Chemistry is the central of science. Our lives depend upon the intricate and coordinated chemical reactions. Indeed, Chemistry is everywhere. With that, students and faculty members of Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department, International Medical University had organised and successfully launched the Pharmaceutical Chemistry Week (PCW) with the theme of “Insight into the Phenomenal World of Chemistry” on 20 and 21 August 2022. The event was supported by Institut Kimia Malaysia (IKM), Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) – Malaysia Local Section, and American Chemical Society (ACS) – Malaysia Chapter as event co-organisers. It was conducted in hybrid mode at International Medical University. In conjunction with the PCW 2022, the Malaysia Schools’ Analyst Competition 2022 was inaugurally organised on 31 July 2022, which had attracted over 200 participants from many different high schools and universities across Malaysia.
| The launching ceremony was graced by: | |
|---|---|
| Datuk ChM Dr Soon Ting Kueh | IKM President & Chair RSC-Malaysia Local Section |
| ChM Dr Mohd Sukor Su’ait | Chair ACS-Malaysia Chapter |
| Prof Mallikarjuna Rao Pichika | Associate Dean (Research & Consultancy), School of Pharmacy, IMU |
The opening ceremony started with a welcoming speech by Prof Dr Mallikarjuna Rao Pichika (shown in the photo above), followed by Dr Soon Ting Kueh and lastly by Dr Mohd Sukor Su’ait.
After the speech, the PC Week committees from cohorts PC220 and PC221 also had brought about wonderful opening performances. This includes a dance entitled “lab rules”.
As a chemist, students enjoy working in the laboratory and performing different interesting experiments. The laboratory sessions provide them the experimental foundation to verify theoretical concepts and enable them to develop hands-on, analytical, problem-solving and critical-thinking skills.
Nevertheless, there are laboratory rules to be adhered to ensure laboratory safety. Thus, the students have creatively performed a dance to illustrate the laboratory rules.
The second dance performed by the PC committee from PC220 was “We all in this together!” The dance was planned and choreographed with the following rationale from the committee:
“The reason for most of us to be part of the Pharmaceutical Chemistry Week Organising Committee is to be able to work together as a team with our Seniors, Juniors and Classmates! We see this team spirit in our seniors! We want to stride on this spirit and the passion we share for Chemistry! Hence, we bring you this dance: We all in this together”. ….
In addition, there were various online activities conducted comprising interactive sessions, talks, and expert sharing sessions.
Interactive Sessions
The interactive team led by student, Lee Yen Mae from PC220 prepared many interesting activities for the interactive sessions. For instance, break-time MythBusters sessions and related videos were prepared to deliver fun fact knowledge to the audience. From such sessions, the audience had learned that certain metals, such as like copper, titanium, zinc, and nickel do have antibacterial properties, as well as carbon dating which is unable to determine the age of organic matter accurately. On top of that, the team also shared the eye-opening applications of baking soda in daily life.
What if I am a Forensic Chemist?
The interactive team had also prepared a quiz with the theme “What If I’m a Forensic Chemist”. Prior to the quiz, a presentation on forensic chemistry, and its application to crime scenes was provided to the audience. This was then followed by the quiz, of which the top 10 students with the highest scores were awarded with interesting prizes.
Alumni and Expert Sharing Sessions
The pharmaceutical chemistry alumni and experts of different pharmaceutical and chemistry disciplines from industry and academia arena were invited for sharing and live talks sessions in the virtual event.
| Title of Talk | Speaker | Moderator |
|---|---|---|
| What Can I Do with a Pharmaceutical Chemistry Degree? | Dr Cheong Kok Whye
Senior Lecturer, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, International Medical University |
Dr Ng Sook Han
Senior Lecturer, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, International Medical University |
| Pharmaceutical Chemistry (PC) plays a significant role in the discovery, development, and formulation of medicines. A chemist can be involved in the development of new methods and products, analysis of substances and so on. The work scope and career path for pharmaceutical chemists had been discussed during the talk. In addition, the speaker also shared that the PC programme at IMU is accredited by MQA, RSC (UK), and IKM. | ||
| Title of Talk | Speaker | Moderator |
| Role of a Forensic Chemist in Kimia Malaysia | Dr Saravana Kumar Jayaram
Pegawai SME, Bahagian Narkotik, Pusat Analisis Sains Forensik, Jabatan Kimia Malaysia |
Dr Low May Lee
Senior Lecturer, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, International Medical University |
| The role of a forensic chemist in Kimia Malaysia is to analyse illicit or poisonous drugs and revert the corresponding reports to law enforcement officers. The forensic chemists sometimes would be requested to attend Malaysia’s court of law to justify and give evidence om the reports submitted. All chemists in Kimia Malaysia are well-trained with analytical instrumentation. | ||
| Title of Talk | Speaker | Moderator |
| The Exciting Career Journey of a Chemist! | Miss Chang Lee Hing
Deputy GM, Quality & Regulatory Affairs, Xepa Soul Pattinson Malaysia |
Dr Keng Pei Sin
Senior Lecturer, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, International Medical University |
| Ms Chang Lee Hing has 16 years of working experience in the pharmaceutical industry and 10 years of working experience in the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry. Besides that, she also has numerous geographical leadership roles in Singapore, Brunei, and Indonesia. Her expertise includes analytics, quality management, operational excellence, supplier quality management, and talent development. | ||
| Title of Talk | Speaker | Moderator |
| Machine Learning in My Research in Drug Discovery | Mr Wong Yi Hang
Postgraduate student from Master of Science in Pharmaceutical and Analytical Chemistry programme, School of Postgraduate Studies, International Medical University |
Dr Wong Lai Chun
Senior Lecturer, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, International Medical University |
| Drug discovery is a time-consuming and costly process which could cost ~1.3 billion dollars to bring a drug into the market. Mr Wong’s project revolves around hit discovery phase, which is the first phase of drug discovery that aims to narrow down a large number of drugs to potential hits for further study. The target of interest in his project is MMP-2, an important enzyme that controls the degradation of connective tissues, inflammation, and cancer. He has applied machine learning, a computational strategy to predict biological activities of compounds and to identify potential hits, which could help reduce the amount of time and expenses incurred in drug discovery process. | ||
| Title of Talk | Speaker | Moderator |
| Chemistry Meets Commercialization | A/P Dr Juan Joon Ching
Acting Dean, Innovative Industry and Sustainability Science, University of Malaya |
Dr Chin Swee Yee
Senior Lecturer, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, International Medical University |
| Chemistry impacts our daily life and improves our life quality. Everything we use or we see in our daily life is about chemicals and can be termed as commercial products. For instance, cosmetics and toothpaste. The concept of commercialisation involves the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) which evaluates and determines technology maturity and readiness on a scale of TRL 1 to 9. The commercialisation process involves discovery, disclosure, evaluation, protection, marketing, licensing, and delivery. One of the examples of research and commercialisation is Li-battery. | ||
| Title of Talk | Speaker | Moderator |
| Insights & Opportunities in the Scientific Instrumentation Industry | Mr Lam Jun Rong
Chromatography Service Engineer, Perkin Elmer |
Dr Keng Pei Sin
Senior Lecturer, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, International Medical University |
| Mr Lam gave the overview on the roles of Service Engineer in the analytical instrument industry. As an alumni of BSc (Hons) in Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Mr Lum shared on how this programme has prepared him for this position. He has also highlighted the cellular imaging and analysis in tandem with informatics is one of the important sectors in instrumentation industry. | ||
Sharing of Experience from Student Organising Team
| Dipesh, Student Chair |
|---|
| Pharmaceutical Chemistry Week is indeed a very informative event organised every year with the aim of having a better reach to the students on what pharmaceutical chemistry is and the journey of a pharmaceutical chemist. Organising this year’s Pharmaceutical Chemistry Week wasn’t really an easy task since there were a lot of considerations to be had in the planning due to the COVID-19 situation! Thus, being the Chair of the Student Organising Committee for this year’s PC Week was one of the great opportunities that was given to me and all my friends. I am pleased to say that with all the efforts from the faculty and my committee members I can finally take a deep breath of relief as the PC Week 2022 ended successfully with a big blast. Thank you to all the participants who joined and made it a successful event. Looking forward to PC Week 2023. Cheers! |
| Cherlyn Cheng Chen Xi, Vice-Chair |
| Pharmaceutical Chemistry Week has indeed provided a great platform for the PC students to explore and express our soft skills. This is the 2nd PC Week that I have joined, and I was beyond grateful that I have grabbed this opportunity to be able to join PC Week again this year as the Vice Student Chair. What makes PC Week 2022 different is that this year the event was held in a hybrid mode, whereby there will be decorations, performances and emcees show-casting at a venue physically, while the participants joined us online. Throughout the journey, there are definitely ups and downs faced, but we managed to overcome them and further gain in leadership, communication and most importantly teamwork skills. Overall, I could say that the experience is indescribable and memorable. For this, I would like to thank the Organsing Chair, Dr Lee Choy Sin, the Lecturer Organising team, and of course, our organising committees for all the hard work and efforts. PC Week 2022 wouldn’t have been a successful one without any one of them. |
| Lim Yan Yin, Head of Programme – Opening Ceremony & Event Launching |
| I’m Lim Yan Yin from PC221, the Head of the Opening Ceremony and Event Launching. It’s my great pleasure to participate in PC Week 2022 as it is our first physical event since the pandemic. Special thanks to our wonderful teacher advisor, Dr Lee Choy Sin, for giving me an opportunity to get involved in PC Week 2022 as well as guiding us along the preparation phase and during the actual days of PC Week 2022. We put in a lot of time and effort to prepare and design the event backdrop, and it paid off. I am really honored to be a part of the student organising team. Throughout the event, I really enjoyed it much and appreciate this opportunity to improve my leadership and problem-solving abilities. I am looking forward to PC Week next year. |
| Lee Yen Mae, Head of Programme – Interactive Session |
| The PC Week 2022 was surely a great opportunity for me to enhance my leadership, teamwork, and event planning skills. One thing I enjoyed the most was that I get to communicate and engage with the lecturers in-charge and our pharmaceutical chemistry juniors. Throughout the planning, preparation, and execution of the event, I was certainly grateful to my teammates as they had been a great support in making our Interactive Sessions an exciting and successful one. Although there were some unexpected incidents during the event, it was still a memorable experience for me. |
| Tay Chia Pao, Head of Programme – Contest |
| I am delighted and grateful to be one of the committee members of PC Week 2022 as Head of Contest. This year, we have brought the Schools’ Analyst Contest to Malaysia from RSC, UK. Our team was involved in this contest from event planning to execution. I really appreciate all the efforts and inputs given by my lovely team members, interactive session team members and lecturers to pull off this national event. We, as a whole, have made the event successful! It was an amazing learning experience for me as a leader to brush up my leadership skills and teamwork spirit. I would say that it was a great experience for me in my university life. |
| Khoo Ai Jing, Head of Publicity & Event Promotion |
| First of all, a big shout out to all PC Week 2022 committee members and lecturers for making this a successful event! I appreciate the opportunity to be Head of Publicity very much, even though this is my first experience. Throughout this journey, I’m also grateful to receive so much support from everyone. It was truly one of the unforgettable memories I have gained in my university life, I would have regretted it if I was not part of this! |
| Nagaloshini, Head of Public Relations |
| Hi all, I am P. Nagaloshni Pragalatha from PC221, and I am the Head of Public Relations, Sub Committee for Interactive Team, and Sub Committee for Multimedia Team. I would like to firstly thank all my super supportive peers and to our lovely teacher advisor Dr Lee Choy Sin and other lecturers for giving me a great opportunity to enhance my leadership and communication skills through this programme. I really enjoyed the PC Week and the preparation phase. The best part of this event was spending most of the time with my friends figuring out solutions for our challenges to design and make this event a successful one. To be honest, the 1-month journey with them was short but still we created many beautiful memories virtually and physically. Really looking forward to next year’s PC Week🥳Thanks again to all participants for marking yourself available for this event |
| Foong QiRui – Head of IT and Technical Support |
| Hi, I’m Foong QiRui from PC22,1 the Head of IT and Technical Support. This is the first time I am taking part as a committee member for PC Week 2022. I would like to thank the teacher advisor, Dr Lee Choy Sin for giving me this opportunity and for all the guidance provided throughout the whole event. Apart from the technical support, I had taken part in other roles including the decorations and opening ceremony teams. Everyone worked closely together and made this PC week 2022 a successful one. I am grateful to our Student Chair who has been helping us out in the planning and execution. I have indeed learnt a lot from everyone in this event. |
