (UMSC), sharing a commitment to advancing medical knowledge and improving healthcare for all.

The theme for this year's event "Serving the Nation Through Research and Academic Excellence" was officiated by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research & Innovation), Professor Ir. Dr. Shaliza Ibrahim, resonated deeply with the core values and aspirations that define our institution. This theme embodies our unwavering commitment to advancing knowledge, improving healthcare, and making a lasting impact on society. Research and academic excellence are not mere words but the guiding principles that shape our endeavours at this esteemed university.

The program for the UM Health Academia Month and Research Carnival encompasses a diverse array of topics and activities to cater to varied interests and needs, including lectures, symposiums, panel discussions, scientific poster competitions, and much more. Additionally, the launch of Academia Day was held on 5th October 2023, along with the National Postgraduate Medical Curriculum (NPMC) Second Cohort (9 Specialties and E-portfolio). The event was honoured to have Professor Dato’ Dr. Adeeba Kamarulzaman as a keynote speaker.

Furthermore, this year's event is particularly special because we awarded grants during the closing ceremony. The grants included the UMSC CA.R.E. Fund Research Grant and the Dato’ Mahmood Merican Medical Research Grant (MMRG). The funder, the UMSC’s Board of Directors, and the Chief Executive Officer, as well as the Donor of MMRG, Dato’ Mahmood Merican and Datin Ragayah Mohamad Eusoff, were invited to the ceremony.

For the full program, visit https://medicine.um.edu.my/research-carnival-2023

The Faculty was buzzing with excitement and energy as fresh new faces from the 2023/2024 intake arrived at our doorsteps. The UM Week of Welcome was held campus wide on 2nd - 5th October 2023. The 4-day programme serves as an extension of orientation, where new students were encouraged to participate in numerous activities both at their respective faculties and residential colleges. FOM hosted the WOW programme on 4th October 2023 at the Clinical Auditorium, FOM. Prof. Dr. April Camilla, Dean of FOM, kickstarted the ceremony with a talk about the history of our Faculty and the various programmes, facilities and community engagement programmes available. Prof. Dr. Yazid Jalaludin (Deputy Dean of Undergraduate Studies) and A.P. Dr. Tengku Ahmad Shahrizal (Deputy Dean of Student Affairs) also delivered talks during the event. At the end of the event, students partook in the Oath-Taking ceremony to mark the beginning of their commitment to the UM Medical Programme.

A team from the Clinical Oncology Unit, comprised of Associate Professor Dr. Ung Ngie Min, Dr. Ng Aik Hao, and Dr. Zulaikha Jamalludin, delivered a series of lectures promoting adaptive radiotherapy (ART) at the 32nd Annual Scientific Congress of the Malaysian Oncological Society (ASCOMOS) 2023 on 7th October 2023. The goal was to introduce and highlight the benefits of ART in adapting to changes in a patient's anatomy and tumor size or position during radiotherapy, ensuring more precise treatment delivery.

These lectures were featured in a special workshop session during the congress. Dr. Ng Aik Hao led with a lecture on the 'Rationale of ART', succeeded by Dr. Zulaikha Jamalludin discussing the 'Basic Principle of ART'. Associate Professor Dr. Ung Ngie Min concluded the session with an overview of the current status of ART in Malaysia.

This year, the Malaysian Oncological Society (MOS) hosted ASCOMOS from the 6th to the 8th of October 2023 at the Sabah International Convention Centre in Kota Kinabalu. The event, themed 'Scaling Greater Heights in Oncology', convened local and international delegates, primarily oncologists, medical physicists, radiation therapists, and nurses, for this significant scientific gathering.

The Faculty of Medicine's Biomedical Science Programme at Universiti Malaya celebrated a significant milestone as it welcomed its 30th batch of students, including those for whom this marks their inaugural experience at our esteemed institution. Recognizing the profound significance of the next four years in the academic and personal journey of these aspiring scholars, the Biomedical Science Programme orchestrated an Alumni sharing session on the 11th October 2023, held at the Clinical Auditorium.

The event featured distinguished alumni who generously shared their invaluable insights and experiences as former Biomedical Science students and graduates. Ms. Suzainur Kulop Abdul Rahman (Class of 2000), Dr. Wan Izlina Wan Ibrahim (Class of 2003), Ms. Norfazlina Mohamad (Class of 2004), Dr. Mohd Izwan Zainol (Class of 2009), Mr. Tan Xien Cherh (Class of 2010), Dr. Vanessa Lee Lin Lin (Class of 2016), and Ms. Nur Hidayah Nor Isamuddin (Class of 2023) graced the occasion with their presence.

Ms. Suzainur shared her remarkable journey as a medical writer, dealing with clients from across the globe, while Ms. Norfazlina recounted her enriching experience working at the National Blood Bank. Dr. Wan Izlina and Dr. Vanessa Lee both provided insights into their postgraduate ventures, delving into academia and research. In contrast, Dr. Izwan pursued a distinctive path, contributing to the convergence of researchers from diverse biological disciplines, fostering local biotechnology and life science research. Mr. Tan, although harboring aspirations to pursue a Ph.D., ventured into sales, specializing in promoting cutting-edge technology to support researchers. Fresh graduate Ms. Nur Hidayah shared her recent experiences as a Biomedical Science student, offering valuable advice on how she balanced her academic pursuits with extracurricular activities.

The bright and eager Year 1 “freshies” seized this golden opportunity to seek advice on maintaining a harmonious equilibrium between their studies and personal lives, as well as exploring the myriad career opportunities that await them with a Biomedical Science degree.

This enlightening session served as a crucial compass, guiding our budding scholars through the intricacies of student life and illuminating the boundless prospects that a degree in biomedical science can bestow upon them.

On 11th October 2023, both students and academic staff gathered at Centrepoint to celebrate high achieving students across the various FOM undergraduate programs at the Majlis Anugerah Dekan 2022/2023. The ceremony was officiated by Prof. Dr. April Camilla Roslani, Dean of FOM, alongside members of the Faculty Higher Management. A total of 152 students were awarded during the ceremony: MBBS Stage 1 (20 recipients), MBBS Stage 2 (21 recipients), MBBS Stage 3.1 (1 recipient); MBBS Stage 3.2 (1 recipient), Bachelor of Biomedical Science (84 recipients), Nursing Science (25 recipients).

Executive Chairman and Founder of Top Glove Corporations Bhd, Tan Sri Lim Wee Chai, recently donated RM2 million to FOM to upgrade our very own Medical Museum, in an event organised on 13th October 2023. Upon completion in early-2024, the museum will be bestowed the name ‘Tan Sri Dr Lim Wee Chai Medical Museum’. The donation will be used to transform the museum into a state-of-the-art interactive educational hub, as well as to rejuvenate existing resources, particularly the Anatomy Resources Centre and Pathology Museum, into more engaging spaces. Datuk Mohd Hamdi Abd Shukor, Vice Chancellor of UM, as well as Prof. Dr. April Camilla Roslani, Dean of FOM, were present at the event to receive the much-needed donation.

During the event, Tan Sri Lim said “My passion for lifelong learning, promoting healthy living, and advancing healthcare drives me to support this cause. I hope this donation will enhance the museum’s facilities, benefiting students and researchers and shaping the future of healthcare. It is an honour to be associated with an institution as esteemed as UM and am excited to see the positive impact the museum will have on the future generations of students.”

The Anatomy Museum was first built in 1964, following the establishment of the Anatomy Department in 1962. Since then, it has undergone multiple upgrades over the years until it was eventually transformed into the Anatomy Resource Centre in 2000. The Pathology Museum, founded in 1968 as a learning and teaching centre for students in the field of medicine, boasts the largest collection of its kind in Malaysia. The current upgrade will merge both museums into a unified Medical Museum.

The second FOM Inaugural Lecture for 2023 by Dr. Moy Foong Ming, Professor of Social and Preventative Medicine, was held on 17th October 2023. Her lecture titled “A “Journey Towards Health and Wellness” was held simultaneously at the TJ Danaraj Auditorium and livestreamed via the Fakulti Perubatan Universiti Malaya YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yRm86AWPs4. Dr Moy teaches Epidemiology, Research Methodology and Evidence-Based Medicine to both undergraduate and postgraduate candidates. Her research interests include Translational Research in the prevention of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the community setting, Workplace Wellness and the effects of lifestyle behaviours on NCDs. She is one of the World’s Top 2 % Scientists in the Stanford University’s list (2019, 2020, 2021 & 2022). Her expertise in obesity research is ranked top 2.8% among published authors worldwide on Obesity from 2010 through 2021 (ExpertScape).

In an insightful virtual seminar organized by the Journal Club @ Department of Parasitology, participants had the privilege of hearing from the distinguished Prof. Datin Dr. Indra Vythilingam on the pressing issue of the increasing incidence of dengue. The seminar, held on 18th October 2023, from 12 pm to 1 pm, delved into the complexities of dengue and explored potential reasons behind its upward trajectory.

Prof. Vythilingam commenced the session with a comprehensive overview of Dengue, providing participants with a thorough understanding of the disease and its vectors. She highlighted the critical role that mosquitoes, particularly Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, play in the transmission of dengue.

A significant portion of the seminar was dedicated to the current vector control strategies employed to combat the spread of dengue. Prof.Indra, however, expressed her concerns regarding the effectiveness of these strategies, emphasizing their limitations in curbing the escalating numbers of dengue cases. She argued that a more proactive and integrated approach to vector control is imperative in addressing the challenges posed by dengue. She stressed the need for collaboration between various stakeholders, including public health authorities, researchers, and the community, to implement integrated vector management strategies effectively.

The seminar attracted a diverse audience, with approximately 50 participants in attendance. The virtual platform allowed for a seamless exchange of ideas and information among attendees, creating a dynamic learning environment. The session concluded with a thought-provoking Q&A session, during which participants engaged in a lively discussion with Prof. Indra. Attendees raised burning questions about the feasibility and implementation of the proposed integrated vector control strategies, leading to valuable insights and perspectives.

The Journal Club @ Department of Parasitology succeeded in providing a platform for knowledge dissemination and collaborative discussion on a matter of significant public health concern. The seminar served as a catalyst for further exploration and research in the field, encouraging participants to reflect on the current state of Dengue control and the necessity for innovative solutions.

On 23rd October 2023, the Department of Anaesthesiology hosted delegates from Universities Sumatra Utara (USU) who visited FOM to learn about their clinical research and academic programmes in hopes of establishing a joint collaborative relationship. USU was first established on 4th June 1952, and now boasts more than 150 vocational, undergraduate, professional, postgraduate, and specialist education programs across 16 Faculties. The USU Faculty of Medicine was established in 1970, making it the first and oldest faculty at USU. It is also one of the best and most favoured medical faculties in Indonesia, ranking 11th among the Best Medical Faculties according to The Asia University Ranking 2022. At present, the faculty runs 27 medical-related and specialty programmes, with 328 academic staff and over 2000 students. USU delegates were also invited to partake in the World Anaesthesia Day celebrations at UMMC on 24th October 2023.

In the ever-evolving landscape of healthcare, the concept of informed consent remains paramount. On the 26th October 2023, MedHEU continued its commitment to fostering ethical discussions within the medical community through the MedHEU Clinical Ethics Grand Round Series. The session, titled 'Allow Me to Decide for My Father,' which was the final one for 2023, served as a platform for exploring the multifaceted aspects of obtaining informed consent in a culturally diverse society.

The guest speaker for this thought-provoking session was Dr. Ahmad Khairil Faizi bin Rosli, the Director of the Ethics and Law Division at the Malaysia Medical Council (MMC). With his extensive expertise in the realm of medical ethics and legalities, Dr. Ahmad Khairil Faizi bin Rosli brought valuable insights to the discussion.

The session was skillfully moderated by Dr. Chong Lee Ai, a Consultant in Paediatric Palliative Care at the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC). Dr. Chong's experience and knowledge in the field added depth to the discourse.

The session emphasized the critical importance of informed consent in the modern healthcare landscape. With a growing array of medical procedures and complex interventions available to patients, ensuring informed consent is not just an ethical responsibility but also a legal obligation for medical practitioners. It is the cornerstone of patient autonomy, enabling individuals to make decisions about their own healthcare. The discussion delved into the legal and ethical implications of consent, particularly in a cultural context where collective decision-making often plays a significant role. The session provided a unique opportunity to explore the complexities of navigating consent when the wishes of the patient may be influenced by family or societal norms.

As we move forward in an era of ever-advancing medical treatments and technologies, understanding and respecting the nuances of informed consent becomes increasingly crucial. 'Allow Me to Decide for My Father' served as a reminder that the pursuit of ethical and patient-centered care requires ongoing dialogue and reflection within the medical community.

MedHEU's commitment to hosting sessions like this, which encourage critical thinking and ethical considerations, contributes significantly to the broader goal of creating compassionate and informed healthcare professionals. It is through these conversations that we continue to evolve, ensuring that patients' voices are heard and their autonomy is respected.

In conclusion, the MedHEU Clinical Ethics Grand Round Series once again provided a platform for enlightening discussions on a topic of paramount importance. As we navigate the complex terrain of healthcare ethics, sessions like these help us better understand and uphold the principles of informed consent, ultimately benefiting both patients and practitioners alike. Stay tuned for more interesting sessions for 2024 and should you be interested to present a case, don’t hesitate to reach out at medheu@um.edu.my

On a landmark date, EZON Group and Universiti Malaya (UM) culminated their mutual aspirations for innovation with the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) on 31st October 2023 at the Gallery Room, FOM. This partnership, emblematic of EZON's investment in renewable energy, was commemorated with a grant contribution to the Faculty. This financial endowment is designated for pioneering research into "Light Activated Energy" (LAE) technology.

Commitment to Sustainable Innovation
The alliance stands as a testament to EZON's dedication to pioneering sustainable advancements. With a contribution of RM185,100.00, there is an anticipated enhancement of research capabilities aimed at exploiting light as a sustainable and efficient energy resource. This initiative signifies EZON's environmental responsibility and their resolve to guide Malaysia towards a sustainable future. Universiti Malaya has recognized this joint effort with gratitude, underscoring the pivotal role such partnerships play in academic evolution and the tangible deployment of renewable energy technologies. The research outcomes are expected to be instrumental in advancing medical technologies, emphasizing sustainability and energy efficiency.

The resolve for collaborative research was highlighted by the presence of eminent figures, including Professor Dr. April Camilla Roslani, Dean of FOM, and Mr. Ikaxa Tan Chee Yong, CEO of EZON Berhad. The research endeavours will be led by Dr. Phang Kean Chang from the Department of Pathology, flanked by his associates Dr. Sharifah Zamiah and Dr. Alston Choong Wai Kwong, marking a formidable team in pursuit of scientific excellence.

The signing of the MoA has set in motion two primary research endeavors:

1. Safety Evaluation Research: This initiative is launched to conduct a thorough evaluation of LAE's safety across diverse biological systems, a step crucial for its future therapeutic application.
2. Physical Performance Research: This trial aims to investigate the role of LAE in enhancing human physical performance, a study that may introduce groundbreaking advancements in the fields of sports and physical therapy.

These projects will adopt a comprehensive and interdisciplinary methodology, striving to substantiate the hypothesis that LAE can resonate with human cellular mechanisms. This endeavour is speculated to disrupt hydrogen bonds in water molecules, potentially optimizing metabolism and health. The research is meticulously planned to test these theories, aiming for a conclusive assessment of LAE's effectiveness and safety.

The signing event was marked by a formal and progressive spirit, with discourses highlighting the significance of the research and its potential implications for the health and wellness sectors. The ceremony was a testament to the collaborative spirit that fuels scientific advancement. This event has laid the foundation for pioneering studies that promise to disclose the capabilities of LAE. The MoA is more than an agreement; it represents the shared vision of both entities to challenge existing scientific paradigms and venture into new realms of science and technology.

The MoA signing event between EZON Berhad and Universiti Malaya concluded with a shared sentiment of ambition and foresight. It marked the inception of an exploratory journey toward discovery and innovation, with the potential to carve out transformative avenues in healthcare and sustainable energy. This research, bolstered by an all-encompassing and cross-disciplinary approach, is poised to provide novel insights and practical solutions, contributing profoundly to societal welfare and the preservation of the environment. The ceremony is firmly etched as a significant landmark in the endeavor to enhance human life through the power of collaborative science.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a malignancy involving the colon and the rectum. The battle against CRC in Malaysia is a pressing public health concern, particularly given its status as the most prevalent cancer among Malaysian men and the second most common among Malaysian women. The rising incidence of CRC within the Orang Asli community adds another layer of urgency to this issue, exacerbated by many cases being diagnosed at an advanced stage due to the lack of early symptoms and subsequent poorer prognoses.

Participating in two days of CRC Awareness campaigning, first at the Pejabat Jabatan Kebajikan Orang Asli (JAKOA) Gombak on March 18, 2023, and later at the University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) on March 24, 2023, was an enlightening experience for us, the medical students. The programs, organized by UMHealth in collaboration with various entities such as the Faculty of Medicine, Hospital Orang Asli Gombak (HOAG), Malaysian Society of Colorectal Surgeons, Zuellig Pharma Sdn Bhd, InterVenn Biosciences, and Merck Sdn Bhd, aimed to impart knowledge about CRC risk factors, the importance of screening, early detection, and available resources for screening.

Our involvement in creating pamphlets and posters for these events provided us with an opportunity to delve deeper into the burden of CRC, sparking our interest in understanding the disease further. It was surprising to discover that colorectal screening is not mandatory in our nation, unlike some foreign countries, despite the significant impact of CRC in our country. Moreover, the lack of knowledge among the general community, including the Orang Asli population, was glaring. Educational talks during the campaigns emphasized the critical role of early detection in determining survival rates. Attendees were educated on CRC screening processes, including colonoscopy and fecal immunochemical testing. Prof April's insightful discussion on making the screening process more comfortable was particularly enlightening, potentially encouraging more people to undergo CRC screening in the future.

Beyond talks, various booths that were set up at the event venues provided additional information on the prevention and treatment of CRC. The presence of support groups like CORUM, managed by survivor-volunteer which aims to improve the quality of life of all those affected by colorectal cancer, shed light on how early detection and treatment can significantly impact mortality rates, offering insights into the changes in lifestyle after a CRC diagnosis. Collaborative efforts, such as those seen in the dental booth, free health screenings, and the organ donation booth, demonstrated how multiple organizations can join forces to promote overall health within communities. This was also a message to us the future doctors, on the need for doctors and other professionals to put emphasis on community engagement not only in reducing the incidence of colorectal cancer, also in promoting general health to the community. As part of our involvement in these awareness campaigns, we implemented the Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) questionnaire for CRC, gaining practical experience in explaining signs and symptoms in layman's terms—a crucial skill for our future roles as doctors. Additionally, conducting lucky draws added a fun and engaging dimension to the event which attracted more people to visit the booths.

Reflecting on the campaign, student volunteer Hureen Zulaikha binti Zulkiflee deemed it a successful collaboration among stakeholders, effectively raising awareness, educating the community, and promoting early detection of colorectal cancer. Acknowledging the importance of such events in the fight against cancer, we, the medical student volunteers, are eager to participate in more initiatives to better prepare ourselves for our future roles as doctors. We hope that these events will garner increased attention and support from the public, contributing to the mission of reducing the incidence of colorectal cancer and improving overall community health.

On 2nd November 2023, delegates from the Institute of Health Sciences Strada (Indonesia) visited FOM as part of their benchmarking exercise for their postgraduate programmes. This exercise was held over two weeks across various universities in both Malaysia and Singapore. At present, IHSI Strada is the only Health Campus in East Java that offers a Doctoral Program in Public Health. This exercise will enable IHSI Strada to develop more up-to-date postgraduate programmes to cater to the needs of the region in the coming years.

The Dean’s Office recently organised a retirement ceremony “Majlis Jasamu Dikenang” in recognition of the hardworking and passionate staff and faculty members who have retired or will retire from their roles in 2022/2023. The event was held on 7th November 2022 at the Hilton Hotel, PJ to honour 26 faculty members for their tireless dedication to the Faculty and UM. The event was officiated by Professor Dr. April Camilla, Dean of FOM, who reminded the guests of honour that their contributions to the Faculty will always be remembered. Also in attendance were members from FOM Higher Management and the various Heads of Departments. Dato’ Prof. Christopher Boey Chiong Meng (Department of Paediatrics), the nominated representative for the retirees, also shared his fond memories of working in FOM, along with his future plans for his golden years. As guests dined, they were entertained by five musical performances by two of FOM’s talented MBBS students.

On 9th November 2023, FOM welcomed delegates from the Guangdong Pharmaceutical University (China) to discuss collaboration opportunities and student exchange programmes between the two institutions. The delegates were greeted by Prof. Dr. April Camilla, Dean of FOM, as well as A.P. Dr. Vairavan Narayanan, Head of the Internationalisation Unit. Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, located in the city of Guangzhou, is a public university established in 1958. It currently offers courses in pharmaceutical sciences. Guangdong Pharmaceutical University is one of the three pharmaceutical universities in the country and the first institution of higher learning in South China to offer a series of pharmacy majors. It currently has five campuses in Guangzhou (University Town, Baogang, Chigang), Zhongshan and Yunfu, with 22 departments, 3 research institutes, and 2 affiliated tertiary-A hospitals.

On 30th November 2023, as part of the FOM Wellness Programme initiative, FOM organised the first-ever Zumba exercise for Faculty members. Led by Prof. Dr. Nahar Azmi, Head of the Sports Medicine Unit, participants moved to the beat of rhythm with Latin-inspired Zumba dance moves. The activity was indeed successful, fun and heart-racing, with more than 20 participants partaking in the event.

Deepavali, the Festival of Lights, symbolising the spiritual "victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance”, was celebrated at Centrepoint FOM on 21st November 2023. Guests who attended were dressed to impress in various colourful traditional Indian attires. They were also treated to various Indian dance and musical performances as well as scrumptious local Indian delicacies. The highlight of the event was the Jasmine Flower Tying competition, a tradition in South Indian cultures, whereby tying a string of jasmine flowers serves as a symbol of beauty, purity, and love.

On 26th November 2023, the MBBS Alumni Class of 1971-1976, led by Lt. Colonel Dr. Ashok, walked down memory lane through the corridors and halls of FOM, reminiscing about their times spent as students 50 years ago. The alumni were greeted by Prof. Dr. Ong Teng Aik, Deputy Dean of Value Creation and Enterprise, as well as Prof Dr. Jeyanthi Kulasegarah, Head of Visibility and Communications, who brought them on a tour to the Anatomy Dissection Hall, Clinical Skills Unit, TJ Danaraj Library and the Kinta Eusoff Research Centre. The visit ended with a social session over lunch at Synapse.

In accordance with the approval from HRH Tuanku Chancellor of Universiti Malaya, the 63rd Universiti Malaya Convocation Ceremony was held from 25th November - 2nd December 2023 at Dewan Tunku Canselor, Universiti Malaya. The ceremony for Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacy was held on Wednesday, 29th November 2023, which saw more than 1000 graduates from various undergraduate and postgraduate programmes walk across the stage to receive their graduation scroll. During the ceremony, Datin Dr. Chia Yook Chin from the Department of Primary Care Medicine, and Tan Sri Dato' Dr. Mohd Amin Jalaludin from the Department of Otorhinolaryngology were bestowed with the title of “Emeritus Professor”. In the afternoon, graduates were invited to attend a more intimate appreciation ceremony at Centrepoint FOM to commemorate all their hard work and resilience in successfully completing their studies.

On the 30th November, 2023, the Medical Language and Linguistics Section of MedHEU conducted their fourth webinar of the Difficult Conversations series, this time the topic was on approaching families for organ donation. The webinar was conducted in collaboration with the Malaysian Society of Anaesthesiologists (MSA) and was endorsed by both the Malaysian Society of Intensive Care, as well as the College of Anaesthesiologists. The three speakers involved were Dr. Yap Mei Hoon, who is the Head of the Organ Donation and Transplantation Medicine Unit, University Malaya Medical Centre; Dr. Hasdy Haron who is the Deputy Director of the National Transplant Resource Centre (NTRC) and Dr. Charity Lee, one of our regular speakers, who is a Senior Lecturer from the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, Universiti Malaya. The session was moderated by Prof. Dr. Rafidah Atan, an intensivist from UMMC, who also represents the Medical Language and Linguistics Section, MedHEU.

As per the webinar’s usual format, the session started with a short introduction of the speakers by Prof. Dr. Rafidah; this is then quickly followed by an opening talk entitled, ‘Approaching families for organ donation - an important part of end-of-life conversations’ by Dr. Yap Mei Hoon. During this talk, Dr. Yap first touched on the current state of organ transplantation in Malaysia, the numbers of which remained poor despite the excellent efforts by NTRC and all other parties involved. Dr. Yap then went on to describe the basic recommended structure of how the conversation should be approached including its timing in relation to brain death testing. After the format or structure has been shared, the speakers then proceeded to the scenario and role-playing session.

Two scenarios were role-played by Dr. Yap MH and Dr. Hasdy, both of which demonstrated some common challenges that tend to emerge during these conversations. These include difficulty in understanding the concept of brain death, dealing with requests to defer brain death testing, family declining organ donation due to uncertainty about patient’s wishes or family declining organ donation due to concerns of pain experienced. Both scenarios were followed by Dr. Charity’s input from linguistics perspectives. Some of the perspectives can be utilised as tips to make this difficult conversation easier and hopefully reach its objectives more successfully.

The webinar was well received with a peak of 112 logins including some that logged in as small groups.

The organisers would like to thank all speakers for their contributions and all participants who joined the webinar. A recording of the webinar will be made available on the MSA website.