The Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS) organised an ‘Inaugural FMHS Scientific Meeting 2017’ at Sungai Long Campus on 25 and 26 May 2017.
Themed ‘Delivering values to the elders’, the inaugural scientific meeting aimed to bring together the four research centres and other research groups to hold this combined scientific meeting open to the public and a post-conference workshop especially for the postgraduate students to meet the expert researchers. The objective of the event was to catch up with the latest development in medical and health sciences and provide a platform for intellectual exchange amongst researchers and practitioners.
The plenary speakers for the two-day meeting were Assoc Prof Dr Wah Tze Min, Prof Chiou Shih-Hwa, Prof John Edward Joshua Rasko and Prof Dr Niu Li Zhi.
The other speakers were Assoc Prof Dr Devinder Kaur Ajit Singh, Assoc Prof Chong Kowit-Yu, Assoc Prof Dr Asrenee Ab Razak, Prof Dr Leong Chee-Onn, Assoc Prof Dr Crystale Lim Siew Ying, Dr Saravanan Jagadeesan, Assoc Prof Dr Barakatun Nisak Bt Mohd Yusof, Adjunct Prof Dr Goh Bak Leong, Dr Seah Lay Hong, Dr Tan Maw Pin, Juliada Binti Embong, Dr Tho Lye Mun, Dr Goh Cheng Soon, Dr Hazli Zakaria, Dr Lionel In Lian Aun, Dr Tseng Guo-Fang, Jeniffer Wu Mei Hsia, Tan Hongyun, Choo Peak Yean, Roslawati Binti Ramli, Assoc Prof Noran Naqiah Hairi, Maryam Maqsood, Prof Dr Nor Azmi Kamaruddin, Dr Farida Jamal, Prof Celia Tan, Prof Dr John Paul Evangel Judson, Prof Dr M Parameshvara Deva, Prof Khoo Suan Phaik, Prof Dr Yap Sook Fan, Dr Lim Yaw Chyn, Prof Dr Teo Soo Hwang, Jeythevan Partiban, Dr Chong Pan Pan, Susuana Kuek Binti Kamal Kuek, Dr Sherry Wang Xueying, Prof Dr Chin Kin Fah, Dr Tharumaningam M Muthiah and Dato’ Dr Tikfu Gee.
The event’s highlights include topics such as Aging: New Perspectives, New Challenges, Translational Stem Cell Research, Care for the elderly, New ideas in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Geriatric Physiotherapy, Geriatric Nursing, Silent Mentoring, Ayurveda/traditional complementary medicine, medical potpourri, cancer research, mental health and probiotic/nutrition.
In one of the plenary by Prof Wah, she shared her experience and knowledge related to Interventional Oncology (IO): The fourth pillar of cancer care. “With the ageing population around the world and a population with more cancer implies that we need to have doctors who are potential to be true leaders to lead the change for the future in the aspect of healthcare. Try to explore on why one would like to pursue in medicine and why one would like to specialise in some areas and to be a patient-centred doctor. This conference gives a great exposure for the students to get inspired and become a specialist in such areas and to continue to explore and learn as they grow,” said Prof Wah.
Apart from the talk, a poster competition was held to promote the students’ research work. Nguyen Phan Nguyen Nhi won the best poster award and walked away with a certificate and RM300 cash prize. Cheng Han Ping won the first runner-up with a certificate and a cash prize of RM200.
In addition, a post-conference workshop with the experts was held on 27 May 2017. Themed ‘Sharing Experience on Bench Research’, the workshop served as a platform for the students to gain knowledge on topics such as nanotechnology, cell and gene therapy, cell culture, forensic DNA profiling, flow cytometry, drug delivery, iPSC reprogramming and how to deal with microbes in the lab.
Prof Wah is a consultant interventional radiologist with special interest in both imaging and IO treatments. IO is now an emerging clinical discipline and becoming the 4th pillar of cancer care alongside surgical, radiation and medical oncology. Since 2003, Prof Wah has led and developed the IO programme at Leeds Teaching Hospital Trust (LTHT) specialising in image-guided ablation with an introduction to various innovative technologies such as radiofrequency (RFA), microwave ablation (MWA), cryoablation (CRYO) and irreversible electroporation (IRE) for a range of cancers. Prof Wah is one of the two main experts in the United Kingdom with a vast amount of clinical experience in renal ablative therapy. In 2015, Prof Wah led a team of national experts to form the IOUK group with the aim of fostering engagement and collaborative partnership with stakeholders for the future direction of IO.
