Soh Khai Xin: My Fond Memories of Studying Pharmaceutical Chemistry at IMU

My name is Soh Khai Xin, an alumna from the PC217 cohort of the IMU Pharmaceutical Chemistry programme. The journey of pursuing my degree in IMU remains fresh in my memory even though I have graduated 2 years ago.

Due to my never-ending curiosity in drugs and keen interest in learning chemistry, I decided to pursue my studies in Pharmaceutical Chemistry, which is one of the programmes offered by IMU’s School of Pharmacy. The programme provides useful learning resources and covers a wide range of pharmaceutical knowledge. Therefore, I am well prepared to work in a pharmaceutical company after graduating from the programme.

Moreover, project-based learning sessions, tutorial sessions and group presentations helped to improve and develop my communication, presentation, and problem-solving skills. Practical classes in IMU were also always fun and interesting. I was particularly fond of organic chemistry lab sessions whereby I had the opportunity to synthesize different organic compounds and purify various kinds of crystals through different techniques to obtain good crystal yield. Microbiology lab session was also one of my favourite hands-on experiment classes. It was impressive when I first did my bacterial cultures and was able to observe the different types of microorganisms through agar plates or under the microscope.

Apart from studies, I also made a lot of great memories from my extracurricular activities throughout my 3 years in IMU. I met a new group of friends, whom I spent time together and joined different activities, the most memorable one being the PC 10^th Anniversary. At this event, together with my course mates, the largest periodic table was made as part of the decorations at the event; I also participated in the choir performance during the ceremony. It is an honour that I was able to contribute to the event, and at the same time to create fond memories with my course mates. Besides, with the encouragement from one of my close friends, I had the chance to join the IMU Christian Fellowship Club; through the club activities, I had met many friendly members from different courses, which had helped me to improve and sharpen my communication skills.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, I managed to secure a job as a Validation Executive at Solution Biologics Sdn Bhd, which is involved in sterile manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines. I am mainly in-charge of equipment qualification, storage area and transport qualification. The knowledge that I have gained from my undergraduate studies, especially the topics related to pharmaceutics have been beneficial in my daily work. On top of that, I am also exposed to different good manufacturing practices (GMP) guidelines, training and audits which allowed me to understand the process of sterile drug manufacturing and justify all the GMP that have been implemented by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) auditors. This is indeed an extraordinary learning platform for me, particularly in the pharmaceutical aspects.

For my future plans, I would like to further explore and gain more experiences on validation aspects as I find it challenging yet interesting to perform relevant qualification studies to continuously comply with the stipulated good manufacturing practices.

My Advice to Juniors:

Asking questions and sharing knowledge with others are effective learning methods throughout our life. My special thanks to the supportive IMU lecturers, who always encourage us to ask questions and are willing to enlighten us should we encounter any academic challenges. University is a great platform for you to grow through success and failure. Do cherish all the resources available and utilise them to the fullest to prepare yourself for the future.