BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR MEDICINE

Prof. Dr. Nora O'Brien

Professor Nora O'Brien holds a BSc (Food Science) from UCC, a MS (Nutrition) from the University of Minnesota, and a PhD (Nutritional Biochemistry) from Cornell University.  She was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Louvain in Belgium before returning to a Lectureship in Nutrition in her native Cork in 1990.  In subsequent years Professor O'Brien achieved promotion to Senior Lecturer and currently is Professor of Nutrition. 

Professor O'Brien has substantial teaching commitments at undergraduate level which she finds both fulfilling and very enjoyable.  Her research programme on the relationships between nutrition and health has grown very successfully through the years.  Over €6 million in research funds have been generated from national and international funding sources, including a major award from Science Foundation Ireland, to support her team’s work.  Over 50 individuals have worked under Nora’s supervision at MSc, PhD and Post-doctoral levels.  The team’s work has resulted in well over 120 peer-reviewed research publications in the international scientific literature as well as numerous conference presentations, invited book chapters and reviews.  Research conducted by Professor O'Brien’s team has contributed significantly to increased understanding of the relationship between nutrition and health and, in particular, the beneficial role of fruit and vegetables in the diet.

Over the years many members of her team have received awards for their work.  Professor O'Brien has been a recipient of the Royal Irish Academy Nutrition Medal in 2000.  She has also been active in public service including membership of the Irish Council for Bioethics and the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Food Safety Promotion Board.  Professor O'Brien is a member of the Nutrition Society, the Carotenoid Society as well as other professional groups.  She has given many public lectures on her research interests and other nutrition-related topics.  Of all her achievements, Professor O'Brien is most proud of the subsequent career success of the many individuals who have passed through her research group.

Prof. Dr. Tunku Kamarul Zaman Tunku Zainol Abidin

Professor Dr. Tunku Kamarul Zaman is presently the director of University of Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), a premier 1500 bedded university hospital in Malaysia staffed by over 5,000 personnel. He is by profession an orthopaedic surgeon with special interest in upper limb and microsurgery. He is presently registered with the medical councils in the UK and Malaysia. Upon his return to Malaysia in 2010, he was appointed the head of the tissue engineering group, a division under The National Orthopaedic Centre for Research and Learning (NOCERAL).This group is actively involved in basic science orthopaedic related research that ranges from biomechanics to cell biology. Prof. Kamarul is however presently focused in pursuing fundamental research involving cartilage, tendons and stem cell applications. He has published over 150 peer-reviewed articles in many impact factored journals and has been invited to present the research groups' discoveries in numerous international scientific meetings.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Joanne Bowen

Associate Professor Joanne Bowen is an academic in the Adelaide Medical School at the University of Adelaide. She graduated from a PhD in Medicine at the University of Adelaide in December of 2006 having focused on the molecular control of chemotherapy-induced gastrointestinal tissue injury under the supervision of Professor Dorothy Keefe and Associate Professor Adrian Cummins. In January 2009 she was awarded an NHMRC Australian-based Biomedical Training Fellowship (2009 - 2012) to conduct research focused on discovery of mRNA expression profiles associated with risk of toxicity during treatment for oesophageal cancer, under supervision of Professor Richard Logan. This work was a novel approach to discovery of peripheral blood biomarkers able to predict severe treatment toxicity and has led to numerous collaborations and awards. In 2011 she took up a lecturing position in Physiology and to Head her own research group, the Gastrointestinal Pathophysiology Laboratory, which is part of the internationally recognised Mucositis Research Group and Centre for Personalised Cancer Medicine.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sarni binti Mat Junit

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sarni binti Mat Junit graduated from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland in 1992 with BSc Pharmacology (Hons). She was awarded the Pfizer Award in Pharmacology in 1992 for her final year research thesis. Upon her return to Malaysia, she joined the Department of Molecular Medicine (formerly known as the Department of Biochemistry), as a tutor. In 1994, under the UM/JPA sponsorship she pursued her PhD training in Clinical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in the Department of Biochemistry, and Molecular Biology in the Department of Biochemistry, University of Nottingham, UK. She successfully completed her PhD in 1997 and was appointed as a Lecturer upon her return to University of Malaya in the same year. She was promoted to a Senior Lecturer post in 2005 and subsequently to an Associate Professor in 2011. Her research interest is in the area of Molecular Endocrinology with particular focus on congenital hypothyroidism and thyroid cancers. She is also actively involved in Nutrigenomics-related research. Thus far, she has supervised 15 postgraduate students to completion and is presently supervising another four. She served as the Managing Editor for the Malaysian Journal of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from 2006 to 2009. She was formerly the Head of Unit, Medical Biotechnology Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine from 2006 to 2008 and is currently the Head of Department, Department of Molecular Medicine.

Prof. Dr. Gabriele Ruth Anisah Froemming

Prof. Dr. R.A. Froemming is a Professor in University Malaysia Sarawak. She has an MSc. in Analytical Chemistry with specialization in Food, water, tobacco, cosmetics and household products from University of Hamburg (Germany), where she also obtained the title of a state-certified Food Chemist. Her main area of interest is molecular cell stress responses.