Sunway Drives Cutting-edge Research in UK

THE recent establishment of the Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus in the United Kingdom is set to further contribute towards the advancement of biomedical knowledge and research.

Part of the centrepiece of one of the largest biotech clusters in the world, the centre has enabled scientists to explore cutting-edge research to tackle some of the world’s major health challenges, such as Covid-19.

All this has been made possible with the partnership between the University of Cambridge and Sunway University, through the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation.

Present to witness the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between both parties to formalise their joint commitment towards strengthening educational and research collaboration between Malaysia and the UK, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Noraini Ahmad said educational institutions have a crucial role to play in building a brighter future for the generations to come.

“Partnerships between renowned institutions and Malaysian entities, such as the one we are witnessing here today, are crucial for Malaysia to achieve its goal of building a sustainable future for our citizens,” she said in a press release on June 3.

Signing the MoU were University of Cambridge vice-chancellor Prof Stephen Toope and Sunway Education Group chief executive officer Prof Elizabeth Lee.

Prof Lee said the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation, which owns and governs Sunway University, is fully committed towards nation-building and supporting Malaysia’s goal to become a strategic transnational education and research hub in South-East Asia.

“This partnership with the University of Cambridge is one crucial step we are taking to realise that goal,” she said.

Also present at the ceremony were Higher Education director-general Prof Datuk Dr Husaini Omar, University of Cambridge Strategy and Planning pro-vice-chancellor Prof David Cardwell, and Sunway University president Prof Sibrandes Poppema and provost Prof Abhimanyu Veerakumarasivam.

Prof Cardwell shared his enthusiasm for working with like-minded and visionary institutions passionate about being at the forefront of medical research.

“The deepening of this collaboration between two world-class institutions is truly exciting.

“Our work together so far has produced significant results that can address real-world issues, and we are confident that this partnership will lead to breakthroughs in science and medicine in the coming years,” he said.

After the ceremony, the delegation went on to tour the biomedical centre. Among them was Prof Dr Serena Nik-Zainal, a Malaysian professor of genomic medicine and bioinformatics at the University of Cambridge who has made outstanding contributions to breakthrough efforts in cancer research.

This was published in The Star, on 12 June 2022.