NEWS Malaysia

25 June 2025 – The NCKU–USM Joint Webinar 2025 brought together researchers from Taiwan and Malaysia for a dynamic exchange of knowledge in chemical exposure assessment, metabolomics, and sustainable material development. Held virtually via Cisco Webex and FB Live, the webinar was a collaboration between National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), Taiwan, and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), organized under the NCKU Overseas Hub in Malaysia.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Noorfatimah Yahaya (USM) opened the session, highlighting the event’s goal to bridge research strengths and spark collaborative opportunities across borders.

Key Highlights:

• Mr. Chih-Wei Chang (Dept. of Occupational and Environmental Health, NCKU) presented his cutting-edge study on using high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) to assess long-term chemical exposure through human hair analysis. His work identified 167 chemicals and proposed hair as a promising biomonitoring tool for environmental health and disease risk assessment.
• Dr. Ahmad Husaini Mohamed (Faculty of Applied Sciences, UiTM) shared insights on using deep eutectic solvents (DES) as green alternatives for material functionalization. His presentation emphasized DES's potential to support circular economy goals by replacing conventional solvents with sustainable, tunable systems in material synthesis and modification.
• Ms. Man-Ni Zhuang (Dept. of Occupational and Environmental Health, NCKU) introduced novel bioinformatics tools for annotating biotransformation products in untargeted metabolomics. Her work significantly improves the identification of detoxification-related metabolites, offering a powerful platform to explore the link between chemical exposures and health outcomes.
• Dr. Maisarah Nasution Waras (Advanced Medical and Dental Institute, USM) offered a Malaysian regulatory perspective through her talk titled “Controlling Chemical Exposure in Malaysia: A Regulatory Overview.” She provided an insightful overview of Malaysia’s regulatory framework and public health strategies in managing toxicological risks and emphasized the importance of local policy in protecting population health from chemical hazards.

The session concluded with a call for continued academic exchange and cross-border collaboration, reinforcing the shared commitment between NCKU, USM, and regional partners to advance impactful, interdisciplinary research.