Centre for Drug Research, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia.

Centre for Drug Research (CDR) has a long involvement in addiction research since its first establishment as national centre for addiction research known as Pusat Penyelidikan Dadah Kebangsaan in 1978. The work conducted at the centre was recognized by international organizations including the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations of which the centre was a collaborating partner for training and research in addiction. In 1985, the centre was acknowledged as a full-fledged centre of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and since then known as Pusat Penyelidikan Dadah dan Ubat-ubatan or Centre for Drug Research. In 2009, CDR was awarded the status of Higher Institution Centre of Excellence (HICoE) under the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia in the niche area Behavioral Research in Addiction. Today, CDR is staying true to its strength in having a multidisciplinary team of which the disciplines include chemistry, pharmacology, neuroscience, and social sciences; working together to address research questions with the vision to lead in drug research, for the benefits of mankind. Research activities are enriched by the establishments of extensive research network with national and international collaborators. At CDR, we offer postgraduate degree programme at Masters and PhD levels tailored to fit the expertise of our academics. We welcome students of all nationalities who are qualified to pursue their postgraduate degrees through research mode either on a full-time or a part-time basis. Please go through this booklet to discover more about what we can offer!

Representative: Associate Prof. Dr. Zurina Hassan

“I am electrophysiologist and behavioural neuroscientist motivated to work toward a deeper understanding of how the brain’s cells are born, grow, connect and organise themselves into efficient functional circuits. Communication between neurons is not constant; rather, cells can change their connectivity and communication, a phenomenon known as “plasticity”. It is thought that the ability of neurons to rearrange their connections is enables the brain to grow, adapt to experience and encode long-term memories. An extensive amount of study is being done to determine the elements that either encourage or restrict neural changes (and hence memory encoding). Understanding brain principles of motivation, learning and memory, particularly in drug addiction and neurodegenerative disease, has long been a focus of my research. Currently, we are using animal model of chronic cerebral ischemia and investigating its behaviour, particularly regarding cognition, brain activity, neural circuit and neurotransmitter systems. The discovery of therapeutic drugs that can interfere with the hemodynamic and molecular effects of the disease, along with an understanding of the pathophysiology of the brain, have raised high hopes for the effective treatment of stroke and dementia. This animal model has been used as a benchmark for Alzheimer’s illness. Our goal is to identify any prospective plants that may have memory-enhancing and neuroprotective characteristics to be developed as Smart Drug.”