The School of Pharmacy of the International Medical University (IMU) organised the 9th International Postgraduate Conference on Pharmaceutical Sciences (iPoPS) from 21 to 24 June 2022, in conjunction with the celebration of IMU’s 30th Anniversary. The virtual conference was co-organised with the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tokyo University of Science (TUS), Japan and the Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Malaysia.
Since the first iPoPs in 2011, this conference’s main and unique objective was to provide an opportunity for postgraduate students to be exposed and trained in organising an international scientific and academic conference, besides its general objective of fostering the exchange of scientific knowledge across the fields of Pharmaceutical Sciences. It is targetted for postgraduate students, faculty, healthcare practitioners and industry professionals.
The iPoPS 2022 attracted 150 local and international participants who were registered for the 2-day main conference and 2-day post-conference workshops. The post-conference workshops had invited industry and academic experts in the fields sharing and providing training to the registered participants. The conference had also received the support of a great cadre of sponsors, Waters Analytical (Gold sponsors), Apical Scientific, Gaia Science, Laboratory & Scientific Enterprise and NextGene.
| Post-conference Workshop |
|---|
| Introduction to the Use of Python (Programming Language) and SQL (Database Query Language) for Health Data Analytics and Visualisation |
| Computational Structure-based Screening and Explicit Molecular Dynamics |
| Computer-assisted Structure Elucidation and Verification of Natural Products |
| Applying ‘Quality by Design (QbD)’ in Pharmaceutical Dosage Form Development |
The event was kick-started with an opening ceremony on 21 Jun 2022. The opening ceremony was conducted in IMU and live streamed to all participants joining the virtual event.
The iPoPs organising team had also prepared cake cutting sessions and cultural performances (as can be seen in the main photo above) as part of the event’s opening.
| The opening ceremony was graced by: | |
|---|---|
| Prof Zabidi Hussin | Pro Vice-Chancellor, Academic, IMU, Malaysia |
| Prof Miyazaki Satoru | Dean, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tokyo University of Science, Japan |
| A/Prof Shariza Sahudin | Dean, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia |
| Prof Mohd Zulkefeli Bin Mat Jusoh | Dean, School of Pharmacy, International Medical University, Malaysia |
Over the two-day virtual event, there were 6 plenary talks and 15 invited lectures given by eminent speakers from Malaysia and other parts of the world. The iPoPS 2022 has received many high-quality abstracts which will be published in Scopus indexed Thai Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
The scientific committee has shortlisted 35 abstracts for Poster Presentation and 30 abstracts for Oral Presentation under various categories (Medicinal Chemistry & Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Life Sciences, Pharmaceutical Technology and Clinical Pharmacy & Pharmacy Practice (including Pharmacy Education)) from all around the regions. The panel of judges evaluated the presentations and together with the scientific committee, awarded 10 Best Poster Presentation and 10 recipients of Best Oral Presentation.
Winners of e-poster Presentation (listed in no particular order)
| Lai Jia Hui | Repositioning of FDA-approved drugs as inhibitors of porphyromonas gingivalis gingipain k, a causative agent for Alzheimer’s disease: in silico and biological evaluation | International Medical University |
| Fatin Othman | Polygonum minus (biokesum) ameliorates cognitive dysfunction in chronic cerebral hypoperfusion-induced rats | Univerisiti Teknologi Mara |
| Bu Huye En | Synthesis of new eugenol derivatives and evaluation of their anti-inflammatory activity | International Medical University |
| Chua Bing Wei | Hydrothermal reaction vs microwave-assisted method in the synthesis of metal-organic frameworks | International Medical University
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| Fong Kar Wai | Antibacterial photodynamic activity and synergy of ruthenium(ii) complexes with polymyxin b/phenylalanine-arginine β-naphthylamide against clinically relevant bacteria | International Medical University
|
| Kok Jia Yi Erica | Preparation and characterisation of nanohybrid polycaprolactone / graphene oxide/zinc oxide thin films | International Medical University
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| Lee Zin Chee | Composition and variability of chamomile essential oils in correlation with their antioxidant properties in vitro: a chemometric approach using ATR-FTIR and NMR spectroscopies | International Medical University
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| Manisha Pandey | Development and Characterisation of Microparticles Loaded Suppository of Anticancer Drug for Colorectal Cancer | International Medical University
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| Then Yoon Yee | Preparation and characterisation of biofilms from chitosan and nanocellulose extracted from tea leaf waste fibre | International Medical University
|
| Wong Yi Hang | Identification of novel drug-like matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) inhibitors using machine learning techniques | International Medical University |
Winners of Oral Presentation
| Clinical Pharmacy & Pharmacy Practice (including Pharmacy Education) | ||
| Priya Manirajan | Effect of pharmacist-led educational intervention in improving knowledge, attitude, and perception of falls among the geriatric population | International Medical University |
| Dr Prashant Chandra | A data-driven approach to predict the length of stay and treatment cost in bacterial infections in an Indian settings | Manipal Academy of Higher Education, India |
| Pharmaceutical Technology | ||
| Chihiro Tsunoda | Effect of cyclodextrin complex formation on solubility change of each drug by intermolecular interaction of diclofenac and famotidine | Tokyo University of Science, Japan |
| Dr Arjunan Karuppaiah | Fabrication of gemcitabine silver nano conjugate coated with chitosan, a pH-stimuli polymer for targeted delivery: in-vitro and in-vivo evaluations | Karpagam College of Pharmacy, India |
| Life Sciences (Pharmacology & Toxicology, Biotechnology, Cancer Biology, Cell Biology and other diseases) | ||
| Jian Jin | Elucidation of how structural properties of DNA hydrogel-constituting DNA units influence the function of the hydrogel | Tokyo University of Science |
| Chotaro Onaga | High expression of SLC 20A1 is less effective for endocrine therapy and predicts late recurrence in ER-positive breast cancer | Tokyo University of Science |
| Medicinal Chemistry & Pharmaceutical Chemistry (including Nutraceuticals, Cosmetic Sciences, and relevant pharmaceutical areas) |
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| Azusa Kanbe | Design and synthesis of optically pure tris-cyclometalated iridium(iii) complexes via diastereomeric intermediates | Tokyo University of Science |
| Yuya Kurosawa | Increased selectivity of sodium deoxycholate to around tryptophan-213 in bovine serum albumin upon micellisation as revealed by singular value decomposition for excitation-emission matrix | Tokyo University of Science |
| A/Prof Dr Sadia Sultan | Microorganism-mediated derivatives of progesterone and anabolic steroids and molecular docking studies against tubulin alpha-beta dimer | Univerisiti Teknologi Mara |
| Dr Vutla Venkata Rao | Synthesis and biological evaluation 1, 5-benzo thiazepines as potential anticonvulsant agents | Chebrolu Hanumaiah Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, India |
iPoPS 2022 gave postgraduate students the opportunity to organise an international conference guided by School of Pharmacy faculty. The student organising team has gained invaluable experience and appreciated the opportunity given.
What did the iPoPS Student Organising Team Learn from the Conference?
“I am fortunate to be the chair of the iPoPS organising committee for the second time. In 2018, the 6th IPOPS was held face-to-face. In 2022, the 9th iPoPS was held online. Thus, it has exposed me to different challenges and allowed me to learn new skills. This time, I worked with new team members who are diverse and have different mindsets from my previous team. From this experience, I understand that teamwork is not a fixed skill set, but it requires empathy, and the ability to adapt must be tuned towards the team members’ mindsets. Overall, it was a pleasant and valuable experience that gave me the opportunity to further improve my soft skills.” –Mak Kit Kay, PhD candidate, Student Organising Chair
“iPoPS has provided a great platform for postgraduate students like us to organise an international conference. It was an excellent opportunity to join the committees. I was grateful to have my teammates around with me to present the best to the public. iPoPS 2022 was a big success. The sense of achievement, joy and excitement is indescribable. Looking back at this event, it’s one of my highlights of my time at IMU”-
Lam Ki Yan, MSc (by Research) candidate, Student Co-chair
“iPoPS have given me an opportunity to learn leadership and teamwork skills as the IT team lead. I always have no confidence in my IT skills, but I am thankful to have such helpful teammates who contributed their ideas and helped to complete the tasks given. Overall I truly learned a lot from organising this conference.”- Toh Jia En, MSc (by Research) candidate, IT and Technical support lead
“I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to participate in the iPoPS 2022 as a sponsorship lead. Throughout the event, I improved my communication and negotiation skills. Since the event was held virtually, I am responsible for creating a virtual platform for sponsors to showcase their products, which is quite challenging because this is my first time designing a virtual reality space. Therefore, I am grateful to the members of my team who offered their help when I was in a pinch. In short, I am glad to join iPoPS 2022 organising team.”- Pang Jia Chern, MSc (by Research) candidate, Sponsorship lead
“It was a fruitful experience participating in the iPoPS 2022 as the publicity team lead. It was also a cherished moment to have bonding sessions with the lecturers and teammates throughout the event. I am glad that I have taken the opportunity, which allows me to gain promoting and designing skills. It was indeed a wonderful event that I will never forget.”- Rachel Tan Yie Hang, MSc (by Research) candidate, Publicity lead
Student Organising Team for the iPoPS 2022
