May 30, 2018, by ZY
A Visit to a Stem Cell Bank
Located at Cyberjaya, the Silicon Valley of Malaysia, Cryocord™ is a medical biotechnology company which specializes in Cord Blood Banking and Stem Cell Research. CryoCord™ provides excellent mesenchymal stem cell storage service with modern technology by utilizing the advanced and secure facilities and resources available.
On 20th April 2018, the students of Year 2 Biomedical Sciences were given an opportunity to visit and understand how a real working environment of a company is like as an insight placement under the module LIFE2059 Approaches to Biomedical Research.
Upon arrival, the students were led into a professional and comfy conference room. Head of laboratory, Mr Ooi Ghee Chien, gave a deep yet fascinating talk on the current development of stem cells technologies and how his company is able to utilize the technologies. Students were able to relate the content of the talk to various modules learned both in Year 1 and 2 with the content about stem cell usage in terms of disease treatment. The stem cell extracted and stored can be used to benefit those who are affected by diseases such as acute leukaemia which was once thought to be incurable.
Mr Ooi, the head of laboratory in Cryocord, is giving a talk on stem cells technologies.
Right after that, the students were given a tour of the facilities of the company. The laboratory is a clean-room environment that possesses the ability to prevent contamination during stem cell processing as slight containment can render the cells to be non-viable. Their laboratories are also the first laboratory in Malaysia certified to cGMP (PIC/S) requisites was awarded by NPCB (BPFK), a division of the Ministry of Health, Malaysia. Students were very impressed with the technology that enables stem cells to be stored for an unlimited amount of time even if a disaster were to happen.
Mr Ooi is showing the students some of the international publications of the company in collaboration with local and international medical institutions, academia and research organization in the field of stem cell research.
The scientific knowledge and insights of an industrial laboratory gained from this placement are certainly utmost for the year 2 students who will be starting their final year projects next academic year. Students are definitely more enthusiastic about their current studies as well as their future ventures in science and are able to appreciate the importance of scientific research.
Group photo of Year 2 students with Mr Ooi and Dr Mustafa – the happy faces tell everything!
Article by: Kyle Lee Soong Chun (BMS Year 2 student)
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