UTAR Science Postgraduate Students Won Best Poster Awards
UTAR students have made the University proud again by sweeping two of the top ten Best Poster Awards at the 34th Annual Conference of the Malaysian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (MSBMB) held at Prince Hotel Kuala Lumpur from the 7th to 8th October 2009.
The conference saw a total of 85 posters and 25 oral presentations. The two UTAR science postgraduate students who won the top ten Best Poster Awards were Yap Wei Hsum and Yeannie Yap Hui Yeng.
Wei Hsum's poster was titled Cancer Chemopreventive Activity of Maslinic Acid: A Pharmacoproteomic Approach Using 2D SDS-PAGE Coupled with MALDI TOF-TOF MS Analysis, and Yeannie's poster title was Site-directed Mutagenesis and Stable Overexpression of Alpha-synuclein Mutations of Familial Parkinson's Disease in Neuronal Cell Lines.
Wei Hsum is currently working on the mechanism study of cancer chemopreventive phytochemicals. She said, "My study focuses on the chemopreventive mechanism of anti-tumour compound maslinic acid, which is obtained from a local medicinal plant named Coleus tuberosus Benth."
She added, "The work I presented at the conference describes the molecular response of Raji B lymphoma cells to maslinic acid treatment using proteomics approach. The project is funded by a MOSTI Science Fund (2007-2009) with the title - An investigation of the chemopreventive mechanism of maslinic acid on PMA-induced tumourigenesis. I am grateful to members of my research group which include Dr. Lim Yang Mooi and Wong Teck Yew."
Meanwhile, Yeannie who studies the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease using an in vitro model shared, "I carry out site directed mutagenesis of the alpha-synuclein gene construct and transfects them in neuronal cell lines to investigate the effects of the mutations in terms of their aggregation pattern, cell viability, apoptosis and oxidative stress."
Yeannie continued, "My poster presentation showed the establishment and characterization of neuronal cell lines with stable overexpression of alpha-synuclein mutations of familial Parkinson's disease. The project is funded by a MOSTI Science Fund (2008-2010) with the title -Elucidation of the Neuroprotective Properties of the Cellular Prion Protein: Interaction with Parkinson's Disease alpha-Synuclein. I am also grateful to my group members which include Dr. Say Yee How and Choong Chi-Jing."
The 34th Annual Conference of MSBMB which was organized by MSBMB was held in conjunction with the 3rd ASEAN Biochemistry Conference. MSBMB was established in 1973 and is a professional body representing the biochemists and molecular biologists in Malaysia, in which UTAR lecturer Dr. Anthony Ho Siong Hock is currently an elected member for the 2009/2010 term.
MSBMB serves primarily in the organizing of activities that include technical workshops on basic and clinical biochemistry, biochemical education, specialized biochemical techniques and 'state-of-the-art' equipment.The Annual Conference of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology is an annual event of the MSBMB. The Conference provides an opportunity for researchers and students to present their findings related to the fields of biochemistry, molecular biology and bioinformatics.
This Conference is a significant and relevant platform for networking and knowledge sharing among researchers, scientists and academicians, to forge research collaborations and new business contacts.
Besides UTAR, other participating universities were Universiti Malaya, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Putra Malaysia, UCSI, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Monash University Malaysia, Gadjah Mada Universiti Indonesia, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak and Universiti Malaysia Sabah.
Photo and Caption
Yap Wei Hsum is all smiles beside her award-winning poster at the conference.
Yeannie Yap Hui Yeng (Left) and Choong Chi-Jing with the winning poster at the conference.