Research activities in 2007 continued to receive support from both management and faculty as they contribute not only to academic excellence but also professional and personal development. Research emphasis continued to be in the areas of bioactive molecules, buildingrelated illnesses, molecular carcinogenesis, pharmacogenomics, pharmaceutics, environmental health, clinical research and medical education.

External research funding increased substantially in 2007, mainly through funding under Science Fund from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, Malaysia, Toray Foundation and other bodies. The total amount of funds obtained through externally funded research contracts in 2007 was RM1,854,799, of which RM883,099 was for the financial year 2007. In contrast, the amount of external funds for research in 2006 was RM463,931.

Research Management
A total of 87 research projects were approved by the IMU Research and Ethics Committees in 2007. The main areas of research were in bioactive molecules, immunopathology and allergies, cancer, drug formulations, pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics, drug-herb interactions, environmental health, clinical studies, and infectious diseases. Substantial external funds, mainly from the Science Fund, through the Ministry of Science Technology and Innovation, Malaysia have been obtained for environmental, cancer, allergy, and pharmacogenomic studies. The success in obtaining such funds is important as the process involves external evaluation of the quality and relevance of research proposals submitted by IMU researchers.


Strategic Plans for Research (2005-2009)
A Strategic Planning Workshop was held on 27 November 2004 to chart the research agenda for the International Medical University for the next five years (2005-2009). Participants agreed that research should contribute to the core activities of the University, these being teaching and learning. Research areas identified for special emphasis were medical education, building related illnesses (including sick building syndrome), and bioactive molecules (including drug discovery).