Welcome to the Malaysian Society of Pharmacology and Physiology!

The year 2020 has seen unprecedented times with the world characterized by the many uncertainties during this pandemic. We have learned to communicate via technology where we conduct administrative, academic or scientific meetings via the diverse virtual platforms at our disposal. Not only that, when the pandemic just started, we have had to be accustomed to giving voice-over lectures which then changed to live telecast or synchronous lectures. For many of us, it was not a rapid transition but an immediate one. I would like to congratulate the Past President and her executive committee for holding for the very first time, a virtual AGM on December 10, 2020. It probably is the way to go as we had record breaking attendance as people did not have to make travel and accommodation arrangements.

MSPP has grown to become a sizable community of scientists. Many years ago, the society started with a single activity and that was a scientific meeting every two years. The change to having an annual scientific meeting was not an option but a necessity as it provides young lecturers and scientists as well as postgraduate students with the opportunity to share their research findings through oral and poster presentations at the numerous free paper and poster sessions.

As the universities that provided a medical program increased, the society quickly realised that there were many young academicians that would benefit from a refresher course in the teaching of pharmacology and physiology. In addition, to encourage continuity of high quality of scientific investigations and teaching, MSPP introduced ‘The Young Investigator Award’ and ‘The Young Teacher’s Award’ which I am proud to say received much interest reflected by the number of submissions for these events.

The society has undertaken a very important endeavour which is a community outreach program. I am very proud of this initiative as this provides the society with an avenue to offer the community with current findings on a healthy lifestyle. We now also have an electronic newsletter twice a year to keep members in touch with the activities of the society which is not only carried out by the executive community but members themselves.

On that note, I invite all members to submit ideas in the form of a concept paper on what they’d like to do under the name of the society. We look forward to receiving your ideas and how best to implement them. You may submit these to the Secretary, Dr. Azlini Ismail (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.). We had our first executive committee meeting on December 18^th and although the constitution requires us to meet only four times till the next AGM, I am pleased to inform that we plan to meet every other month which will allow us to discuss your ideas sooner.

We hope that many more will join the society. Why join MSPP? We are a self-organizing society, which means that members drive the society activities. While attending conferences, getting feedback on ideas and papers, networking with peers and senior professors, a discounted members fee for some events, members find they also benefit from contributing to the Society in many ways. See your ideas being transformed into reality! You may also serve on subcommittees which the executive committee members will lead – come and join us!

I hope many will participate in the Society activities planned for 2021 – The Young Investigator Award, The Young Teacher’s Award, community outreach program and many more – please check our website and FB for events. This work comes with the benefit of interaction with scholars. Through it, together we grow intellectually and academically, and we absorb and reckon with global concerns in our field. For many of us, our MSPP friendships and collaborations have become some of the most rewarding relationships of our lives.

I am also delighted to announce that the MSPP Scientific Meeting 2021, hosted by Monash University in collaboration with the Society will be held virtually, tentatively in the month of July 2021. Hope to see you there!

We look forward to your involvement with MSPP.

Professor Dr. Nafeeza Mohd Ismail

President

The Malaysian Society of Pharmacology and Physiology was initially known as The Malaysian Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics or MASPET which was formed in 1976. The society were later joined by physiologist as members and subsequently changed its name officially in 1988 to The Malaysian Society of Pharmacology and Physiology (MSPP). It has now become the primary Malaysia learned society of pharmacologists and physiologists.

Based in The University of Malaya, the oldest university in Malaysia, the Society has played a key role in promoting research among its members since its early days. The Society has been organizing its own Scientific Meetings as a platform for researchers to share their research findings and build networking and collaborations. The Meetings were originally held biennially. With increasing interest and support, the frequency of the Meetings was increased, and it was changed into an annual event.

To date, MSPP is proud to have organized 32 scientific meetings already, which was carried out on rotational and voluntary basis among local universities. The scientific meetings have not only attracted local participants to come and share their knowledge and findings but have also attracted many overseas participants from countries such as India, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Indonesia, Kuwait, Nigeria, Australia and Finland.

Members of MSPP basically work in academia, industry and also health services and consists of scientists and medically qualified personel. The society encompasses a broad spectrum of pharmacology and physiology including the basic and applied aspects of both areas. The society is not only promoting research activities but also stresses on the teaching aspect of both disciplines through a series of refresher courses conducted.