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 27th 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 6th Symposium on the 4th 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:
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.
The 5th URICAS Workshop was held on 25th – 26th November 2019 at RIKEN’s Singapore Representative office in Singapore. The objective of the workshop was to facilitate brainstorming sessions and conduct critical discussions on the future of URICAS beyond the year 2020. The year 2020 will mark the fifth year of the URICAS program and thus, provides a good impetus for self-examination and contemplation. The workshop was attended by the URICAS principal investigators (PIs) from Malaysia and Japan. Also invited to the Workshop were several independent reviewers from higher institutions of learning from Malaysia and Singapore.
The review committee was tasked with evaluating the achievements of URICAS since its inception in 2015 and the future viability of the program for the next five years, 2020-2025. To acquaint the reviewers with the URICAS program, they were provided with a whitepaper detailing its history and collaborative efforts. They were also given specific terms of references (TOR) as a guideline to perform the evaluation.
Fruitful discussions were had, and many impending issues were critically scrutinized by the PIs while being overlooked by the review committee. Towards the end of the workshops, the review committee gave an ad hoc summary of their findings and recommendations. An official report was prepared by the review committee and presented to the Vice-Chancellor of USM, Prof. Dr. Faisal Rafiq Mahamd Adikan and the President of RIKEN, Dr. Hiroshi Matsumoto on 14th January 2020.
To download a copy of the report, please click on this link.
