14 – 17 May 2017 – An alumna from IMU’s first cohort of the Bachelor of Science (Hons) Nutrition, Ng Yeng Yi, made the University proud by winning the coveted Nutrition Society of Malaysia (NSM) Undergraduate Prize at the 1st South East Asia Public Health Nutrition (SEAPHN) Conference. Yeng Yi’s win is based on her research in the area of carbohydrate nutrition and risk of diabetes. For this research, Yeng Yi and other members of her team worked on the effectiveness of a salivary enzyme in determining the type and amount of carbohydrates consumed. They also explored if saliva could be an alternative biomarker for screening of diabetes. The other members of her team are IMU faculty members, Dr Sangeetha Shyam, Dr Snigdha Misra and Dr Valsala R. 
At the same conference, the NSM Publication Prize for Dairy Nutrition was awarded to an article from a research spearheaded by IMU. The IMU team collaborated with UPM researchers to study the dietary intake and blood levels of gangliosides among Malaysian toddlers. Gangliosides is a nutrient found to be important for the development of the brain, immunity and gut in infants. The team members working on this research are Emeritus Prof Khor Geok Lin, Dr Sangeetha Shyam, Dr Snigdha Misra and Dr Megan Chong. Held in Kuala Lumpur with the theme ‘Together in Advancing Public Health Nutrition’, the 1st South East Asia Public Health Nutrition (SEA-PHN) Conference provides a platform for interaction and development of potential cross sectors collaborations; strengthening current partnerships in combating public health nutrition issues of the Southeast Asia region. The Conference attracted many eminent public health nutritionists from Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia who were able to share their success stories on combating the non-communicable diseases. The scientific programme of the Conference comprises plenary lectures, symposia, free paper presentations as well as poster session on the current problems of public health nutrition. Young researchers are invited to vie for prizes in the oral and poster competitions.
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