30 years ago, the hunger to acquire knowledge allowed neuroscientist Dr. Ishwar Parhar to take leave of Malaysia for overseas. During his absence in the country, his dedication and strong ambitions in research allowed him to be among the handful of Malaysian scientists to be recognized worldwide for the integrity of their research and reaching the annals of established research institutes such as National University of Singapore, the Rockefeller University, and Nippon Medical School. Earlier last year, he gained much media coverage and made waves among the local scientific community as he pronounced his commitment in returning to the country to set up a brain research center in Kuala Lumpur.

Roughly half a year since his return, MABIC spoke to Dr. Ishwar, who is currently Professor and Director of Research and Development, School of Medicine and Health Sciences at Monash University Malaysia, in his office in Bandar Sunway.

"I've been kept rather busy lately, as we're working to establish the Brain Research Institute hopefully by next year," he said perusing the project proposal upon his desk. "As well as performing my duties as Director of Research and Development for Monash."

Prof. Dr. Ishwar Parhar

As part of the formation of the laboratory, he has witnessed the birth of Malaysia's first strain of pathogen-free mice, which has been sourced from one of the only two companies providing these organisms. The mice were brought into the country at a cost of RM7,000 from Japan, and are currently maintained by staffers under controlled conditions, as does other pathogen-free organisms like fish for the sole use of research. On the other hand, he has been interviewing people to fill out doctoral positions in the laboratory, with applications coming in from all over the region, including India and Japan.

Dr. Ishwar's duties as director of R&D is to maintain the level of research among faculty members, in terms of quality control, encouraging research and building research capabilities. Since his return, he has been focusing on building the lab, understanding the Malaysian grant system as well as providing the latest information on various scientific techniques, aside for the "Techniques in Molecular Morphology, Imaging, Gene Expression and Behavioural Analysis" Workshop on the 20th to 24th of November, there will be four more workshops planned for next year with facilitators being invited from Japan and the US.

"Research is something very dear to my heart, as it is a creative job that bring on much greater challenges."

Speaking on the challenges of neurobiology in Malaysia, Dr. Ishwar admits there is much to be done as brain science has not been a huge part of research in Malaysia's scientific community. Many issues have to be tackled before it can be a mainstream science here.

“There is so much to do before we can see Malaysia making leeway in the field of neuroscience and its commercialization. There is so little we understand about the brain, and neurobiology needs a lot of help from the field of biotechnology in terms of assistance in tackling issues that our current limited technology resources cannot solve.”

Citing an example, a functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging scan would elucidate the neuroactivity of a brain. However, the chemical composition, specific neuron impulses of such activity are still a mystery, and there is much to be understood before we are able to forge great inroads in the field.

“The atmosphere in Malaysia is different from that of overseas, as the sheer numbers of scientists here are just a fraction of those outside,” he laments. “It could be the extent of the culture here, where parents are less open to the thought of sending their children to study science, and instead opting for more 'mainstream' careers like being a lawyer, doctor, engineer etc. As a result, we do not grow up with an appreciation of science as a job, and thus there is a general disinterest in the field. Take the example of the American Neuroscience Society, where an annual conference would have up to 30,000 members in attendance.”

Dr. Ishwar believes that the government should also push for the establishment of the life sciences before biotechnology and its commercialization. He believes that capacity building is the way to go, as by preparing teachers and young minds for the push in science, Malaysia would be ensuring a good human resource foundation, as well as the creation of a strong atmosphere for science.

“Basic sciences are the building blocks of science, and building up the foundation of science ensures the continual creation of better technology and brainpower. Only then can Malaysia prepare to branch out and compete on a global level.”