Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine research and development in Malaysia: A scientometrics study based on relevant conferences from 2004 to 2014
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1
International Islamic University Malaysia
, Department of Biomedical Science, Kulliyyah of Allied Health Sciences
, Malaysia
Introduction: In Malaysia, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine (TERM) research is progressing well from bench to bedside [1]. The first conference related to TERM was held in 2004. Championed by the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), the 1st International Conference on Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering (IC-BITE) 2004 was an initiative to gather all TERM researchers with the hope to provide better future for this field [2]. Conference has been always the platform for researchers to present ideas and often serve as a kick-start for their research. Proceedings publications are a key part of the scholarly literature and individuals’ record of their research impact and activity [3]. The information provided in the proceedings can be analysed to show the momentum of the research activities on specific time points using scientometrics study. The term “scientometrics” is used to describe the study of science: growth, structure, interrelationships and productivity. Scientometrics study is related to and overlaps with bibliometrics and informetrics that refer to component fields related to the study of the dynamics of disciplines as reflected in the production of their literature [4]. There are only few studies conducted to investigate the trend and progress of TERM research in Malaysia. Using a simple scientometrics analysis, this present study aims to fill the gap of literature dearth that systematically addresses the trend of TERM research and development (R&D) in Malaysia. Methodology: Published abstracts presented in the six (6) conferences from 2004 to 2014 i.e. 1st IC-BITE 2004, the 1st National Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Scientific Meeting (NTERMS) 2006, the 2nd Malaysian Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Scientific Meeting (MTERMS) 2008 and the subsequent 3rd to 5th MTERMS from 2010 until 2014 were retrieved. The available data from the proceedings were extracted and transferred into Microsoft Excel. The data were grouped based on authors, publication titles, year of publication, affiliation and acknowledgement. The (i) publication productivity trend, (ii) authorship productivity, (iii) productivity of local institutions based on the first author’s affiliation and (iv) sources of funding were examined in relation to the overall publications. Descriptive analyses were done on each pool data. Results and Discussion: A total of 476 abstracts were published in the selected scientific meetings. The number of publications per year are identified as the followings: 114 publications (2004); 65 (2006), 69 (2008), 70 (2010), 65 (2012) and 93 (2014). The highest publication number was 114 in 2004. The number is almost twice higher than those in 2006 and 2012 which was 65 publications respectively. The 2004 event was named “International Conference on Biomaterial and Tissue Engineering”. Highlighting both biomaterial and tissue engineering in the title perhaps is a good strategy and invites more participations since the two scopes are inseparable in regenerative medicine. Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Society of Malaysia (TESMA) has been established in the same year. In 2005, various tissue engineering related societies were gathered in the 8th Tissue Engineering Society International (TESI) Annual Meeting in Shanghai, China. This meeting consolidated global TERM proponents and established the new Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS) that marked the worldwide advancement of both the science and technology of TERM. TERMIS is organised in three continental chapters i.e. Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America. With this progress, the subsequent Malaysian TERM meetings focus more on local R&D activities. The participations declined and yielded no more than 100 publications after 2004. It is hoped that the future MTERMS can improve the publication productivity trend. Most publications were multi-authored involving public higher learning institutions (HLIs). Collaborations between local and international authors were noted. The number of publications of the top 10 most prominent authors are identified as follow: Ruszymah Hj Idrus (111 publications), Chua Kien Hui (48), Aminuddin Saim (45), Abdul Rahim Samsudin (43), Angela Ng Min Hwei (23), Fauziah Othman (21), Rozita Rosli (20), Rajesh Ramasamy (19), Shiplu Roy Chowdhury (15) and Ahmad Sukari Halim (14). This indicates, as of 2014, the number of highly anticipating researchers in Malaysia is not that many. Out of 476 publications being analysed, only 474 indicated proper affiliations with 364 (78.77%) publications involving only local institutions, 71 (14.98%) publications involving international institutions and 39 (8.23%) publications involving collaboration between both local and international institutions. 439 out of 474 publications involve at least one or more HLIs. The top 10 local HLIs being actively participating in TERM include: UKM (143), UPM (94), USM (68), IIUM (35), UM (18), UTM (14), UTAR (8), University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (7), UiTM (6) and UNITEN (4). This shows productivity of local HLIs is encouraging. The first author’s affiliation was used in this study because the information for corresponding author was not provided in some proceedings. Only 145 out of 476 publications indicated the acknowledgements with only 123 provided the complete details of grant numbers. The overall involvement of the grants of the 123 publications are 178 grants, in which 115 (64.6%) of them are provided by the Malaysian government, 41 (23.03%) are provided by the local HLIs, 7 (3.93%) are provided by the private sectors and 4 (2.25%) are provided by international funding and 11 (6.18%) could not be identified. The findings show the Malaysian government is highly participating and has invested significant amount of budget to improve the healthcare through TERM research. An effective healthcare system is driven by innovation engine of health services and policy research [5]. More effort is needed to bridge the gap in TERM application and to promote better evaluation of TERM research in Malaysia. Conclusion: The development of TERM in Malaysia based on the abstract publications in six (6) conferences has been presented. All the five research universities are among the top HLIs contributing to TERM. Certain prominent researchers and local HLIs are actively upholding the field. The government has granted large amount of fund for TERM development. The study may serve as a reference for researchers to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and obstacles for TERM in Malaysia.
Acknowledgements
IIUM, MOHE for MIRGS13-01-002-0003, MOSTI for SF14-012-0062 and Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Research Team, IIUM.
Keywords:
Malaysia,
Regenerative Medicine,
Tissue Engineering,
scientometrics,
Bibliometric
Conference:
6th Malaysian Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Scientific Meeting (6th MTERMS) 2016 and 2nd Malaysian Stem Cell Meeting, Seberang Jaya, Penang, Malaysia, 17 Nov - 18 Nov, 2016.
Presentation Type:
Poster
Topic:
Biomaterials and Tissue Regeneration
Citation:
Azharuddin
NM,
Radzi
MA and
Shaban
M
(2016). Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine research and development in Malaysia: A scientometrics study based on relevant conferences from 2004 to 2014.
Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.
Conference Abstract:
6th Malaysian Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Scientific Meeting (6th MTERMS) 2016 and 2nd Malaysian Stem Cell Meeting.
doi: 10.3389/conf.FBIOE.2016.02.00016
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Received:
08 Dec 2016;
Published Online:
19 Dec 2016.
*
Correspondence:
Dr. Munirah Shaban, International Islamic University Malaysia, Department of Biomedical Science, Kulliyyah of Allied Health Sciences, Kuantan, Pahang, 25200, Malaysia, munirahshaban@iium.edu.my