B E Y O N D | J U L . T O S E P T . 2 0 2 0 | I S S U E 2 1Under the RMS, Dr. Shirley Lee (Assistant Professor, BiomedicalScience Programme) had the opportunity to visit the lab ofProfessor Guoping Feng at Massachussetts Institute ofTechnology (MIT) McGovern Institute for Brain Research,Massachussetts, United States in December 2019. ProfessorGuoping studies synapses’ function and their disruption inanimal models of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric diseases.Highlights of the dialogue with the host at MIT include thefollowing: As rodents (mice and rats) lack a full prefrontalcortex—the area of the brain considered the seat of personality,decision-making, and higher cognitive function, there isincreasing interest in shifting towards creating monkey modelsfor brain disorders. Therefore, a new macaque (a genus of OldWorld monkeys) animal house/facility in collboration withShenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology (China) has beenestablished. Macaques are also more closely related to humans,with brains more representative of humans’. Their collaborationin Shenzhen has produced the first generation of SHANK3mutant macaques (via CRISPR-Cas9 method to modify one cellembryo). They have also created second-generation macaquesfor a more accurate SHANK3 phenotype (ASD model). Inhumans, mutations in SHANK3 are found in 1 to 2 percent of ASDcases, including some of the most severe cases. These patientshave repetitive behaviors and lack of social awareness,characteristic of the disorder. 8A visit to MIT McGovern Institute, United States by Dr. Shirley LeeDr. Shirley's visit at MIT McGovern InstituteLMain Entrance to MIT McGovern Institute forBrain ResearchMoving forward, Professor Guoping is happy to accept interested Discovery Year (DY) students (feewaiver basis) from UBD to undertake research internship at MIT McGovern Institute, preferably for twosemesters. Dr. Shirley Lee would like to thank Professor Guoping and his lab members for sharing theirresearch passion and their generous hospitality during the visit; she also extends her gratitude to theOffice of Assistant Vice Chancellor (Research), the Dean and Deputy Deans at PAPRSB IHS, UBD forsupporting and granting this RMS. The visit has been a valuable opportunity for UBD to expand itsnetwork of collaboration.In February 2020, Dr. Deeni (Assistant Professor, Nursing &Midwifery Programme) had a great opportunity to spend twoweeks at Durham University, United Kingdom with supportfrom the RMS. Whilst in Durham, he had a productive timeworking on a manuscript with Dr. Simon Forrest, a Professorin Sociology. He also managed to make good use of thefacilities at the university, allowing him to progress furthertowards preparing a publishable manuscript. The paper aimsto explore the role of women in men’s health help seekingbehaviour in Brunei Darussalam – one of the major findingsarising from his PhD studies. In his PhD studies he found thatmen are typically less likely to use formal health servicesthan women. This is due to adherence to normative beliefs inmasculine identity and male behaviour. This also contributesto their reluctance or delay in seeking any help at all.However, there is some indication that for married men andthose in intimate relationships with women, theirrelationships are protective for their health, in which womenmay help instil or promote health help seeking behaviour inthese men. Dr. Deeni plans to publish his findings in thejournal of Men & Masculinities. Dr. Deeni also added that the experience he obtained fromthis trip in writing a quality manuscript will be valuable forhis future research studies and for the supervision of his ownstudents particularly on publication.A visit to Durham University, United Kingdom by Dr. Deeni IdrisDr. Deeni in Durham. Dr Deeni enjoyed a sharingsession with researchers and postgraduate studentsat Durham University.Additionally, he had the opportunity to speak to other students and researchers in Durham Universityabout his research which managed to spark interest and potential future collaboration. Finally, he alsoexpressed his appreciation and gratitude to UBD for giving him the opportunity to go on this trip.
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