Page 46 - Handbook Bachelor Degree of Science Academic Session 20202021
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Faculty of Science Handbook, Academic Session 2020/2021




                                                                Research Funds and Facilities
                     INSTITUTE OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
                                                                Research  projects  in ISB  are  funded mainly  by  research
                                                                and development grants from the Government of Malaysia
                                                                and special votes from the university. Our researchers are
               Biological science teaching and research in Malaysia can   actively  seek  funding  from  various  international  sources
               be  traced  back  to  the  early  days  of  1959,  when  the   such  as  DANCED,  CICHE,  Wellcome  Trust  Foundation,
               Universiti  Malaya  was  instituted  with  two  Divisions:  the   French Embassy at Kuala Lumpur, Japanese International
               Kuala  Lumpur  and  the  Singapore  Divisions.  The  Kuala   Research  Centre  for  Agricultural  Sciences,  CIDA  and
               Lumpur  Division  at  the  Universiti  Malaya  was  officially   JIRCAS for research and other educational activities. The
               opened  on  January  15,  1959.  Lessons  began  in  the   university and institute also provide a number of facilities to
               Department of Zoology and Botany on the 25th of May 1959   assist researchers in their projects.
               in borrowed premises until the Faculty of Science building
               was officially opened in 1961.                   Facilities for Teaching and Research

               On the 1st of April 1967, the two Departments of Zoology   The ISB has research and teaching facilities housed in 13
               and  Botany  became  one  as  the  School  of  Biological   buildings,  spread  throughout  the  campus;  two  sites  are
               Sciences  with  five  divisions:  zoology,  botany,  ecology,   outside of the campus. Within the campus are laboratories
               genetics and physiology. Eight years later on April 1975,   for  teaching  and  research,  offices  for  lecturers  and
               the School of Biological Sciences was separated into the   administration, seminar rooms and a small lecture theatre
               Departments of Botany, Zoology, and Genetics and Cellular   in the Rimba Ilmu complex. The seminar rooms and lecture
               Biology. The other two divisions of Ecology and Physiology   theatres are self-contained, with LCD, slide and overhead
               were managed by the Department of Zoology. Physiology   projectors.  There  are  also  specialised  laboratories
               was  discontinued  in  1978  while  Ecology  continued  to   dedicated  to  special  functions  such  as  microtechniques
               flourish  under  the  management  of  the  Department  of   (plant  and  animal  studies),  molecular  biology  (DNA
               Zoology. In 1980, the Division of Microbiology was formed   sequencers  and  other  related  paraphernalia),  scanning
               under the management of the Department of Genetics and   electron  microscopy,  water  analysis,  animal  house,
               Cellular Biology. On June 1st 1997, the amalgamation of   aquarium,  greenhouses  and  computing  facilities.  The
               these three departments led to the formation of the Institute   Institute  has  excellent  research  grade  microscopes
               of Biological Sciences (Institut Sains Biologi, ISB).   equipped  for  image  analysis.  There  are  also  drawing
                                                                equipments  and  a  laser  dissecting  microscope.  Ten
                                                                vehicles are available for field research and teaching. The
               These changes were necessary to cater to changing needs   Institute has also accumulated large collections of plant and
               and  demands  of  the  nation.  The  changes  within  the   animal  specimens  for  teaching  and  research.  These  are
               biological sciences reflect current global trends in research   housed in the Herbarium at Rimba Ilmu and the Zoological
               evolving away from basic disciplines of botany and zoology.   Museum,  respectively. Each  lecturer  has their  respective
               As  the  ISB  keeps  up  with  current  technological   laboratories dedicated to their research field.
               developments, we continue to document and unravel the
               rich biodiversity available in our own tropical ecosystems.   ACADEMIC STAFF
               This is because fundamental sciences form the bases for
               biotechnology and information science. Our philosophy is   HEAD
               to keep up with the latest advances in science and at the   Dr. Saharuddin Mohamad, BEng(Tokushima),
               same time not lose sight of the need for basic studies on   MEng(Tokushima), PhD(Tokushima)
               our  rich  biodiversity.  The  courses  in  our  degree
               programmes reflect this philosophy. More changes are to
               be  expected  within  the  coming  years  to  ensure  that  the   DEPUTY HEADS
               study  of  biological  sciences  in  the  Universiti  Malaya  is   Dr. Norhaniza Aminudin, BSc(UM), PhD(UM)
               geared towards meeting future challenges.        Dr. Yusrizam Sharifuddin, BSc(Wales), PhD(Swansea)


               The  academic  staff  members  in  ISB  are  involved  in  a
               diverse range of biological research areas. There are basic   PROFESSORS
               studies  in  taxonomy,  biology  and  ecology  of  plants,   Dr. Amir Feisal Merican Aljunid Merican, BSc(UM),
               animals,  parasites  and  other  microorganisms,  as  well  as   MPhil(Cambridge), DPhil(Oxford)
               applied sciences such as biotechnology, plant and animal   Dr. Jennifer Ann Harikrishna, BSc(Surrey),
               breeding,  screening  for  novel  products,  and  the   PhD(Cranfield)
               development  of  diagnostic  kits  using  molecular  biology,   Dr. Ling Tau Chuan, BSc(UPM), MSc(UPM),
               electron  microscopy,  computers  and  various  other  tools.   PhD(Birmingham)
               For  more  details,  please  refer  to  the  profiles  of  the   Dr. Mohamad Suffian Mohamad Annuar, BSc(UM),
               academic  staff  available  at  http://biology.um.edu.my.   PhD(UM)
               Some  members  of  the  Institute  are  actively  involved  in   Dr. Normaniza Osman, BSc(Iowa), MSc(UM), PhD(UM)
               research at Sungai Selai, the Endau-Rompin National Park,   Dr. Rofina Yasmin Dato’ Othman, BSc(Surrey),
               Johor,  while  another  group  is  active  in  the  National   MSc(UM), PhD(East Anglia)
               Antartica Initiative.                            Dr. Rosli Ramli, BSc(UM), PhD(Glasgow)
                                                                Dr. Saad Tayyab, BSc(Aligarh), MSc(Aligarh),
                                                                  MPhil(Aligarh),PhD(Aligarh)
               Objectives                                       Dr. Saiful Anuar Karsani, BSc(UM), MSc(UM),
                                                                  PhD(Imperial), DIC
               The  ISB  aims  to  advance  scientific  and  technological   Dr. Salmah Ismail, BSc (UM), MSc(UM), PhD(UM)
               knowledge in the field of biology, through the establishment   Dr. Subha Bhassu, BSc(UKM), PhD(UPM)
               of  research  and  scientific  links  with  institutions  in  and   Dr. Vikineswary Sabaratnam, BSc(Mysore),
               outside the country. In the process of doing so, we hope   MSc(Mysore), PhD(UM)
               that high quality graduates will be produced. These young   Dr. Zulqarnain Haji Mohamed, BSc (UM),
               men  and  women  will  play  important  roles  in  the   PhD(Aberdeen)
               development of our nation and the world in the future.



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