Three International Medical University (IMU) alumni returned to the University to further their studies at the postgraduate level (Masters). They began their journey at IMU for a medical biotechnology (MB) degree in 2010 and completed it in 2013, before going for their postgraduate studies. One of these alumni is Jeya Seela a/p Anandha Rao. She is currently pursuing her Master’s in Science degree at IMU under the supervision of Prof Ammu Radhakrishnan. Her project is about the DNA methylation patterns induced by gamma-tocotrienols in the CD4+ T-lymphocytes isolated from a mouse model of breast cancer. 
“In this project, I have to grow the mouse cancer cell lines, to be inoculated into the mouse, and to induce tumour. Gamma-tocotrienols has to be fed to the mouse two weeks prior to the tumour inoculation and continued till the end of the study. Blood withdrawn from the mouse will be used to isolate CD4 lymphocytes and DNA will be extracted. Extracted DNA will then be used to screen for the DNA methylation patterns.”
“In the project I am now involved, I have to do cell and tissue culture work together with animal and molecular work. Modules in the medical biotechnology programme such as cell and tissue culture techniques as well as cell and molecular biology module during my final year project have brushed up my research skills.”
Jeya Seela a/p Anandha Rao was interested in Biotechnology because it is a course that gives exposure to the technology based on biology where living organisms are being used to invent new product or therapy. Medical Biotechnology is a course that exposes us to the applications of biotechnology in medical field. She chose to study at IMU because IMU is one of the most established private medical and healthcare universities. The course structure of MB covered a wide range of basic biological knowledge and skills. “My best learning experiences while studying medical biotechnology included practical sessions, problem based learning and learning communications skills. Now that I am a postgraduate student at IMU, I have to present my research finding in research talks. The skills that I obtained during my undergraduate studies had helped me to present the talks confidently. During the problem based learning (PBL) sessions, discussion among peers helped us to improve our knowledge together with the communication skills and team work.” 
MSc in Public Health is the degree that Geethanjali a/p Rajasegar, another medical biotechnology alumnus is currently pursuing. Geethanjali feels that her MB degree had given her vast knowledge that enabled her to further her encounter in the master level. “I chose to do MB at IMU as it was the only institution of higher learning that provided medical biotechnology course and this University had maintained their high standards and quality of education over the years. The best learning experience I had in the MB degree was the variety of exciting laboratory sessions, business plan assignments, and also the educational field trips.” 
“Before I registered for my degree at MB, I had researched different fields of science but was only satisfied with MB. This is because biotechnology is now on the rising demand as it is a course comprised of several fields of science. It has pharmacology, research, quality control, quality assurance, biology, chemistry, maths, business management, plant science, animal science, physics and much more. This course has broadened the mind and sculpt of each student to enable one to manage many different modules at the same time.” 
Another postgraduate student who has a MB degree, Choong Siew Ling enjoyed the practical classes during her undergraduate as these practical classes exposed students to hands-on experiences, with interesting modules that strike students’ creativity, and the sharing of real experiences from lecturers. Siew Ling finds the scope of Medical Biotechnology broad and interesting, through which she believes have provided her with a better future in term of working field and opportunities. Having spent three years studying MB at IMU, Siew Ling feels that IMU MB has prepared her to have better analytical mind and to handle laboratory experiment independently.
