NUMed to lead studies
NEWCASTLE University Medicine Malaysia (NUMed) has helped secure funding for dementia research in Malaysia. The funding was part of a wider grant application led by Newcastle University United Kingdom to establish a global healthcare unit to tackle dementia in Malaysia, Tanzania and India.
The UK government’s Department of Health awarded more than RM10 million for the global project. NUMed will coordinate the research across Malaysia.
NUMed Dean of Research Dr Michaela Goodson said NUMed believes in common goals to solve common problems.
“Leading research into dementia in Malaysia will allow us and our partners to help find answers to common disease processes that affect the Malaysian population,” she said.
She said NUMed was established with the aim of becoming the leading Southeast Asian centre of academic medicine.
“Central to this role is giving back to the community, and that is why we want to improve the quality of life for people in Malaysia in the future,” she said.
The UK’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) held an open research competition for institutions to apply for funding for projects to help promote global health.
The successfully funded project entitled “Dementia Prevention and Enhanced Care (DePEC)”, led in the UK, by Professor Louise Robinson from the National Innovation Centre for Ageing, UK at Newcastle University will investigate current social, policy and service set ups for people with dementia in Malaysia, Tanzania and India.
The Malaysian arm of the research is led by Dr Goodson and brings together Professor Daniel Reidpath and Professor Pascale Allotey from Monash University Malaysia, and Dr Tan Maw Pin from University of Malaya.
NUMed chief executive officer and provost Professor Roger Barton said they were delighted to have secured funding to fight dementia in Malaysia.
“NUMed aims to support Malaysia’s aspiration to become a global healthcare player.”
“With age, obesity and diabetes as risk factors, Malaysia’s ageing population will likely see an increase in dementia. So, it is important for us to understand it more and the issues that surround it,” he said.
Newcastle University, recognised for its excellence in research, aims to be a global leader in ageing research and innovation and is known for helping to raise the profile of ageing as one of the major issues facing communities worldwide.
In 2015, NUMed hosted a panel discussion conducted by Channel NewsAsia on the topic of “Caring for Ageing Asia” for its
series.
The event brought together experts from across fields including Robinson and Health Ministry deputy director-general Datuk Dr Jeyaindran Sinnadurai.
Robinson, who is Newcastle University’s Institute for Ageing director and Professor of Primary Care and Ageing said the Newcastle University team would bring together expertise in public health and primary care, with global epidemiological research, to create a NIHR Global Health Research Group on dementia prevention and enhanced care.
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