About Us

Clinical and Health Science Research @USM

Malaysia is a conducive place to carry out research on health and diseases as it is a rapidly developing nation. We see a range of diseases in developing countries such as infectious diseases and an increase in diseases prevalent in developed countries such as obesity and addiction. The Health Campus of USM is located in Kelantan, where the population is fairly homogenous [96% Malays] , thus it is an ideal locality to study diseases at clinical level or translating findings from bench to bedside as well as do research in health studies.

Basic science and clinical medicine research is intimately inter-twined. The key research players involved are faculty members from the Schools of Medical, Dental, Health Sciences, Pharmacy, Institute of Advanced Medicine and Dentistry and Institute of Research in Molecular Medicine. Trans-disciplinary researches are highly encouraged. Various research clusters are formed by researchers with similar research interest yet different professional backgrounds. They collaborate to produce inventions and innovations with non-medical/health related faculty to work on devices and tools to improve patient care or prevent certain diseases. There are studies using biological/natural materials such as chitosan from crabs and prawns for wound management. We conduct research on the mechanisms of actions of the active compounds on certain diseases from natural biological materials and natural plants such as Strobilanthes Crispus, Eurycoma longifolia, sea creatures such as Sticophus species, fresh water fish such as Channa striatus (abundant in Malaysia) thus ‘converting’ indigenous alternative and complementary medicine to evidence-based medicine. Extracts of some of these natural chemical compounds and pharmaceutical products are in various phases of clinical trials. We also do significant number of research on natural products such as honey and other bee products which have been shown to maintain health and have effects on diseases. Clinical trials on any of these extracts are not undertaken if there are no safety/toxicity studies done on them in culture or/and in animal experimentations.

We also promote collaboration between the arts-based and the science-based researchers such as using music as a healing agent for certain chronic illnesses for example the use of 'Gamelan' a classic musical instrument as means of therapy to improve motor power in children with cerebral palsy.