Page 41 - FULL 4.4 FINAL(1)

Faculty of Science Booklet, Academic Session 2020/2021

INSTITUTE OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES (ISB)

Biological science teaching and research in Malaysia can be traced back to the
early days of 1959, when the Universiti Malaya was instituted with two Divisions;
the Kuala Lumpur and the Singapore Divisions. The Kuala Lumpur Division at the
Universiti Malaya was officially opened on January 15, 1959. Lessons began in
the Department of Zoology and Botany on the 25th of May 1959 in borrowed
premises until the Faculty of Science building was officially opened in 1961.

On the 1st of April 1967, the two Departments of Zoology and Botany became
one as the School of Biological Sciences with five divisions: zoology, botany,
ecology, genetics and physiology. Eight years later on April 1975, the School of
Biological Sciences was separated into the Departments of Botany, Zoology, and
Genetics and Cellular Biology. The other two divisions of Ecology and Physiology
were managed by the Department of Zoology. Physiology was discontinued in
1978 while Ecology continued to flourish under the management of the
Department of Zoology. In 1980, the Division of Microbiology was formed under
the management of the Department of Genetics and Cellular Biology. On June
1st 1997, the amalgamation of these three departments led to the formation of
the Institute of Biological Sciences (Institut Sains Biologi, ISB).
The ISB aims to advance scientific and technological knowledge in the field of
biology, through the establishment of research and scientific links with institutions
in and outside the country. In the process of doing so, we hope that high quality
graduates will be produced. These young men and women will play important
roles in the development of our nation and the world in the future.

40