USM-RIKEN Interdisciplinary Collaboration for Advanced Sciences

USM PENANG, 10 December 2024 – The 10^th USM-RIKEN Interdisciplinary Collaboration for Advanced Sciences (URICAS) Symposium, held in conjunction with the URICAS Review Meeting, took place on 17-18 November 2024 at INFORMM’s Conference Room 1, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM).

This milestone event marked another significant step in the enduring partnership between USM and RIKEN, fostering scientific excellence and multidisciplinary collaboration.

The symposium also celebrated the long-standing history between the two institutions.
 

In his opening remarks, the URICAS Coordinator at RIKEN, Dr. Hiroshi Ohno  reflected on the journey of URICAS since its launch in 2015 as a five-year project under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) focused on aging science.

He noted that the 2019 external review recommended broadening the research scope, evolving URICAS into the USM-RIKEN Interdisciplinary Collaboration for Advanced Sciences.

“Time flies, and there has been another five years past. During which we overcame the difficulty of the COVID pandemic, and we now have another external review today,” Ohno remarked.

He expressed his gratitude on behalf of RIKEN to the reviewers—Professor Dr. Li Jun (National University of Singapore), Professor Dr. Norazmi Mohd Nor (Universiti Sains Malaysia), Professor Dr. Yoko Sugawara (Professor Emeritus, Kitasato University), and Professor Ts. Dr. Muhammad Rahimi Yusop (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia)—for their invaluable contributions to the review session.

Ohno also shared his hope for a bright future for URICAS, with continued success in fostering groundbreaking interdisciplinary research.

USM Coordinator for URICAS, Dr. Eugene Ong and USM Co-Coordinator for URICAS, Associate Professor Dr. Badrul Hisham Yahaya emphasised the critical role of URICAS as a platform to nurture Malaysia’s future scientific talent.

They highlighted its impact in enabling young academics and researchers to build networks with prolific scientists from RIKEN, advancing transdisciplinary research in fields such as life sciences, physics, chemistry, health, and medicine.

“While URICAS initially focused on aging science, it has since expanded into broader areas of advanced sciences,” said Eugene Ong.  

Both coordinators stressed the importance of inviting more young and senior scientists to join URICAS, especially alumni, encouraging them to reconnect and expand collaborations worldwide while maintaining the URICAS spirit.

Meanwhile, in her opening address, the USM Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and Innovation, Professor Dr. Habibah A Wahab lauded the long-standing friendship between USM and RIKEN.

Habibah highlighted USM’s support through matching grants, research attachments, and mobility programmes, ensuring the collaboration thrives.

She emphasised the shared mission of charting the direction for the next five years of impactful research.

The two-day programme featured presentations by researchers from USM and RIKEN, showcasing ongoing collaborative projects and introducing new studies seeking partnerships.

Young researchers were particularly encouraged to engage, reflecting the institutions’ commitment to nurturing future scientific leaders.

The URICAS Symposium continues to serve as a vital platform for impactful scientific exchange, bridging expertise and fostering innovation between Malaysia and Japan.

Text: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Badrul Hisham Yahaya & Dr. Eugene Ong Boon Beng, INFORMM USM/Editing: Tan Ewe Hoe  

Date: 18 December 2023 (Monday)
Time: 4.00-5.00 pm MYT
Webex: https://bit.ly/URICASeminar3

Program (4.00-5.00 pm MYT)
4.00 Introductions
4.10 Speaker 1 – Dr Isao Watanabe, Senior Scientist, RIKEN Nishina Center for Accelerator-Based Science
4.35 Speaker 2 – Dr Wan Nurfadhilah Zaharim, Visiting Scientist, RIKEN Nishina Center for Accelerator-Based Science

Date: 10 October 2023 (Tuesday)
Time: 4.00-5.00 pm MYT
Webex: https://bit.ly/URICASeminar2

Program (4.00-5.00 pm MYT)
4.00 Introductions
4.10 Speaker 1 – Dr Mitsuru Morimoto, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Laboratory for Lung Development and Regeneration
4.35 Speaker 2 – Assoc. Prof. Dr Badrul Hisham Yahaya, Advanced Medical and Dental Institute, USM

Date: 27 June 2023 (Tuesday)
Time: 4.00-5.00 pm
Webex: https://bit.ly/URICASeminar

Program (4.00-5.00 pm MYT)
4.00 Officiation
4.10 Speaker 1 – Dr Hiroshi Ohno, RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences
4.35 Speaker 2 – Assoc. Prof. Dr Tye Gee Jun, Institute for Research in Molecular Medicine, USM

Speaker 1
Dr Hiroshi Ohno
RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences

Title
Bacterial metabolite elaidate from high fat diet exacerbates obesity

Abstract
Although recent studies have highlighted the impact of gut microbes on the progression of obesity and related disorders, it is not fully understood how these microbes promote these disorders, especially in terms of the role of microbial metabolites. We have found that Fusimonas intestini, a commensal species of the family Lachnospiraceae, is highly colonized in both humans and mice with obesity , produces a trans unsaturated fatty acid elaidate, and consequently facilitates diet-induced obesity. Mechanistically, elaidate impaired intestinal epithelial integrity to promote metabolic endotoxemia. Our study thus provides a mechanistic linkage between gut commensals and obesity through the overproduction of microbe-derived lipids.

Speaker 2
Assoc. Prof. Dr Tye Gee Jun
Institute for Research in Molecular Medicine, USM

Title
Combined Molecular Adjuvant (CASAC): A potential adjuvant for peptide and subunit based vaccine

Abstract
Development of vaccines have come a long way and have been further accelerated with the COVID-19 pandemic. In light of recent advances with mRNA based vaccines, protein subunit and peptide vaccines still has its attraction especially as it is one of the most studied platform for vaccine development. However, the immune system has always highlighted the importance of immunogenicity of a vaccine candidate  whereby protein subunit and peptides are seen as low in immunogenicity. This requires the addition of an adjuvant which would then prime the immune system to generate the necessary immunological response worthy of a vaccine. We have developed an adjuvant named Combined Molecular Adjuvant (CASAC) which has shown to be able to generate humoral and cellular responses which would be worthy of further investigation.

USM PENANG, 7 March 2023 – The Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Institute for Research in Molecular Medicine (INFORMM) today held the 8th USM-RIKEN Interdisciplinary Collaboration on Advanced Sciences (URICAS) Symposium 2023.

The two-day Symposium aims to provide an opportunity for participants to learn more about the current challenges in advanced science research, focusing on life science and physics.

After a three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it brought together speakers, presenters and participants in a hybrid manner, combining in-person and Webex sessions.

Attending the programme was the Deputy Director of Research Creativity and Management Office (RCMO), Associate Professor Dr. Mohd Hazwan Hussin, who represented the USM Vice-Chancellor to officiate the 8th URICAS Symposium.

In his opening remarks, Mohd Hazwan said that in aligning with the vision of USM APEX to transform higher education for a sustainable tomorrow, it is hoped that the symposium will generate extensive and useful knowledge, while contributing to sustainable development.

“We also hope that the symposium will foster greater collaboration between USM and RIKEN researchers and provide a platform that would encourage and stimulate more intellectual discourses and exchange of ideas,” said Mohd Hazwan.

Meanwhile, RIKEN URICAS Coordinator, Dr. Hiroshi Ohno in his welcoming remarks said that he was very pleased that this year USM hosted the symposium physically and he hoped that the symposium will provide a new boost for the renewed URICAS in the coming years.

USM URICAS Coordinator, Dr. Eugene Ong remarked that the Symposium will be a useful forum as it did in the past with regard to research discussion, exchange of information and ideas on the different subdisciplines of advanced sciences, ranging from life science to fundamental physics.

A total of 50 participants were present on site (and many more on Webex online) and 16 presenters (8 each from RIKEN and USM) from Japan and Malaysia attended the forum, which is a testimony to the strong partnership USM-RIKEN has established thus far.

Presenters shared various aspects of research related to the main theme of the forum.

Also present at the symposium were the Director of INFORMM, Dr. Aziah Ismail; Co-Chairperson of URICAS Symposium, Assoc. Professor Dr. Badrul Hisham Yahaya; academicians, research officers and university officials.

RIKEN is Japan’s largest comprehensive research institution renowned for high-quality research in a diverse range of scientific disciplines. USM and RIKEN have been collaborating since 1995 and the partnership has been greatly strengthened through the introduction of the Asian Programme Associates (APA) in 2002 and International Programme Associates (IPA) in 2008.

These programmes have resulted in a flourishing collaboration between both institutions including the study of ageing science, and which have also greatly benefitted USM.

Source Text: Nur Farrah Ezlin Mohd Suhaimi/Photo: Mohd Fairus Md Isa

A webinar was organized by URICAS  on 27^th December 2021. The participants were invited to join the webinar via Webex video conferencing. Dr. Hiroshi Ohno from the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences delivered the opening remarks at the webinar and the welcome address was given by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic & International of Universiti Sains Malaysia, Professor Dato’ Dr. Narimah Samat. The first speaker,  Dr. Nobumoto Watanabe (Bioprobe Application Research Unit, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science) delivered a presentation entitled “Screening of bioactive compounds – Perspectives of the usage of ROS Inducers for cancer therapy”. The second speaker, Professor Dr. Habibah Binti A Wahab (School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, USM) delivered a presentation entitled “Modelling natural product for drug discovery – How effective are the models ?”.

URICAS held their 6^th Symposium on the 4^th of February 2021. Due to current situations, the meeting was done in a virtual set-up via WebEx. The event was officiated by Yang Bahagia Prof Dato Ir Dr Abdul Rahman Mohamed, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of USM. The meeting also introduced Dr Takashi Kawabe as the new director of the RIKEN Singapore office.

During the meeting, both RIKEN and USM delegates discussed on the past activities on URICAS and the current situation of both institutes as well as suggestions on “The Way Forward”. The discussion was a fruitful one where many solutions were suggested. The event closed with speeches from Prof Shaharum Shamsuddin, USM’s URICAS Coordinator and Dr Todd Taylor, RIKEN’s URICAS Coordinator.

In conjunction with this meeting, URICAS has organized a video competition specifically for URICAS Youngsters. Youngsters talk about their projects in 3-minute long videos. The videos can be viewed on URICAS Youtube page: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-PukhBko_pxGCagai2M5qBt4Bu8bFDck.

One of the main objectives of URICAS was to develop young research talents. Students selected for the prestigious IPA program were assigned a research project at any of the 10 RIKEN campuses in Japan to work under the supervision of a RIKEN principle investigator. Since URICAS started in 2015, we had 11 (6 short-term) and (5 long-term) IPA students. For this event, our previous and current IPA students under URICAS have prepared short videos to show their experience in both RIKEN and Japan. The videos can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-PukhBko_pyPxMrtSnAryTLvNUkcNJ9y

A series of webinars were conducted by the geriatric medicine experts at USM from the School of Medical Sciences in collaboration with URICAS. The main objective was to guide and provide solutions to the elderly on how to cope with the psychological stress and manage their existing medical conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic. At later stages, the scope of the webinar series was expanded to address other issues facing the elderly in everyday life. Experts from various disciplines focusing on elderly issues were also invited to conduct the webinars. The first webinar entitled, “Tip-tip positif untuk Warga Emas di musim PKP”was presented by Prof. Madya Dr. Asrenee Ab Razak on 23rd April 2020. The second webinar entitled, “Pengurusan Diabetes semasa pandemic di Bulan Ramadhan” was presented by Prof. Dr. Azidah Abd Kadir on 30th April 2020. The third webinar entitled, “Pengurusan ubat-ubatan Warga Emas di Bulan Puasa” was presented by Dr. Siti Nurbaya Mohd Nawi on 7th May 2020. The fourth webinar entitled, “Minda ketara sedar Warga Emas: berkasih sayang dengan diri di waktu sukar”was presented by Prof. Madya Dr. Asrenee Ab Razak on 14th May 2020. The fifth webinar entitled, “Penuaan aktif untuk hari tua yang lebih ceria” was presented by Prof. Madya Dr. Saidatulakmal Mohd on 28th May 2020. The sixth webinar entitled, “Pencegahan daripada jatuh dalam kalangan warga emas” was presented by Dr. Siti Nurbaya Mohd Nawi on 4th June 2020. The seventh webinar entitled, “Warga Emas dan Kesunyian” was presented by Prof. Madya Dr. Asrenee Ab Razak on 18th June 2020. The eight webinar entitled, “Amalan Pengubatan Selamat Buat Warga Emas” was presented by Prof. Madya Dr. Balamurugan Tangiisuran on 16th July 2020.
The ninth webinar entitled, “Penuaan Aktif dan Media Sosial” was presented by Dr. Nik Norma Bte Nik Hasan on 23rd July 2020. The participants were invited to join the webinars via Webex video conferencing; whilst the live broadcasts were streamed on Facebook.

To watch the recorded webinars, please click on the links below:

1. Tip-tip Positif Untuk Warga Emas di Musim PKP
2. Pengurusan Diabetes Semasa Pandemik di Bulan Ramadhan
3. Pengurusan Ubat-Ubatan Warga Emas di Bulan Puasa
4. Minda Ketara Sedar Warga Emas: Berkasih Sayang dengan Diri di Waktu Sukar
5. Penuaan Aktif Untuk Hari Tua Yang Lebih Ceria
6. Pencegahan Daripada Jatuh Dalam Kalangan Warga Emas
7. Warga Emas dan Kesunyian
8. Amalan Pengubatan Selamat Buat Warga Emas
9. Penuaan Aktif dan Media Sosial

On 25th February 2020, URICAS principal investigators, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Saidatul, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Badrul, and Dr. Eugene had a meeting with a Penang state executive councillor, YB Phee Boon Poh at his office in Komtar, Georgetown. YB Phee Boon Poh is the chairman of State Welfare, Caring Society and Environment Committee. The objective of the meeting was to initiate a collaborative effort between the two parties to help the elderly in Penang. The URICAS team presented a proposal report to YB Phee, which details the target location, proposed programmes, and its benefits.

The proposal was received very positively by YB Phee and he has pledged to provide his support for the programmes. He has acknowledged that the programmes are much needed and will be greatly welcomed by the aged community. According to him, the proposed programmes are also in alignment with the agendas of Penang Vision 2030, which heavily emphasizes the issues of family and community. He has also recommended that the URICAS team prepare a more comprehensive proposal report (long, short and mid-term programmes) and define the terms of reference (TOR) so that it can be presented at the upcoming Penang State Exco meeting in March 2020. 

A few days after the meeting with YB Phee, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Saidatul and Dr. Eugene had travelled to the Pusat Aktiviti Warga Emas (PAWE) at Balik Pulau to meet its representatives. The URICAS team was given a tour of the centre by the representatives. A discussion with them had provided more clues on the needs of the local elderly community, which can be incorporated into the new proposal report. Apart from that, the feedback gathered during the visit could help the programme coordinators restructure their planned itinerary to increase the target audience’s participation.