An Emerging Biotech Hub in Borneo

With biotechnology being the main push for development by the government of late, there has been much hype and much support from the industry and academia alike. In January 2002, the Biotechnology Research Institute (BRI) was established as one of University Malaysia Sabah's centre of excellence in the field of biotechnology. Its establishment has been noted as a timely endorsement of the local biotech industry as Malaysia begins to see growth in the resource industry as well as the announcement of the National Biotech Poilcy, development of BioNexus and other such policies to boost the development of biotechnology.
 

Established on November 24, 1994, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) is a relatively young Malaysian public university located in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. Since its inception, UMS has seen many changes along the way. With the establishment of the BRI, research trends have been strengthened as lecturers are provided with the opportunity and facilities to concentrate on research. According to Deputy Director of the BRI, Dr. Vijay Kumar, there has been an increasing trend for lecturers to apply for research grant as well as an increase in postgraduate students over the years.

Dr. Vijay Kumar

Established as a Center of Excellence in the field of biotechnology, the main function of BRI is to promote research and postgraduate training through a demand-driven education program. This is important for the country’s big push on the industry in the 9th Malaysia Plan as many new companies are being formed and given Bio-nexus status which requires much more human capital in terms of skilled and experienced graduates. UMS provides postgraduate courses (both MSc and PhD) by research in Molecular Biology, Plant & Animal Biotechnology, Marine and Aquaculture Biotechnology, Genetic Engineering, Protein Engineering, Population Genetics, Fermentation Biotechnology, Medical Biotechnology, Molecular Biopharmacy & Pharmacology, Bioprocess and Industrial Biotechnology and Food Biotechnology.

In terms of research, researchers placed with the BRI generally are more focused on research as not only their activities are concentrated within the institute but also because they have less teaching commitments compared to the teaching staff. Work is being generally focused on five major areas, namely molecular microbiology, gene expression & genotyping, cell & molecular biology, natural products and drug discovery, and bioprocessing. The institute has also been noted for its level of excellence in research and is able to support international collaborations with the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience & Biotechnology (KRIBB) and Gungju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), Korea.

As Deputy Director of BRI-UMS, Dr. Vijay Kumar is a busy man. His range of duties include overseeing the building of the BRI, setting up the biotech labs, setting up the bioinformatics lab at BRI, post graduate curriculum development, planning research direction and focus of the institute, purchasing lab equipments and planning conferences and seminars. MABIC has been very lucky to get hold of Dr. Kumar for this month’s article. Dr. Kumar has held the post from March 2004 and is currently working under the director, Prof. Datin Dr. Ann Anton.

Speaking to Dr. Kumar on his research, his work at the BRI focuses on the use of molecular markers in plants. Among them, he has been able to isolate and identify molecular markers that are responsible for the regulation of sugar production in pineapples. Such markers could be used in producing new varieties with high sugar content through molecular breeding with the use of marker assisted selection. Marker assisted selection is an alternative to genetic modification in which the use of markers will allow greater efficiency in selective breeding programs. As the technique, known as Marker-Assisted Selection (MAS) does not involve the introduction of a foreign piece of DNA into the plant, food products derived from this technique would be readily accepted by consumers.
  

 
BRI web link
 
Another project involving the same technology would be the molecular conservation of endangered orchids. As Sabah is a host to a large number of endemic and endangered orchids, there is a need to protect these species from threats that may cause serious depression in their populations such as smuggling. By using molecular markers to characterize the gene flow, levels of inbreeding and genetic diversity that is present in the slipper orchid as well as the elephant-ear orchid, Dr. Kumar’s research is aimed at presenting a comprehensive conservation strategy based on his findings to Sabah Parks, which is the custodian of natural resources in Sabah. It is important to note that, one of the main goals of BRI is to support R&D activities in Sabah, as the abundance of unique fauna and flora here are suitable as bio-resources for biotechnology.
Slipper Orchid
It has been generally agreed upon by researchers that one of the main challenges in the development of biotechnology research in the country has been funding. Research grants and funds are important in stocking the laboratories as well as being used to take in students to do research. However, BRI has been successful in getting local as well as international funds. It has managed to get the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) from the Ministry of Higher Education, several research grants from the Science Fund, Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, and Academy of Sciences Malaysian. BRI is committed to providing the skills in appropriating funding for further research by organizing proposal writing workshops for their researchers as it is an imperative and fundamental skill for most involved in fundamental research.

There is still much more in store for the institute in the coming years as we begin to see its growth as an important science hub in the region. Among the slated areas of development and future plans, the construction of the BRI building would be finally completed in two years time. The building is unique as it will be a center of biotech R&D activities not only in UMS but for the whole of Borneo, and will house the first BSL-3 (Biosafety Level 3 Lab) in Borneo. Other plans include the further collaboration with KRIBB as well as the setting up of a joint lab between both institutes.

As for Dr. Kumar, he wishes to continue his research in marker-assisted selection for crop improvement as well complete his post-doc once his administrative duties are over.

“I think, what is more important (to me) is getting papers published in internationally peer-reviewed journals. And this is what I plan to work on in the next 3-5 years.” he enthused.

For more information, contact, vijay AT ums.edu.my
By K. C. Liew for MABIC