DAY 2 PROGRAMME - AWARENESS / EDUCATIONAL TALKS
Following awareness / Educational talks have been organised for all audience / participants:
- 0900-1000 : Mindful-Gym: A Relaxation REST-Shop for Stress Reduction & Wellness. - by Dr. Phang Cheng Kar
- 1000-1030 : Nutrition for the Brain by Prof. Dr. Zalilah Mohd Shariff
- 1030-1100 : Understanding DHA - by Ms Lulu Cheong
- 1100-1200 : Understanding the Mysterious Human Brain and Alzheimer's Disease by Dr. Cheah Pike See
- 1430-1530 : A Dose of Music a Day Keeps Pain at Bay by Dr. Sharon Chong
- 1430-1530 : Science Rocks!!! by Associate Professors Dr. Abhi Veerakumarasivam & Syahrilnizam Abdullah
0900-1000: Mindful-Gym: A Relaxation REST-Shop for Stress Reduction & Wellness
Dr. Phang Cheng Kar (BSc., M.D., MMed.Psych) received his medical degree from the Putra University of Malaysia (UPM). He further obtained his postgraduate medical degree in psychiatry from the National University of Malaysia (UKM). He's currently practicing as a psychiatrist in Kuala Lumpur & Kajang General Hospital, and also lecturing in the UPM Medical School. His research interest is on mindfulness-based psychotherapies, and has developed MINDFUL-Gym which is a local mindfulness-based stress management & wellness program. He's the author of 3 books: 1. I'm Still Human: Understanding Depression with Kindness (HERE), 2. No WORRY-Lah, Be HAPPY – A Medical Student’s Motivational & Inspirational Guide (HERE), & 3. Don’t Worry, Be Healthy – A Buddhist Guide for Health & Healing (HERE). He's also the past president of UPM Buddhist Society & the founder president of the Kuala Lumpur Buddhist Mental Health Association (BMHA).
Synopsis of the talk: Prenatal and postnatal nutrition is essential to support the developing brain and the subsequent cognitive development. Although the young brain is plastic, it is also vulnerable to nutritional insults that could outweigh its plasticity. Sustained cognitive disabilities in early childhood can persist into late childhood or adolescence and adulthood, manifesting in poor academic achievement and less physical and economic productivity, respectively. This presentation will focus on the relationship between nutritional factors, particularly stunting, obesity, micronutrient deficiencies and inadequate breakfast with cognitive development of children. Stunting, a measure of chronic under-nutrition, has been consistently shown to be associated with cognitive deficits and the adverse effects could be irreversible if the window of opportunity to address children’s nutritional needs is missed. With increasing rates of obesity worldwide, there are concerns about the effects of childhood obesity on mental health and cognitive development. Iron, zinc, iodine, folate and vitamin D are important micronutrients for brain development and subsequent cognitive functions. Breakfast omission has been shown to result in declining cognitive functions and academic performance in children. Recent studies have suggested that different food types consumed for breakfast or nutritional composition of breakfast could also influence cognition through their impact on blood glucose levels. The role of nutrition in brain development is complex but to date, evidence seems to support that adequate diet, particularly during rapid development of brain, could significantly impact cognitive functions.
Time: 0900-1000
Venue: DKU
Target Group: All
Registration: This is a free session. Please click here to register.
Organised by: Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, UPM.
1000-1030: Nutrition for the Brain
Deputy Dean
Department of Nutrition and Dietetics
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
Universiti Putra Malaysia
Synopsis of the talk: Prenatal and postnatal nutrition is essential to support the developing brain and the subsequent cognitive development. Although the young brain is plastic, it is also vulnerable to nutritional insults that could outweigh its plasticity. Sustained cognitive disabilities in early childhood can persist into late childhood or adolescence and adulthood, manifesting in poor academic achievement and less physical and economic productivity, respectively. This presentation will focus on the relationship between nutritional factors, particularly stunting, obesity, micronutrient deficiencies and inadequate breakfast with cognitive development of children. Stunting, a measure of chronic under-nutrition, has been consistently shown to be associated with cognitive deficits and the adverse effects could be irreversible if the window of opportunity to address children’s nutritional needs is missed. With increasing rates of obesity worldwide, there are concerns about the effects of childhood obesity on mental health and cognitive development. Iron, zinc, iodine, folate and vitamin D are important micronutrients for brain development and subsequent cognitive functions. Breakfast omission has been shown to result in declining cognitive functions and academic performance in children. Recent studies have suggested that different food types consumed for breakfast or nutritional composition of breakfast could also influence cognition through their impact on blood glucose levels. The role of nutrition in brain development is complex but to date, evidence seems to support that adequate diet, particularly during rapid development of brain, could significantly impact cognitive functions.
Time: 1000-1030
Venue: DKU
Target Group: All
Registration: This is a free session. Please click here to register.
Organised by: Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, UPM.
1030-1100: Understanding Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)
Product Executive
Mederis Sdn. Bhd.
◦ Bachelor of Science (Hons) (Biochemistry) - UM
◦ MBA (Hons) Marketing - UM
Synopsis of the talk: To get a thorough understanding on “What is DHA?, Benefits of DHA?, Relationship between DHA and Pregnancy?, Relationship between DHA and Newborns/Children? And How to choose an effective and sufficient source of DHA?”.
Time: 1030-1100
Venue: DKU
Target Group: All
Registration: This is a free session. Please click here to register.
Organised by: Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, UPM & Mederis Sdn. Bhd.
1100-1200: Understanding the Mysterious Human Brain and Alzheimer's Disease
◦ Bachelor in Biomedical Sciences (First Class Honours), UPM
◦ Doctor of Philosophy in Human Anatomy, UKM
◦ Postdoctoral training in Neuroscience, University of Adelaide
◦ Senior Lecturer at the Universiti Putra Malaysia
◦ Life member of Malaysian Society of Neurosciences
◦ Member of Society for Neurosciences, USA
Time: 1100-1200
Venue: DKU
Target Group: All
Registration: This is a free session. Please click here to register.
Organised by: Dept. of Human Anatomy, UPM.
1430-1530: A Dose of Music a Day Keeps Pain at Bay
◦ Doctor of Medicine (MD), Universiti Malaysia Sarawak; 2010
◦ Associate Diploma, London College of Music (ALCM); 2003
◦ Medical Advisor, DSY Wellness & Longevity Center
◦ President, Malaysian Society for Music in Medicine (MSMM)
◦ Council Member (Music Therapy Chapter), Federation of Complementary & Natural Medical Associations Malaysia
◦ Member, International Association for Music in Medicine (IAMM)
◦ Former research officer, National Clinical Research Centre, Ministry of Health Malaysia; 2011
◦ Previous talks on Music Medicine
* Monthly talk (November 2012), Kasih Hospice Society - "Let Music be Thy Medicine – Hospice Care"
* Neuroscience Seminar 2012, UPM Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences - "Music Soothes the Savage Breast"
* 1st World Congress of Healthy Ageing 2012
- "Music Medicine – An Overview"
- "The Role of Music in Diabetes"
Synopsis of the talk: Since human antiquity, music has been used as therapy and as medicine among indigenous cultures in many parts of the world throughout time. With sprouting evidences on how music affects our bodily systems, the belief that music plays a supportive complementary role in various clinical settings has been much researched upon in the recent decades. Thus, the various components of music medicine, i.e. sound therapy/healing, vibroacoustic therapy, Indian ragas, music thanatology and the use of therapeutic music are slowly emerging as an integral part of today's mind-body medicine – a concept of physical health as influenced by the power of thoughts and emotions. In the aspect of pain management, numerous music medicine and music therapy studies have shown substantial positive effects in various disciplines, from chronic/neuropathic pain, labour pain, surgical/procedural pain and psychosomatic pain. Through various models of neurochemical and psychophysiological pathways studied, music has been shown to ameliorate pain as the end result, either by distraction or by relaxation, i.e. reducing level of stress, fear and anxiety. A variety of musical instruments deemed ‘therapeutic’ have been used, e.g. guitar, harp, flute, or even local traditional instruments suitable to cultural background. This session will give an overview of the role of music medicine and music therapy as a complementary approach, particularly in pain management. Being recognized worldwide as an evidence-based approach in holistic medicine, a short compilation of published abstracts and conclusions drawn from Cochrane review will be shared. A brief insight on music medicine and music therapy practice worldwide, as well as development of music medicine and music therapy in Malaysia will also be covered.
Time: 1430-1530
Venue: DKU
Target Group: All
Registration: This is a free session. Please click here to register.
Organised by: Dept. of Medicine, UPM.
1430-1530: Science Rocks!!!
By Associate Professors Abhimanyu Veerakumarasivam (Left) & Syahrilnizam Abdullah (Right)
Dr. Abhimanyu Veerakumarasivam
- Bachelor in Biomedical Sciences (First Class Honours), UPM
- Doctor of Philosophy in Cancer Genetics, University of Cambridge, UK
- Assoc. Dean / Assoc. Prof. at the Perdana University Graduate School of Medicine
- Member of Young Scientists Network-Academy of Sciences, Malaysia (YSN-ASM)
- Bachelor of Science, Indiana University, USA
- Master of Science, UPM
- Doctor of Philosophy in Gene Therapy, Oxford University, UK
- Head of Clinical Genetics Unit, UPM
- Head of Genetic Medicine Research Centre
- Assoc. Prof. at the Universiti Putra Malaysia
- Member of Young Scientists Network-Academy of Sciences, Malaysia (YSN-ASM)
Time: 1430-1530
Venue: BMU
Target Group: Secondary level students, parents and teachers.
Registration: This is a free session. Please click here to register.
Organised by: Dept. of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, UPM & YSN-ASM Malaysia