TheInstitute for Research in Molecular Medicine (INFORMM) began as a multi-disciplinary cluster-based research programme spearheaded by 11 principal researchers from the Schools of Medical Sciences, Dental Sciences, Health Sciences and MITD (Medical Innovation and Technology Development Unit) located at the USM Health Campus in Kelantan. In 2003, after a rigorous audit exercise INFORMM was established following a formalised recognition accorded by the university and the Ministry of Higher Education. This was also the first time in the history of USM that an institute was formed bottom-upthrough efforts of a group of researchers in a cluster.

From the initial members of the loose research cluster, INFORMM now boasts 20 full-time PhD qualified lecturers. The multidisciplinary character of the institution has been maintained and is reflected in the staff development plan of its younger members, who have been trained in the latest techniques in biotechnology and molecular biology. This has enabled the institution to grow from strength to strength, culminating in it being recognised as a Higher Education Centre of Excellence (HiCoE) by the Ministry of Higher Education in 2008.

Physically, INFORMM straddles East and West Malaysia, having a purpose-built building in both the Kelantan and Penang campuses of USM. Within these two facilities are housed roughly 90 postgraduate students doing full-time research in molecular medicine. Research at INFORMM is cluster-based, concentrated on translational and fundamental research. Each research cluster comprises a group of scientists with differing expertise but with a common research focus area.

Contributions from these individual scientists towards a common goal help to focus and accelerate research findings and optimise research output. In practice, research in INFORMM adopts the R-D-C-E (Research - Development - Commercialisation - Entrepreneurship) concept, where research development and innovation are performed under one roof to bring the innovation to the marketplace in a timely manner. These approaches have led INFORMM to achieve success in its research output and subsequently transform these into commercialised products or licensed technology. The R-D-C-E approach adopted by INFORMM for its research and innovation activities is also now subscribed by many research organisations in Malaysia.

Grooming Postgraduate Students: In a short space of less than 10 years, INFORMM has successfully obtained research grants of more than RM26 million and the research output, measured by the number of publications and cumulative impact factors, have been steadily increasing. The institute has also seen success in the commercialisation and licensing of its innovations. As with any other research institution, while the fundamental knowledge, ideas and inspiration comes from the academia, the output and successes will not be possible without industrious postgraduate students.

INFORMM encourages and recruits bright and promising students from all over the world to join the institute as postgraduate students in order to catapult INFORMM to a world-class level. Currently the postgraduate enrolment is 90 students with 60 per cent pursuing their masters studies, and 40 per cent, their doctorates. The number of students is expected to exceed 100 this year.

As the student numbers approach saturation, the emphasis will be on increasing the percentage of high quality doctorate students. This is seen as a natural progression as the institute matures, and the quality of its research will be its ultimate sustaining factor.

Whilst it is assumed that postgraduate students need to spend hours upon hours acquiring specialised skills and running experiments, those at INFORMM also receive an all-round education, in addition to the technical skills that are needed for their research. During their stint in the institute, they undergo soft skill development, communication skills development and project management skills.

Weekly journal club presentations, annual students colloquiums, regular technology enhancement lectures and invited speaker lectures are practised. This year, an element of entrepreneurial training and exposure is being introduced as a soft start to academic entrepreneurship. This is seen as very relevant, to the R-D-C-E concept, which has shown good results in a relatively short time. The postgraduate students also work in an ISO 9001 regulated environment and are trained to adhere to the standard operating procedures and management practices of INFORMM. INFORMM is constantly in dialogue using regular student-director meetings to ensure they receive the best training possible as scientists as well as future engineers in the nations development.

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R&D: Molecular medicine excellence