Department of Neurosciences Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM)

The Department Of Neurosciences at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) was initially established as a unit under the Department of Surgery on 17 August 2000. The unit was growing and so was separated from the Department of Surgery in order to fulfill its clinical and academic goals. The idea for the establishment of the department originated from Professor Mohd Roslani Abdul Majid, the first dean of the School of Medical Sciences. Dr. Jafri Malin Abdullah was appointed as Head of Department and his appointment marked a New Era in neurosciences at USM. Today, the department has grown into a staff of neurosurgeons, neurologists and neuroscientists. In February 2006, the department has launched the Neurosciences Research and Teaching Laboratory and acquired state of the art equipment e.g. Palm Laser Micro-dissection and Laser Scanning Microscope, Stereomicroscope and Patch Clamp System.

Mission & vision

The Department of Neurosciences is part of the Brain-Mind Nexus USM whose goal is to promote transdisciplinarity and innovative approaches to brain science research, integrating fundamental, development and clinical research. Our mission is to provide an educationally-conducive environment for anyone who is interested in research and teaching in neuroscience at University Sains Malaysia. An important part of our objectives is to study the function and dysfunction of the nervous system, and to train and recruit postgraduate students and medical students, so they can become leaders of a new generation of neuroscientists.

To meet our objectives, the department has been actively involved in various basic as well as applied clinical sciences research. Major areas of research interests include evaluation of neuro-therapeutic potential of some of the indigenous plant sciences, neuromolecular genetics, cell culture, mitochondrial disorders and neurodegenerative diseases, epilepsy, cerebrovascular disorders, brain tumours and vaccines as well as behavioural neurology.

Department of Neurosciences USM has always strongly committed to Providing an interdisciplinary and broad-spectrum research program at M.Sc. and Ph.D. levels in which students are exposed to the most widely accepted technical approaches to solve the critical problems of nervous system function and disease.

Research

1) Fundamentals (study of neuronal function at the molecular and cellular levels and the study of the CNS at the system level and encompasses a wide variety of subjects, in areas including cellular and molecular biology, anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, psychophysics, and pharmacogenetics)

2) Interventional Strategies (involving clinical and diagnostic research involving patients with brain-related disorders. This includes neurosurgery, neuroradiology, oncology, psychiatry, psychology, pathology, pharmacology and all other related clinical areas)

3) Neuroinformatics (artificial neural networks, neural modeling, adaptive systems, machine learning and neural computation focused on the computer-brain interface with the aim of developing artificial systems that interact intelligently with the real world)

4) Mental Health and Rehabilitation (behavioural studies, the sociocultural and socioeconomic consequences of brain dysfunction, developmental disorders, [...] addiction and the criminal mind)

5) Brain mapping (Using techniques such as ERP, MEG and neuroanatomical tools to assess the functioning of the brain and the application of these techniques to study normal and pathological states of the brain: such as neurocognitive disabilities, [...]-addicted brains, digital brain atlas of language disability and brain tumours)

6) Teaching learning (Research related to the understanding and management of brain-based learning and mind-brain learning principles. It includes neuro-developmental research and various other aspects of brain research and its implications on education)

7) Instrumentation (Studies on the biophysical properties of the brain related to both normal and abnormal function including the development of novel clinical diagnostic, therapeutic, and prosthetic devices based on advances in the biophysical and engineering sciences. This can include the development of: Non-invasive diagnostic devices such as Biosensors, Nano probes, medical imaging and hardware)

References

  • Badrisyah Idris, Sani Sayuti and Jafri Malin Abdullah. (2007). History of neurosciences at the School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia. Journal of Clinical Neurosciences. 14(2). 148-152.