www.mjms.usm.my © Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia, 2015For permission, please email:mjms.usm@gmail.com

Neurotechnology research in the UnitedStates of America, the European Union, Israel,Australia, Japan, and many other developedcountries are growing exponentially as tounderstandthebrainanditsfunctions.Malaysiaaiming to be a developed country by 2020 isattemptingtocatchupwiththesecountries. TheAcademyofScienceMalaysiaestablisheda Task Force to foresight Neurotechnology till2050whichconsistedofthesemembers:ProfessorDato’DrJafriMalinAbdullahFASc(Chairman),Dato’DrZalihaBintiOmar,DrCheeKokYoon,Professor Ir Dr Fatimah Ibrahim, Professor DrAbdulWahabAbdulRahman,ProfessorDrMohdNasir Taib, Professor Dr Rahmattullah KhanAbdulWahab Khan and Associate Professor DrMuzaimiMustapha(Figure1).ThiswasjustafewmonthsafterMalaysiajoinedtheSocietyforBrainMappingandTherapeuticsendyear2014(1). Thetaskforcehasfoundoutthatmanyissuesandhurdlesexistandtheseneedtobeovercome.TheAcademyofScienceMalaysia reportwillbereadyforpublicreadingfirstquarterof2016. Atthepresent,thereisnoavailableresearchand development needs assessment in the fieldof neurotechnology pertaining to healthcarespecific,anditsimpactstoanareabeyondhealth

Special Issue - Neuroscience

Another Important News from the Neuronman: Malaysia’s Neuroscience Group Moves upwards in Terms of Research, Creativity, and Innovation

Jafri Malin AbdullAh1,2

1 Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia Health Campus, Kubang Kerian, 16150 Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia

2 Center for Neuroscience Services & Research, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia

1Malays J Med Sci. Dec 2015; Special Issue: 1-4

Abstract 12 months ago the first Neuroscience special issue of the Malaysia Journal of MedicalSciences was born with the intention to increase the number of local publication dedicated toneurosciences. Since thenmany events happened in the neuroscience world of Malaysia, thoseconsideredmajorwere theestablishmentofaNeurotechnologyForesight2050 task forceby theAcademyofMedicineMalaysiaaswellasthelaunchingofMalaysiaasthe18thmembertojointheInternationalNeuroinformaticsCoordinatingFacilityonthe9thOctober2015whichwasofficiatedbytheDeputyMinistersofHigherEducation,DatukMaryYap.

Keywords: neuroscience, Malaysia, neuroinformatics

Submitted:20Oct2015Accepted:7Nov2015

Figure1:FirstmeetingorganisedbytheAcademyof ScienceMalaysia on the 18thApril2015.

Front row sitting from the right:ProfessorDato’DrJafriMalinAbdullahFASc (Chairman), Professor EmeritusDatukMazlanOthman,Dato’DrZalihaBinti Omar, Standing from the right:MohdIkhwanBinAbdullah,ProfessorDr Rahmattullah Khan Abdul WahabKhan ,Dr Chee Kok Yoon, ProfessorDr Abdul Wahab Abdul Rahman,Associate Professor Dr MuzaimiMustapha, Professor Dr Mohd NasirTaib,ProfessorIrDrFatimahIbrahimand Abu Hanipah Jalil at the 20thFloor,WestWing,MatradeTower.

2 www.mjms.usm.my

Malays J Med Sci. Dec 2015; Special Issue: 1-4

careingeneral(suchasarts,sports,humanities,legal andmilitary). Neurotechnology researchesconducted thus, far inMalaysia are ratherbasicand superficial in nature. These are mostly todo with brain-computer interface (BCI), andquite often as one-off trial and error efforts forpublicationpurposesandendedthere.Inessence,wereallydonothaveaneurotechnologyexpertsinitstruestsense,astheoneswhoareinvolvedinrelatedareaareeitherfrombroaderfundamentaland clinical neuroscience backgrounds,psychiatrists, and psychologists or from amonga spectrum of engineers and technologies withrelatedinterests.Majorgapsremainbeforelocalneurotechnology research can be realised intoreal life benefits. There is no common, regularplatform for multi- and trans-disciplinaryengagementforneurotechnologyinMalaysia,andis not championed enough. Acknowledging theglobal neurotechnology race and addressing thelocalneeds,Malaysiamust invest in the leadingareas for neurotechnology research that includeneurologicaldiagnosticsandmonitoringsystem,interventionandtherapeutics,andBCIdevices. Hence,thedirectionoftheneurotechnologyin Malaysia should focus on two main aspects.The first aspect is on the fundamental, i.e.to introduce various neurosciences relatedacademic courses in the educational institutestospurgenuine interests inthisareaamongthegraduatestudents.Recognitionofneuroscientistsshouldbeextendedtootheralliedfieldssuchasneuroengineers or neuroarchitects to positionthem as lead contributors in neurotechnology.Secondly, there is a pressing need to establisha dedicated and specialised neurotechnologyresearch centre to oversee and conduct cutting-edge researches that bear highest relevance tohumanities. The initiatives for the centre canrange from thedevelopment ofBrainComputerInterface applications with new designs forPersons With Disability and other indications,signalprocessingapproachestoreducechannelsandprocessingtimetomulti-centreclinicaltrialsin exploring biomarkers and the effect of thedrug ormedication inclusive of the cellular andmolecularlevels(2). The International NeuroinformaticsCoordinating Facility (INCF) enrolled Malaysiaon the 9th October 2015 as its 18th member(Figure 2,3,4) (3). We would like to take thisopportunity toputonrecordthe involvementofProfessorPedroValdesSosawhoinitiatedcontactwithINCFandgavesupportfortheestablishmentof a Malaysian node when he was the VisitingProfessortoUniversitiSainsMalaysia(4).Many

Figure 2: Launching of Malaysia as the 18thmember to join the InternationalNeuroinformatics CoordinatingFacility on the 9th October 2015which was officiated by the DeputyMinisters of Higher Education,DatukMaryYap.

Figure 3: Group photo of Collaborators ofthe INCF project from at least5Universities inMalaysia takenatLe Meridian Hotel, Kuala Lumpuronthe9thOctober2015.

thankstoPedroandourCubancolleaguesfromtheCubanNeuroscienceCenteraswell asProfessorSeanHillScientificDirectorof the InternationalNeuroinformaticsCoordinatingFacility(INCF)attheKarolinskaInstitutet. ProfessorDrZamzuri Idris followedup theMoUbetweentheSocietyofBrain,MappingandTherapeutics (SBMT),USAandUniversiti SainsMalaysia(USM)(5)bypresentinganoralpaperinthe12thAnnualWorldCongressofSBMTinLosAngelesinMarch2015(Figure5).

Special Issue - Neuroscience |Neuroscienceresearch,creativityandinnovation

www.mjms.usm.my 3

Figure 4: INCF Malaysia Node head ProfesorAhmadFadzilMohdHaniwithINCFexecutive director Dr Linda LanyonandProfesorDatoHjDrJafriMalinDatuk Hj Abdullah, Director ofP3Neuro, Universiti Sains Malaysiaat theopening lauchingof the INCFprojectonthe9thOctober2015.

Figure5:ProfessorZamzuriwithProfessorDrJacob Van Zyl heads the AdvancedTechnology inAerospace inNASAatthe 12th Annual World Congress ofSBMT,USAmeeting inLosAngeles,Californiaonthe7thMarch2015.

Professor Zamzuri gave an oralpresentation titled: Brain and SoulMapping: awake brain surgeryand Archimedes microgravityprinciple which could enhance ourunderstanding on stem cells, brainnetworkandtheseatofthesoul.

Figure 6: The MSc Cognitive Neuroscience aswellasJointUniversitiSainsMalaysia-Universiti Pendidikan SultanIdris Integrated Master of ClinicalPsychology-Doctor of Psychology/Doctor of Clinical Neuropsychologyprogramswerefirstpresentedonthe23th November 2015 at Ministry ofHigher Education Putrajaya chairedby the Director general Profesor DrDatoAsmaIsmail.

This historical photograph takenfrom left: Professor Dr NorazmiMohd Nor, Professor Dato’ Dr HjJafri Malin Datuk Hj Abdullah,Associate Professor Dr AzizahOthman, ProfessorDrRahmattullahKhanAbdulWahabKhan, AssociateProfessor Dr Gurjeet Kaur andProfessorDrTanSooChoonoutsideof the Ibnu Sina Meeting Room,Ministry of Higher Education, 17thFloor, Putrajayawhere both courseswereapproved for thenextphaseofacademicprocessing.

Wehopethatmoreresearchcanbedonetoimprovethewellbeingofmankindespeciallyinthefieldofmental illnessandothercentralnervoussystemdiseasebytheestablishmentoftheMasterof Cognitive Neurosciences as well as the JointIntegratedPrograminPsychologybetweenUSM-UPSI (Figure 6). The Malaysian neurosciencereport card looks better every year as higherquality publications are expected to be cited bytheInternationalNeurosciencecommunity.

4 www.mjms.usm.my

Malays J Med Sci. Dec 2015; Special Issue: 1-4

Corresponence

ProfDato’DrJafriMalinAbdullahMD,PhD,FRCS(Ed),FACS,DSCN(Belgium)ChiefEditorMalaysianJournalofMedicalSciencesUniversitiSainsMalaysiaHealthCampus16150KubangKerianKelantan,MalaysiaTel:+609-7676972Fax:+609-7672359Email:mjms.usm@gmail.com

References

1. Jafri MA. Neuroscience and Brain Science SpecialIssue begins in the Malaysian Journal of MedicalSciences.Malays J Med Sci.2014;SpecialIssue:1–5.

2. Academy Science Malaysia Neurotechnology report2015Ver170815.

3. Editor.Malaysia, the 18th country to join INCF onbraindiseasestudies.Malaysia(MY):TheMalaysianTimes;2015 [cited 2015 Oct 12]. Available from:http://www.themalaysiantimes.com.my/malaysia-the-18th-country-to-join-incf-on-brain-disease-studies/.

4. Pedro AVS.Coping with Brain Disorders usingNeurotechnology.Malays J Med Sci.2012;19(1):1–3.

5. Jafri MA. Ain’t No Neuroscience Mountain HighEnough:Experiencesof aNeurogardener.Malays J Med Sci. 2015;22(3):1–6.