Professor Dr. Fahrul Huyop from the Biosciences Department and Assoc. Prof. Ch.M Dr. Roswanira Ab. Wahab from the Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, visited the Faculty of Food Science & Nutrition, University Malaysia Sabah (UMS) On September 7-9, 2020. It was a special invitation from Assoc. Prof. Dr. Amir Husni Mohd Shariff and the Dean of the Faculty, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Patricia Matanjun for a collaboration on a new Borneo Green Honey project from Pulau Banggi, off the Sabah coast. The project is funded by a local company, NS Field Sdn. Bhd. The Green Honey is unique as it is produced by a species of ground-dwelling honeybees endemic to Sabah. To date, the medicinal and nutritional values of the honey remain unknown, and the information is pertinent in guaranteeing the export value quality and also for local uses and benefits.
Apart from the Green Honey project, a discussion with ongoing projects on Metagenomic analysis of Lake Tuz and Genomic Analysis of bacteria isolated from Soda lake, both in Turkey, were also conducted. Both projects were co-led by Dr. Yilmaz Kaya from Ondokuz Mayis University in Samsun and Professor Dr. Fahrul Zaman Huyop, in exploring new enzymes from extremophiles for possible food-related research, involving two Ph.D candidates from UTM.
UTM delegates were also given an opportunity to visit the Biotechnology Research Institute (IPB). The researchers discussed future collaboration in terms of a joint publication, co-supervision of M.Sc and Ph.D students, and joint proposal development. Dr. Zarina Amin, the institute director, hoped that the collaborative work between UMS and UTM will positively impact postgraduate student enrolment in IPB.
The UMS visit ended with a tour in Kundasang, a popular tourist destination located at the hillside of Mount Kinabalu.
By:
Prof Dr Fahrul Zaman Huyop
Assoc Prof CH.M Dr Roswanira Abd Wahab
Dr Siti Pauliena Mohd Bohari
