KUCHING, Dec 5: A Sarawak delegation led by the deputy general manager of Sarawak Research and Development Council (SRDC) and chief executive officer (CEO) of Sarawak Infectious Disease Centre (wholly owned subsidiary of the SRDC), Professor Ivan Yap Kok Seng, visited Bioneer Korea and the Institute for Basic Science Korea.
According to a press release, the delegation is part of the Sarawak Ministry of Education, Innovation, and Talent Development’s visit to South Korea to establish collaboration and partnership in biomedical and pharmaceutical research and development.
The delegation was greeted by the founder of Bioneer, Dr Park Han-Oh, and his senior team and discussed collaboration and partnership in molecular diagnostic and co-development of new diagnostics for infectious diseases relevant to Sarawak and the region, with a potential to start collaborative work in 2024.
The delegation also visited the Institute for Basic Science. Dr Koo Bon-Kyuong, the Centre for Genome Engineering director, and his team were on hand to receive the delegation.
The delegation discussed collaboration in the area of virology, including fundamental mechanistic study, establishing CRISPR technology capability in SIDC, and human capital development, including internship programmes that allow staff and students from Sarawak to be attached at the institute for internship for up to 12 months.
Other delegation members included Prof Alan Fong, director of the Clinical Research Centre of Sarawak General Hospital (SGH); Datu Dr Charlie Yeo, CEO of Sarawak Biodiversity Centre; Prof Dato Dr Andrew Kiyu from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas), and Prof Patrick Then from Swinburne University Sarawak. — DayakDaily
