Fond ties with Sunway
Mention ginger leaves and Sunway, and his eyes just brighten up. One which he has spent several years researching on, leading to his PhD in October last year, while the other is where he still feels nostalgic about. Eric Chan Wei Chiang, who obtained the Ontario Secondary School Diploma at Sunway University College after his Canadian International Matriculation Programme (CIMP) in 2000, says he still feels nostalgic when walking the corridors of Sunway.
Chan shares one-year stint at Sunway: “Doing my CIMP was an important milestone in my entire education. The programme transformed me from a mediocre student in high school to become the best Honours Student, and the first PhD graduate from the School of Science, Monash University Sunway Campus.”
In his opinion, CIMP places more emphasis on continuous evaluation of coursework and projects than on examinations. “With a balance of science and art subjects in the syllabus, the class environment was conducive for learning, liberal and non-restrictive,” he adds.
“We were encouraged to express our views in class and trained to conduct research projects, followed by documentation and presentation of findings,” he recalls. “This is why I still have I have fond memories of doing CIMP. My brother Aaron and cousin Li Li also obtained their CIMP diplomas from Sunway in 2002 and 2003, respectively.”
On his PhD work on ginger leaves, Chan explains: “Leaves of Etlingera elatior have strong antioxidant, antibacterial and skin-whitening properties. A protocol to produce a standardised extract of chlorogenic acid (CGA) from leaves of the torch ginger or kantan has been developed. Its CGA content is almost two-fold that of commercial extracts from honeysuckle flowers. Currently, an agricultural waste with no economic value, leaves of kantan have great potential to be developed into useful natural preservatives and herbal products.”
From his ginger research, Eric has published six papers in international refereed journals as the first author. He has also presented his findings at international ginger symposia held in Singapore (2006) and China (2009).
Last year, Chan won the Consolation Prize of the Merck Young Scientist Award (MYSA) 2009 Chromatography Category. He is a Life Member for Academic Excellence, Monash University Chapter of the Golden Key International Honour Society since 2002, and a Member of the International Society for Mangrove Ecosystems (ISME) since 2008. Currently, he is lecturing Analytical Chemistry to Second Year Food Science and Nutrition Students at a local institution of higher learning.
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