SUNDAY STAR, 25 SEPTEMBER 2016

INNOVATIONS MALAYSIA

Research advancements
and achievements
THE International Medical University (IMU)
regards research as an integral component
of its academic and scholarly activities.
There has been significant progress since
IMU started its research more than 15 years
ago, as indicated by the increased number
of publications, postgraduate students and
external grants received.
Its funding sources are mainly from the
Higher Education Ministry and Ministry of
Science, Technology and Innovation (Mosti).
Substantial amount of funding also
comes from the industry (such as food
companies) and research foundations,
including the Ranjeet Bhagwan Singh
Research Grant, MAKNA Research Grant
and Malaysia Toray Science Foundation
Grant.
There is also generous support of internal
funding amounting to RM1.5mil per year to
support research, with an additional
RM1.5mil annually for equipment and
infrastructure.
The Institute for Research, Development

and Innovation (IRDI) of IMU was

established in September 2012 to ensure
sustainability in research and bring it to a
higher level by realigning the research
direction of the university.

Thrust areas
Four major thrust areas of research
have been identified: environmental and
population health, bioactive molecules
and drug discovery, cancer and stem cell
research, and health professional education
research.
In tandem with the development in
research activities, IMU aims to engage with
industrial partners in relevant areas to
strengthen its research programme and look
into the potential of providing consultancies,
specialised testing services and joint
research.
The thrust area of environmental and
population health focuses on diseases caused
by different organisms and their impacts on

Making nanomedicine feasible

NANOMEDICINE, touted as the future
of medicines, is an emerging scientific
specialty born from nanotechnology
and incorporated into medicine.
Nanomedicine involves monitoring,
repairing and controlling the human
biological system at the molecular level. It
offers unique opportunities for developing
new therapeutic approaches to diagnosing,
preventing and treating life-threatening
diseases.
There are two main branches of
nanomedicine organic nanoparticles and
inorganic nanoparticles.
Minor modification in manufacturing
processes can easily alter the biological
properties and biodistribution patterns of
nanomaterials, which may in turn affect
performance factors such as drug release,
metabolism assessment, protein binding
and specific cellular uptake capability.
During the manufacturing process, it is
not only the production of nanomedicine
that will be scaled up but the drugs toxicity
as well.
Therefore, the United States Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) has suggested
performing toxicity screening of the drugs
physiochemical characteristics through in
vivo and in vitro models.
Nanomedicine can help personalise
medicine to treat numerous diseases.
However, the nanomedicine manufacturing
industry faces four challenges lack of
biological understanding,
safety concerns,
regulatory concerns
and manufacturingrelated issues.
Current delivery
systems suffer from
major hindrances
such as rapid
clearance by the
immune system, low
targeting efficiency and
difficulty in crossing
biological barriers.
Hence, a better
understanding of
how delivery
mechanisms affect

intracellular uptake and the fate of

nanomaterials in a complex biological
network is needed in pre-clinical and
clinical trials before the manufacturing
process.
In terms of safety, it has been reported
that nanomaterials may contribute to the
formation of free radicals, brain cells
damage and undesirable penetration
through the epidermis or other physiological
barriers into areas of the body that are
more susceptible to toxic effects.
Thus, establishment of standards and
testing protocols to benchmark the
development of nanomedicines are essential
before products can be safely administered
to patients.
Another challenge faced during clinical
translation is a lack of knowledge in highthroughput in vitro screening platforms to
evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of
nanomedicine.
Inadequate standards and protocols for
safe clinical use and production scale-up can
also create barriers in public acceptance,
investors interest and commercial approval.
Lastly, a balance must be achieved in the
scalability of nanomedicines with demand,
product functionality and physiochemical
properties.
While many developed nanomedicines in
pre-clinical trials have shown positive
effects in their delivery, there are still many
issues to be addressed before scaling up
production. By Hii Yii Siang and Dr
Stephanie Chan
Hii is a recent
chemical engineering
graduate. Dr Chan
is a senior lecturer
of petroleum
engineering at
Curtin University,
Sarawak Malaysias
Faculty of
Engineering and
Science.

n For more

information, visit
www.curtin.edu.my.

IMUs four major thrust areas

of research are environmental
and population health, bioactive
molecules and drug discovery,
cancer and stem cell research,
and health professional education
research.
human beings and the environment.
Studies on airborne organisms such as
algae, parasites, fungi, bacteria and dust
mites are of particular interest as they have
been implicated as agents that cause diseases
such as asthma, rhinitis eczema and sick
building syndrome.
Poor indoor air quality may lead to sick
building syndrome, a condition when
building occupants experience adverse
health effects (such as cough and headache).
Researchers at IMU have recently
reported the occurrence of the parasite,
Acanthomoeba, in the ventilation system of
office buildings and found that there may be
higher risk of sick buiding syndrome among
building occupants with the detection of the
parasite.
Published in the Industrial Health journal
this year, the findings have significant
practical implications as in addition to other
traditional parameters, the detection of
Acanthomoeba may need to be included in
the current practice of assessing indoor air
quality.
At IMU, there has also been active
research on using algae to monitor and
assess the toxicity of environmental
pollutants such as pesticides, heavy
metals and pharmaceuticals.
Researchers of IMU have also ventured
into polar research, where the main area of
interest is assessing the effects of heavy
metal pollution on microorganisms collected
from Antarctica.
The primary aim of the project is to study
how the Antarctic microorganisms respond
to heavy metal pollutants compared to
tropical species.
Nutrition is one of the main areas in
population health research at IMU to
correlate nutrition status with various
diseases. For instance, there is an ongoing
project that investigates how sun exposure
affects parathyroid hormone response to
serum vitamin D in the Malaysian
population.
The main focus areas of cancer and stem
cell research are in fundamental cancer
biology research, early-stage drug discovery
and therapeutic cancer vaccines.
With eight million people worldwide
succumbing to cancer each year, there is an
urgency for relevant cancer research. This
thrust area is working towards investigating
the underlying mechanisms involved in the
progression of normal cells to cancerous
cells.
The IMU team aims to obtain new insights
into cancer treatment using various drugs
and vaccines. Ultimately, the findings may be
translated into improved cancer prevention,
diagnosis, treatment and survivorship.
At IMU, there is interest in various types of

cancer, including breast cancer,

nasopharyngeal cancer and lung cancer.
In another line of development, there is also
interest in stem cell research at IMU.
Stem cells are cells that could differentiate
and give rise to specialised cells in organs
such as the brain, heart and pancreas. Thus,
stem cell therapies are useful in the
treatment of any disease involving tissue
degeneration.
Research at IMU has demonstrated the
potential use of stem cells to regenerate
diseased heart cells. There are also ongoing
studies that aim to culture neural stem cells.
In relation to the thrust area of bioactive
molecules and drug discovery, researchers at
IMU have been exploring a diverse range of
organisms for bioactive compounds.
Malaysia is endowed with potential
sources of bioactive compounds that could
lead to the discovery of new drugs. These
bioresources include microorganisms such
as bacteria, algae and fungi, medicinal
plants, noni fruits, palm oil and ginger.
Researchers at IMU have been screening
these organisms for potential bioactive
molecules with anti-inflammatory,
anticancer and antioxidant effects.
Another area of interest is to investigate
how drug delivery to the human body can
achieve optimal therapeutic effect.
Last but not least, the focus of health
professional education research is on
various aspects related to teaching and
learning in the health professions, including
medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and nursing.
The findings from such research activities
will contribute to improving the delivery and
raising the standard of health education.
IMU aspires to achieve excellence in
research, which is crucial in driving teaching
and learning activities in all its
undergraduate and postgraduate
programmes. With a clear direction and
strategy in place, IMU aims to bring research
to a higher level.

n For more information,

visit www.imu.edu.my.

Ongoing research is
a crucial component
to IMU's academic
activities.

2 Innovations Malaysia

SUNDAY STAR, 25 SEPTEMBER 2016

Contributing to society
FROM the development of
vaccines to advanced CT scanners
and rocket fuel, the modern world
would not be where it is today
without the significant
contributions from universities. As
such, higher education institutions
have to continue to push the
boundaries of knowledge not only
by discovering new theories and
concepts but by introducing
technologies and ideas that will be
beneficial to the public.
At Universiti Tenaga Nasional
(Uniten), research excellence and
innovation is intertwined in its
teaching and training. In addition
to moulding knowledgeable and
competent professionals as well as
well-rounded individuals with
broad intellectual outlook, the
university promotes research and
innovation through three
academic branches the
Innovation and Research
Management Centre (iRMC),
Uniten Research and Development
(URND) Sdn Bhd and Uniten
Institute of Professional
Advancement (INSPA).
Prof Ir Dr Lariyah Mohd Sidek,
director of iRMC, explains the
importance of each division.
Research excellence represents a
big agenda at Uniten, carried out
through academic research,
consultancy services and short
courses. The iRMC is responsible
to assist staff in acquiring and
managing research grants from
local and international funding
agencies plus scholarly publication
and commercialising research
output.

URND is responsible to assist

staff in acquiring and managing
consultancy projects requested by
clients while INSPA manages short
courses and intellectual properties
owned by the university, says
Prof Lariyah.

More than an education

Recognising that innovation is
among the main contributors to a
nations wealth, the university has
taken pro-active measures to
ensure it remains at the forefront
of developing cutting edge
technology and products.
Prof Lariyah elaborates, Uniten
is setting up its framework for
creating talent ecosystems capable

of nurturing excellence and

leadership in research and
innovation.
Though these departments are
not directly involved in research
work, they function to provide
assistance to the various centres
of excellence and research
centres listed under the
university.
Tenaga Nasional Berhad as the
owner of the university
encourages its staff to embrace
innovation through the creation
of new value from intellectual
properties and commercialisation,
including the development of new
products, processes, devices and
materials useful for consumers or
society.

An illustration of the Tippin' Flush mechanism developed by Uniten.

Supporting new ideas

The university takes pride in
introducing its innovations and
actively participating in trade
exhibitions and competitions to
benchmark the quality of its
creations through individual
recognitions and the amount of
interest received from the general
public and relevant parties.
According to Prof Lariyah,
among the significant products
invented by the university is the
Tippin Flush mechanism for
toilets.
This innovation uses a tipping
point concept and applies a small
force to a container in the cistern
to cause a reciprocating rotating
motion for flushing.
This innovation reduces the
number of components in a
standard toilet cistern by 72%,
therefore minimising the
occurrence of common plumbing
problems such as constant water
flow and broken or loose toilet
handles.
The Tippin Flush is already
installed in numerous schools,
universities and residential areas
and was a silver medallist in the
Novel Research and Innovation
Competition 2015.
Additionally, the Genius

stormwater design software and

Mosquito Buster ultrasonic
humidifying system have also
been well received and
supported by agencies such as
the Department of Irrigation and
Drainage and the Health
Ministry.
Between 2010 and 2015, Uniten
has achieved much success in
taking its innovative ideas from
the design board to creating
intellectual property and
commercialisation. The
university has declared 131
copyrights, registered five
trademarks and obtained 10 local
and international patents.
The university has also filed an
additional 59 patents, licensed
eight technology know-how and
commercialised a total of six
products.
At present, Uniten is
experimenting on a range of
solutions to expedite a
prototyping facility to rapidly
build working prototypes for
initial market validation and
simultaneously aims to further
develop a number of products
that are expected to have high
commercialisation potential.

n For more information, visit

www.uniten.edu.my.

SUNDAY STAR, 25 SEPTEMBER 2016

Innovations Malaysia 3

Revolutionising
the world
INNOVATION is used loosely these days for
any little invention or idea that pops up.
The common understanding of innovation
is the discovery or creation of new ways of
solving problems through unconventional
methods, thus leading to a more effective
solution.
Innovation shifts the paradigm in existing
solutions and technology. For example,
ride-sharing services have changed the way
we move around and how we use our
phone as all it takes
is an app to get you
access to a car that
will get you from
point A to point B.
Innovation often
disrupts as it
offers new
prospects and
as such
catalyses
growth. Ridesharing
companies are
facing many
obstacles from
conventional
transportation
companies because
the concept pushes the
boundaries of what we know and
are used to.
Innovative services and products are first
and foremost duty-bound to be of use.
Although many scientists and innovators
would argue that innovation is driven
purely by passion, an innovation will only
get mileage if it has commercial viability.

Commercialisation creates the

momentum and reach as well as
evolution. Sales will also help drive the
work further, creating a need for updated
versions of the product and spin-off
inventions. Apart from the monetary gains
that come with commercialisation, an
innovation is not only about profit but it is
also about opening our ideas to the world.
According to the Global Innovation Index
2016 report, innovation is the
main aspect of economic
growth and governments must
strive to encourage more crossborder collaborations to exchange
skills and knowledge.
Innovation is never constrained to
one part of the
world. We are
constantly
looking for
ways to solve
our domestic
problems without
realising that the solutions
may already be out there
or that our knowledge can
be applied by many as
solutions to their own
obstacles.
To achieve this, national
policies and funding opportunities
should be open to more than just local
players, allowing for cross-border
collaborations. As the world gets smaller,
innovative ideas should not be mere
abstracts, but services and products that
will change the way we work and live and
ultimately make waves beyond
boundaries.

4 Innovations Malaysia

SUNDAY STAR, 25 SEPTEMBER 2016

Ideas that are

industry-driven
AS a leading research and development
university in Malaysia, Universiti Putra
Malaysia (UPM) has always been at the
forefront of innovation.
UPM works closely with government
bodies and private entities to challenge
paradigms and create new solutions for
existing industry challenges.

Greater heights
Assoc Prof Ir Dr Abd Rahim Abu Talib with the first multipurpose disposable safety syringe and
vacuum blood tube in Malaysia.

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Researchers from UPM, led by Assoc

Prof Dr Norhisham Misron from the Faculty
of Engineering in collaboration with the
Malaysian Oil Palm Board, invented the
e-cutter, an electronic cutter that can
harvest oil palm brunches and prune fronds
on trees as high as 25 feet (8m).
The e-cutter is powered by a generator
that is lightweight, efficient and is able
to reduce manpower in harvesting and
maintenance processes.
The e-cutter complements existing oil
palm harvesting tools and methods.
The device is an improvised version of
its predecessor, a motorised palm oil
palm-cutter known as cantas, replacing
mechanical tools with electronic devices
that are more economic and
environmentally friendly.
It is poised to be commercialised by JWR
Technology (M) Sdn Bhd with the signing
of a Memorandum of Understanding in the
near future.
Partnering with UPM, Malaysia
Innovation Hub has been actively involved
in the development of new innovations in
the palm oil industry.
One such innovation is the oil palm
harvester with anti-bruising collection
system. Built similar to a mini crane, this
machine helps to ease the harvest of
oil palm from taller trees.

Safe blood
A group of researchers led by Assoc
Prof Ir Dr Abd Rahim Abu Talib from the
Department of Aerospace Engineering
successfully developed a multipurpose
disposable safety syringe and a
non-penetrative vacuum blood container
or VacTube.
Both technologies are related to one
another where both can be used in
transporting and storing fluids, such as
blood for lab purposes, medical and
veterinarian use, and a host of other
applications.
The use of the safety syringe prevents
reusability, reducing the incidence of
microbial contaminations and infectious
diseases caused by syringe misuse. The
needle can be permanently disengaged
from the syringe to prevent syringe reuse.
On the other hand, the VacTube is a
innovation that uses vacuum technology
to draw blood into the
tube while releasing
air without the need
of a needle.
Both the
multipurpose
disposable safety
syringe and the
vacuum blood
tube are not
produced
locally
and

have to be imported.
The market size for the safety syringe in
Malaysia is estimated to be between three
and five million units a year. In the Asean
region, it is estimated to be between 10 and
30 million units annually.
For the tube, the market size is estimated
to be between five and eight million tubes a
year and 30 and 50 million tubes a year in
the Asean region.
Both the innovations were part of the
Master of Innovation and Engineering
Design programme under the Faculty of
Engineering in UPM and have been acquired
by Selia-Tek Industries Sdn Bhd through
patent purchase.

Deeper waters
Toxicity tests are conducted to identify
the level of acute or chronic toxicity in
chemicals, drugs and pollution.
Dr Syahida Ahmad and her research team
from the Department of Biochemistry,
Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular
Sciences have succeeded in developing a
time-efficient toxicity test kit using embryos
of Danio rerio or the Zebra Danio fish known
as the Danio Assay Kit an alternative to
other toxicity tests using conventional
animal models.
The embryonic development of the
Zebra Danio is similar to that of humans
but the difference is the time of embryo
development, which is 50 times faster and
occurs outside of the mothers body. Hence,
embryo assessment can be conducted
without harming the mother or the
embryos, she says.
With this ability, scientists can study the
effects of chemicals, drugs and air pollution
on humans from the foetus using Zebra
Danio embryos as animal models with fast
and accurate results.
What makes the Danio Assay Kit stand out
from the rest is in the Zebra Danio embryos
themselves that are bioengineered to emit
light.
The light-emitting gene from
bioluminescent bacteria was isolated
and inserted into the Zebra Danio genetic
make-up to produce a transgenic fishes.
The luminescent property of these
embryos allows scientists to run the toxicity
test efficiently and produce accurate results.
Results can be obtained in just three days
compared to conventional methods that may
take up to 14 days, which leads to reduced
research cost.
The Danio Assay Kit is now a commercial
product under Danio Assay Laboratories Sdn
Bhd, a start-up under the Innohub UPM
programme.

n For more information, visit

www.sciencepark.upm.edu.my.

Throughout the year

+603 2727 7450

start@imu.edu.my

www.imu.edu.my/pg

INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL UNIVERSITY

KP/JPS/5195/US/2, KP(JPS)/DFT/US/W03

126, Jalan Jalil Perkasa 19, Bukit Jalil, 57000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Aimin Fahim Abd Azid (left) and Dr Syahida Ahmad with the commercialised Danio Assay Kit.