Malinda Prabhath Madhusankha Garusinghe Devage( Award Conferred 19 February 2025)
Title of Thesis:‘ Development and Characterization of Encapsulated Spice Oleoresin Powders by Spray Drying.’
Spices are essential ingredients that enhance the flavor of culinary dishes. However, the low water solubility and susceptibility to degradation limit their use in the food industry. This study focused on extracting flavors from five different spices into oleoresin and blending them to achieve a uniform flavor. Then, a fully water-soluble carbohydrate coating was developed to encapsulate and protect these flavors. The outcome is a spice oleoresin powder that retains over 90 % of the flavors even after three months. This innovative approach facilitates the incorporation of spices into many food products, enhancing the convenience of incorporating spices among spice-loving consumers.
Supervisor: Dr Yin Yin Thoo Associate Supervisor: Associate Professor Lee Fong Siow
Jia Jin Hiu( Award Conferred 22 January 2025)
Title of Thesis:‘ Discovery of Aptamers Targeting Epitopes of Cobra Venom Cytotoxin as Novel Antitoxins Using Computational and Conventional SELEX.’
Cytotoxin( CTX) is one of the cobra venom components responsible for skin tissue damage following snakebite. However, current antibody-based antivenoms are ineffective against the CTX. This research aims to develop DNA-based aptamers as an alternative to antivenom therapy. These single-stranded DNAs can recognise and interact with targets. More importantly, it possesses superior advantages over antibodies. To design aptamers that exhibit neutralising capabilities, the functional regions within the CTX were initially characterised. These regions served as targets for aptamer screening, which was achieved through computational and repeated selection approaches. Aptamers from this research showed significant CTX-neutralising ability by improving cell survival.
Supervisor: Dr Khai Khun Michelle Yap Associate Supervisor: Dr Tan Hock Siew
Vani Juliyanti( Award Conferred 1 November 2023)
Title of Thesis:‘ Investigation of microbes in the rhizosphere and endosphere of cultivated and weedy rice.’
This study investigates microbial diversity in and around the roots( endosphere and rhizosphere) of cultivated and weedy rice grown in tropical paddy fields. This study also compares the microbial diversity in indica and japonica samples to find the common microbes shared by these rice plants. Little difference was found in the microbes associated with adjacent weedy and cultivated rice plants. However substantial differences were found between the indica and japonica samples that were grown in Malaysia and Japan. By providing a better understanding of plant-microbe interactions in both cultivated and weedy rice, the findings of the present study may help in the improvement of rice productivity and the control and management of weedy rice.
Supervisor: Professor Sadequr Rahman Associate Supervisor: Dr Beng Kah Song Associate Supervisor: Professor Adeline Su Yien Ting Associate Supervisor: Associate Professor Chong Chun Wie
Maggie Pui San Sudo( Award Conferred 4 December 2024)
Title of Thesis:‘ Genomic Insights into Southeast Asian weedy rice: Unlocking beneficial gene resources using a pangenome approach.’
Improving rice performance is crucial due to high demand in low-income regions of Asia and Africa. Rice has lost many adaptive genes due to prolonged domestication, underscoring the need to recover these genes from its relatives. To address this, we developed a‘ gene dictionary’ from weedy rice, an unwanted relative of domesticated rice. Our dictionary cataloged 73,874 genes from Southeast Asian( SEA) weedy rice, including valuable genes absent in domesticated varieties. This resource helps identify genes that enhance rice performance and serves as a reference for comparing weedy rice across different SEA countries, improving their weedy rice management strategies.
Supervisor: Dr Beng Kah Song Associate Supervisor: Professor Sadequr Rahman Associate Supervisor: Dr Wee Wei Yee
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