Project1.qxp_Layout 1 11/14/18 2:42 PM Page 1 Vol.14 No.2 December 2018 Project1.qxp_Layout 1 11/14/18 2:42 PM Page 2 Table of Editorial ADVISOR BOARD DATUK DR. SHAHNAZ MURAD Deputy Director General of Health CONTENTS2 History of IMR (Research & Technical Support) Ministry of Health Malaysia 3 IMR Directors 4 IMR Throughout The Years 6 The Strategic Plan For IMR 7 IMR - INTROM 9 IMR - SEAMEO / TROPMED 10 Malaysia Herbal Monograph 10 IMR Research Highlight 11 CRC - A Detailed Look 15 12th NCCR 17 National Public Health Conference ‘18 19 Awards Editors (From Left) Mohd Zakwan Zainal Abidin, Sutha Muniandy, Dr. Norizan Rosli, Ms. (Dr.) Theyveeka Selvy Rajoo (Chief Editor), 23 Upcoming Events Dr. Tania Gayle Robert, Dr. Lai Wei Hong From THE DESK Dr. Nur Balqis Zahirah of Dr. Gurminder Kaur Norzawati Yoep Kong Yuke Lin ChiefMs. (Dr.)EDITOR Theyveeka Selvy Rajoo Ali The Institute for Medical Research (IMR) and Clinical Research Centre (CRC) are under the wing of National Institutes of Health (NIH), Ministry of Health (MOH) Malaysia. This print features the history of IMR and CRC. Readers will be able to learn about the history and contributions of each institute towards the expansion and development of healthcare in Malaysia. IMR consists of a storied history that dates all the way to 1900. Initially, as a centre for tropical diseases research, the institute has gone through several changes Dr. Sunita S. Hazmarizal Che Abdul throughout the 20th century and has emerged as the Komathi Perialathan Nurashma Juatan forefront of the country’s medical research and Shanmugam Hamid renowned for its tropical research and state of the art research facilities. Additionally, highlights regarding Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization - Tropical Medicine and Public Health (SEAMEO-TROPMED) Malaysia, Inter-Islamic Network in Tropical Medicine (INTROM) and Malaysian Herbal Monograph (MHM), which are under IMR, were elaborated in this bulletin. CRC established for past two decades to cater the need for clinical research in MOH facilities. To date, CRC expended to 33 networks based in government hospitals nationwide. Despite carrying out research, CRC also creates a medium to share and exhibit the research findings with fellow researchers, collaborators and industries annually through National Conference for Clinical Research (NCCR). This year CRC hosted 12th NCCR with the theme “Patient-Centered Research: Digital Health” together with 9th Public Health Conference with the event theme “Translating Health Policies into Effective Action” were covered in this biannual publication. Both events bring researchers, stakeholders and enthusiasts, timely topics within the field of patient centric research as well as signifying the pledge to utilise current policies on public health to produce significant results that will lead to the betterment of the health of society. Mohd Idris Omar I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all the editors for their contribution to this bulletin. I sincerely hope that the information and content in this NIH Bulletin will adequately commemorate the rich history of the IMR and CRC as well as acknowledging the contributions of the both institutes and instil a sense of pride and accomplishment in the NIH workforce. Project1.qxp_Layout 1 11/14/18 2:42 PM Page 3 It was the year 1885, following the resolution of the Conference of Berlin held in Europe to undertake activities promoting moral and material well-being of the History of native population and to explore the vast and unknown field of tropical medicine. The European colonial powers at the time namely the French, Dutch and English, moved almost simultaneously to establish new research institutions in the Colonies. In 1900, Sir Frank Athelstane Swettenham, the Resident-General of the Federated Malay States recommended the establishment of The Pathological Institute in Malaya to carry out scientific and sustained research into the causes, treatment and prevention of such scourges as beri-beri and malaria fevers. In addition, the institute was to serve as a research outpost for the London School of Tropical Medicine, established a year earlier in 1899 at about the same time as that of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. The area which will later be known as Kuala Lumpur was chosen as the site for the new Institute because of its central position in the Malay Peninsula. Sir Patrick Manson, who was the Medical Advisor through the British Colonial Office at that time, appointed Dr. Hamilton Wright, a pathologist at the London School of Tropical Medicine, to serve as the first director of the Pathological Institute of Malaya. During his first year, Wright spent most of his time planning for the new institute. When the buildings were completed, a formal opening ceremony was held in February 1901. The Pathological Institute of Malaya was renamed as the Institute for Medical Research, in August of the same year. The time was opportune as the country was beset by not only tropical diseases such as beri-beri and malaria, but also by dysentery, small pox, cholera, plague, rabies and other endemic, sporadic, infectious and contagious diseases. 2 Project1.qxp_Layout 1 11/14/18 2:42 PM Page 4 IMR Directors Dr. Charles Wilberforce Dr. Ambrose Thomas Dr. Allen Neave Dr. Hamilton Wright Dr. Henry Fraser Dr. William Fletcher Daniels Stanton Kingsbury 1900-1903 1906-1916 1926-1927 1903-1906 1920-1926 1927-1941 Dr. Arthur Thomas Dr. K. Sato Dr. O. Kimura Dr. Raymond Lewthwaite Dr. John William Field Dr. Thomas Wilson Happle Marsden 1942-1943 1943-1945 1946-1949 1949-1956 1956-1959 1959-1960 Dr. James Anandan Dr. Arthur Anantharaj Professor Dato’ Dr. Ungku Dr. Datuk Abu Bakar Dr. Ranjeet Bhagwan Dr. John Bright Duguid Chelliah Sandosham Omar Ungku Ahmad Ibrahim Singh 1961-1964 1960-1961 1964-1965 1965-1969 1969-1971 1971-1975 Dr. George Francis Dr. Mohamad Taha Datuk Dr. Lim Teong Wah Dato’ Dr. M. Jegathesan Dr. Ismail Mohd. Noor Dr. Mak Joon Wah De Witt bin Ariff 1984-1987 1988-1993 1993-1994 1996-1997 1975-1984 1994-1996 Dato’ Dr. Fadzilah Dr. Narimah binti Awin Dr. Lye Munn Sann Dr. Ng Kok Han Dr. Shahnaz Murad Dr. Jasbir Singh Dhaliwal Kamaludin 1998-1999 1999-2004 2004-2006 2006-2014 June 2015 – Dec 2015 June 2016 - Present 3 Project1.qxp_Layout 1 11/14/18 2:42 PM Page 5 Throughout The Years 1900 – 2017 Year Research Milestones Landmark Achievements 1900-1940 • Studies on beri-beri & mosquitoes • IMR Established • Studies on leprosy & melioidosis & • Mapped out link between beri-beri and thiamine deficiency influenza • Discovered cause and treatment of beri-beri • Studies on dysentery, leptospirosis & • First malaria control in the world (Watson) scrub typhus • Cancer noted • Studies on malaria vector • Clinical trial of anti-malarial drug • Studies on tuberculosis (TB) & typhoid • First described typhus and devised a simple culture medium (Fletcher Leptospira fever Medium Base) to confirm its diagnosis • Identified vectors of filariasis • Established Pasteur Institute in IMR producing rabies vaccine followed by small pox vaccine • Eradication of plague 1941-1980 • Studies on Bird Malaria • Eradication of beri-beri • Studies on filariasis control • Discovered a new staining method for rapid identification of malarial parasites using • Research on drugs [antibiotics, thick blood films for malaria diagnosis antimalarial drugs (chloroquine & • First use of Dichlordiphenyltrichlorethane (DDT) for malaria control paludrine) and filariases treatment • Demonstrated that antibiotic chloramphenicol could be used to treat scrub typhus (diethylcarbamazine)] and nutrition • Malaria control by residual spraying • Dengue ecology in collaboration with • Isolation of dengue virus University Malaya • Addressed the problems - Malnutrition, smallpox in Kedah; - Rabies in Province Wellesley, Kedah and Kelantan; and - Sporadic cholera throughout the country. • National Filariasis Control Program • Malaria eradication studies & program • Biocontrol of Trematodes • Ecology of dengue elucidated • Development of cancer registry • 120 new species of chiggers discovered by the Medical Zoology Division; rare blood types in Southeast Asia by Hematology Unit; and the existence of hemorrhagic fever in Malaya 1981-2000 • Seroprevalence study on dengue • Successful in vitro culturing of the human filarial parasite Brugia malayi from the • Field evaluation of insecticide infective larval (L3) stage to the fifth (L5) stage impregnated net for malaria control • Discovered local strain of Bacillus thuringiensis as new microbial control agents of • In vitro culture of filarial worms mosquitoes • Studies to replace DDT by pyrethroids • First Rapid Kit for insecticide resistance • Commercial production of microbial control agent - MOSBAC (aqueous suspension formulation containing the spore crystal complex of Bacillus thuringiensis) - IMR-BT-1 (biological control of mosquito larvae) - R-EST (test kit for rapid detection of insecticide resistance) 2001-2005 • Studies on simian malaria • First Kit to detect dengue in mosquitoes • Studies on malaria in Laos • Maggot debridement therapy • Research on production of local food • First kit to detect enzyme in saliva allergens for allergy skin testing • Chikungunya virus detection in mosquitoes • Nutrition software • Initiated Globinmed, a hub on integrated medicine with information on traditional medicine • Establishment of Malaysian Stem Cell Registry (MSCR) • Publication of Herbal Medicines Used in Primary Health Care in ASEAN 4 Project1.qxp_Layout 1 11/14/18