As an inbound international research student fully funded by the Universitas Negeri Malang, this program creates a window of opportunity to challenge Siti Sarah Binti Abu Bakar (Student of Chemistry Department, University Malaya) to experience research, new environment and cultures in Universitas Negeri Malang. She got a great honor as a postgraduate student from University Malaya to be selected for this program held by Office of International Affairs (OIA) Universitas Negeri Malang. She learned more knowledge under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Sc. Anugrah Ricky Wijaya, a professor in Marine and Environmental Analytical Chemistry, at the Departemen Kimia, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. This distinguish funding is depicting the good research collaboration between Universitas Negeri Malang and University Malaya.
Through her research experience here for two weeks, 12–25 May 2023, she was guided and helped by Professor Anugrah Ricky Wijaya, Alif Alfarisyi Syah (a post graduate student in the Analytic Laboratory), and also Professor Associates Dr Kartini Binti Abu Bakar as her supervisor from University Malaya.
The current research mainly focused on extracting bromelain enzymes from organic waste for pharmaceutical application. Bromelain is a proteolytic enzyme that can be found in pineapples, with its common benefit to be used in food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical industries. Crude which contains bromelain enzyme will be extracted out from pineapple crown. The purified crude extract from pineapple crown obtained will be used for metal isotopes study by using inductively couple plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). This research aimed to elucidate bromelain enzyme mechanisms for clinical study such as drugs design.
Besides being able to exchange knowledge and research ideas, this program helps this foreign student to develop her interpersonal skills, and it is highly hoped that University Malaya will have more collaborative research work with Universitas Negeri Malang in future.
