IMU Research Lab

Institute for Research, Development and Innovation - Research Lab

The IMU research laboratories were established to support research activities of IMU with a floor space of 26,000 square feet. The laboratories were equipped with animal tissue culture, microbiological, molecular biology, cell-based assays, purification systems and synthetic chemistry facilities. There is also an animal holding facility with state-of-the-art caging and maintenance system for experimental animals. An Environmental Health Laboratory equipped with an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrophotometry (ICP-MS) machine was set up for the testing of toxicants such as heavy metals in environmental, water and food samples and has been accredited by the International Standard ISO/IEC 17025:2005. The facilities not only support both undergraduate and postgraduate research but also provide services to the industry, as part of the commercialisation activities.

The Institute for Research, Development and Innovation (IRDI) was established on 18 September 2012 in lined with the IMU’s strategic plan ASPIRE (2011-2015) to be an innovative global centre of excellence in learning and research. The IRDI was officially launched by the Chancellor, Dato’ Sri Dr. T. Devaraj on18 September 2012. The mission of IRDI is to be recognised as a leading private research institute in Asia that creates value through integrating education, healthcare and research.

The primary aim of IRDI is to serve as a platform to support all research activities at IMU. The objectives of IRDI include the following: (1) to explore funding opportunities, (2) to liaise with industrial partners for contract research, (3) to provide supporting services to researchers such as statistical and editing services and advice on IP filing, (4) to coordinate the applications for both internal and external funding, (5) to coordinate the commercialisation of potential research products and services and (6) to coordinate corporate communication to publicise IMU research. The IRDI is headed by a director who oversees the strategies and functionality of the Institute and provides leadership to the scientific community of the university. The Joint Committee on Research and Ethics is an important component of the Institute, playing a key role in evaluating research proposals for internal and external funding. In addition, there is a Scientific Advisory Board, consisting of distinguished scientists in the leading fields as well as representatives from the industry to advise on the research direction of the Institute, in alignment with its strategies.

There are two main arms under IRDI, namely, the Research and Development Arm and Commercialisation and Support Arm. The main functions of the Research and Development Arm are as follows: (1) to drive research activities under the identified thrust areas; (2) to manage the resources for research and (3) to monitor and evaluate all research activities, including those conducted by undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Under the Research and Development Arm, there are four Centres of Excellence (CoE) based on the identified thrust areas, namely, (1) Centre for Bioactive Molecules and Drug Discovery, (2) Centre for Environment and Population Health, (3) Centre for Cancer and Stem Cell Research and (4) Centre for Health Professional Education Research.