Hi Jono,

May I know what kind of computational algorithm you used in the searching and identification of the transitions in phylogenetic nomenclature? Are you developing algorithm for Fuzzy C-Means Clustering in your PhD research?

Not that canggih to develop algorithms myself. I'm trying to develop a computational pipeline to detect and predict unique evolutionary events by comparing different genomes. : )

What about you?

A lot drop out and work in other sectors like sales, banking etc.

Some choose to continue masters,phd.

Some work in life science product companies like MGRC, Firstbase, Science valley etc. This kind of job can either be sales type (sell lab stuff, reagents) or technical (services in computing, sequencing etc).

Some work in research centres like in IMU, MGI, UMBI. There are also many companies that hire ppl for R&D e.g. Sime Darby, Nestle (where you think ppl develop inulin and DHA), FRIM, oil palm centre malaysia which I don't remember name (I remember one of my friends work on this pest which devastate oil palm trees).

Hi Jonoave, what do you think about pharmacy? between pharmacy and bioinformatics.. which is the best? Is it pharmacy graduate guaranteed the job after finish the program?

Well the thing in Malaysia there is no distinction between treating and drug dispensing, both is still done by doctors in most clinics. In hospital yes they do have pharmacists who do drug dispensing and check on patients, but this is a very low number compared to other healthcare personnel (and the number of hospitals is lower than clinics).

The gov has said they will mandate the separation of doctor and pharmacist for dispensing drugs, and I've heard this since early 2000 until now also belum buat. Then only will this create a big job market for pharmacists. If you are optimistic the gov will do it in 4 years by the time you habis belajar then go for it.

The pharmacist that I know usually go work for private pharmacies e.g. Caring/Guardin, but of course there is big supply from pharma grads > available positions. Some work for companies like Nestle etc. but I'm not sure as consultant or sales. And again, you can also do sales e.g. for certain types of supplements/over-the-counter medication.

The best advice that I will give again, is no need to worry too much what subject your degree is unless you're going really specific like doctor. Doing your degree is a time to learn and discover who you are and what you like. I've seen my bio friends jadi bankers, chem friend work in Wisma Putra, others in construction companies (QA control). Also I've seen ppl with geology degrees become journalist or work in consultants.

It usually boils down to your overall skill and interest, not what you study. That's why you can see a lot of ppl jump across different areas - even a lot of jobs only require a basic degree and not a specific degree (unless that company is looking for a specific person in Chemistry, for e.g.).

I’m a “Controlist” and I'm just wondering, to predict unique evolutionary events, you’ll need some kind of control mechanism and inference procedure to compare different genomes.

What's a "controlist"? Lol, sounds like a race/group from Starcraft... : ) What do you do and where do you work?

Well, I'll be mostly using various tools currently available, but through different combinations and optimisations. I will need to come up with some scripts of my own, mostly to manipulate those tools but nothing too fancy or by developing new algorithms.

As controlists, we usually purchase an off-the-shelf controller (e.g. Siemens SIMATIC S7), install it in an instrumentation panel, and then proceeds to make the controller work and get the process plant under control. However, this often is not trivial because there may be control input sensor problems and control output actuator problems. More crucially, there may be challenging process dynamics problems, which require careful controller parameters tuning. So, in many ways, solving instrumentation issues can be the most challenging aspect of a controlist's job.

So, it requires some kind of phylogenetic profiling?

Ah ok. And where do you work then? Which company and in Malaysia?

Sort of. The main challenge is since that this will be a pipeline, it needs to be automated so the program should be able to assess the results and determine if a "unique' event happened. Currently you still need to analyse and interpret the results manually, which makes it infeasible to run across genomes.

wow jonoave, you're really great!! thank you very much

actually mmu quite good in bio-informatics. some of the graduates doing pretty well.
mmu bio-informatics course is under faculty of science & technology.
they have their own biology labs, well equipped, & few computers in bio-informatics room.
they are not sharing with engineering.

This topic should be bumpped. I hope the TS has got a good headstart in bioinformatics by now. Anyone in this field?

Wow it is great to know that there is someone working at Max Planck, jonoave. I am right now studying biotechnology at a university somewhere upstate New York. I posted a question here asking about the current landscape of biotech industry in Malaysia (but sadly no one answers that yet). I wonder if we can exhange email some time in the future, because I am interested to read about your works there.

Btw, Critical_Fallacy, the picture of Geneious Pro that you posted is a plasmid, right? Because I can see the EcoR1 there.

Hey NightlyArt,

The current landscape of the biotech industry is somewhat complicated but it's actually quite bright. Need talents first and foremost and I am proud to tell you that i have built a startup in biotechnology and we are growing from strength to strengh 5 years and counting.

Hi there fadetob|ack, thanks for the input. It is good to hear that your biotech startup is going fine, and I hope it will continue to progress. I hope that I can exchange email with you, if that's possible. Would love to create networking first before going back home within next 2 or 3 yers. Thanks!

sure thing. just send me a pm. Biotech in our country should have a more inclusive policy and as pioneering startup this is what we will push forward in our dialogs with the government as well.

Just dropping in a couple of years later, being a recent bioinformatics graduate myself. Anyone here able to give their opinions and thoughts on how the field is faring here in Malaysia?

Can you help me to explain about advanced skill?

to be honest, most of my friend which have graduated from bioinfo,
either they work in pure IT field or they work in pure Bio field,
that's the current situation in Malaysia