Two USM scientists win international award for medical research

GEORGE TOWN: Universiti Sains Malaysia achieved a podium finish at the recently concluded International Conference on Beneficial Microbes (ICOBM 2014) when two of its scientists received awards for their work.
School of Industrial Technology (SIT) doctorate student Tan Pei Lei, 28, was the second runner-up in the Young Scientist Award under the Health and Medical Applications category.
Her colleague, Chuah Li Oon, 30, also from the same faculty, was the second runner-up in the Food and Nutrition category.
Tan was given her award for her work on probiotics (good bacteria) in medical applications for skin diseases.
She said good bacteria could help fight skin infections by killing bad bacteria thereby promoting faster healing.
"Research on rats showed the wounds healed 20% faster than normal," she said adding that there were plans for commercialisation of the findings during a press conference here today.
Chuah meanwhile, received recognition for her research on the risk of antibiotic resistance on probiotics from food products.
She said certain probiotics in food were found to be antibiotic resistant and so other strains had to be found to make food safer.
She detailed the objectives of her research in the same press conference with SIT Dean Prof Dr Azhar Mat Easa.