Internship Led to Employment at Research Based Pharmaceutical Company

Rayce Lim Rui Chi joined IMU in 2015 to begin her studies in pharmaceutical chemistry. Three years later, she graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from IMU. She was given the opportunity to go through rotations in two departments, Novugen Analytical R&D Department and Oncogen Formulation Analytical Development (Advanced Analytical Technology Lab) within the 6 months of internship during her studies at IMU. Oncogen Pharma (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd is a research based pharmaceutical company which has an interest in cancer treatments while Novugen Pharma is a research based pharmaceutical company which develops generic medicines for regulated and semi-regulated markets. Seeing her potential in this industry, her diligence and dedication to her work during the internship, her supervisor decided to offer her a permanent position in the company.

Rayce tells us more about the internship here.
“During the first three months, I was assigned to assist scientists in performing analysis such as UV scanning, HPLC analysis, water content determination and dissolution of tablets. Besides that, the attachment requires me to learn more about the department: the department as a whole, reading and designing of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and being involved in hands-on experiments. I was so lucky to work with one of the most knowledgeable supervisors in Advanced Analytical Technology Lab, Praveen Chappa; he taught me a lot on X-ray Diffraction, Differential Scanning Calorimeter, Thermogravimetric Analyser, Vapour Sorption Analyser and Particle Size Distribution Analyser Instrument. In addition, I was given the opportunity to operate and take responsibility of all these advanced technology instruments which I’d never dreamt of. My major task of this training was to master the PXRD (Powder X-Ray Diffraction) technique. I had the opportunity to explore and perform polymorph study by using PXRD to identify and characterise the polymorph, monitor the stability of samples, perform method development of samples. Besides that, I was also involved in a method development where I had to develop a measurement procedure to be able to quantify a given polymorph and detect its presence with very low detection (in the range of 0.05 to 3%). After a lot of trial and error, I’m able to finalise the procedure of measurement and sample preparation to obtain a persistent and reproducible results. Upon completion of this training, I realised that IMU has prepared me with the fundamental knowledge of science and skills. Now, it is up to me to incorporate the scientific knowledge into the workplace and to continuously read so I would be up-to-date with the latest technology. The Pharmaceutical Chemistry programme not only equipped me with theories and practical skills but also soft skills such as multi-tasking and stress management. This internship has been a good learning experience for me; it allowed me to find out what my strengths and weaknesses are; I also gained new knowledge and skills and met many new people. In order to prepare myself for my future career, I now know the areas where I need to improve. I will need to work on my communication skills so that I am able to present and express myself more confidently.”

Rayce tells us more about the internship here.

“During the first three months, I was assigned to assist scientists in performing analysis such as UV scanning, HPLC analysis, water content determination and dissolution of tablets. Besides that, the attachment requires me to learn more about the department: the department as a whole, reading and designing of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and being involved in hands-on experiments. I was so lucky to work with one of the most knowledgeable supervisors in Advanced Analytical Technology Lab, Praveen Chappa; he taught me a lot on X-ray Diffraction, Differential Scanning Calorimeter, Thermogravimetric Analyser, Vapour Sorption Analyser and Particle Size Distribution Analyser Instrument. In addition, I was given the opportunity to operate and take responsibility of all these advanced technology instruments which I’d never dreamt of. My major task of this training was to master the PXRD (Powder X-Ray Diffraction) technique. I had the opportunity to explore and perform polymorph study by using PXRD to identify and characterise the polymorph, monitor the stability of samples, perform method development of samples. Besides that, I was also involved in a method development where I had to develop a measurement procedure to be able to quantify a given polymorph and detect its presence with very low detection (in the range of 0.05 to 3%). After a lot of trial and error, I’m able to finalise the procedure of measurement and sample preparation to obtain a persistent and reproducible results. Upon completion of this training, I realised that IMU has prepared me with the fundamental knowledge of science and skills. Now, it is up to me to incorporate the scientific knowledge into the workplace and to continuously read so I would be up-to-date with the latest technology. The Pharmaceutical Chemistry programme not only equipped me with theories and practical skills but also soft skills such as multi-tasking and stress management. This internship has been a good learning experience for me; it allowed me to find out what my strengths and weaknesses are; I also gained new knowledge and skills and met many new people. In order to prepare myself for my future career, I now know the areas where I need to improve. I will need to work on my communication skills so that I am able to present and express myself more confidently.”