The 5th annual Biomedical Science Week (previously Biomedical Science Day) took place on 22 to 26 March 2021. Past events were organised on-site but in adherence to COVID-19 safety guidelines, this year’s activities were conducted online. Every year, the Biomedical Science Day would be organised by the members of the IMU Society of Biomedical Science (ISBS) in conjunction with the International Biomedical Laboratory Science Day (IBLS). The event is designated for future biomedical scientists to raise public awareness and celebrate their fundamental and integral role within the healthcare community. The IMU Society of Biomedical Sciences (ISBS) is a student-affiliated society consisting of determined undergraduate biomedical science students who wants to expand their network and contribution in the Biomedical Science industry.
| Theme of 2021 Biomedical Science Week |
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| The theme of this year’s Biomedical Science Week is ‘Infection Science’, along with the tagline, ‘More Than What Meets the Eye’. Both the theme and tagline are especially relevant currently, in view of the ongoing pandemic. Hence, this event was organised in the hopes of educating and enlightening the public on the nature of infection science, as well as inviting the community to learn about the relevant investigations to detect infectious microorganisms. |
The successful event garnered participation from approximately 137 students from government schools, private institutions and the IMU Foundation in Science programme, respectively. Among the major highlights of this event included a talk from our honourable guest, Prof Shaharum Shamsudin from the Universiti Sains Malaysia, on the “Applications of Biotechnology in the Diagnosis of Infectious Science”, alongside student speakers who provided an insight and sharing of experiences as a student in IMU.
Prof Shaharum shared his vast knowledge and unique experiences on the application of medical technology in infectious disease diagnosis and research. He also described about the advancements in biomedical sciences as it is a thriving field with boundless areas; with exciting careers that biomedical science graduates can pursue.
Other activities included e-poster competitions and a laboratory experiment report that participants could complete based on an instructional video produced by the organising committee. There was a strong participation in the online talk (76%), followed by browsing through our official Biomedical Science Week website (72%) and the lab report competition (25.3%).
| Organising Committee |
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| The organising committee consisted of eleven IMU Biomedical Science undergraduates from the BM119 cohort, and was led by the event managers, Brendan Chan Jun Lam and Wong Jing Yi along with event advisor, Dr Anil Philip Kunnath, and the contributing biomedical science students. The event concluded with heartfelt speeches from Dr Anil, event manager Brendan Chan, ISBS President Foong Le Hui and closing remarks by the Associate Dean of Health Sciences, Prof Chin Beek Yoke. |
Despite the challenging circumstances, the virtual Biomedical Science Week 2021 was a fruitful event – once again highlighting the essential role of biomedical scientists as dedicated behind-the-scene healthcare professionals.
