Professor Stephen Doughty

President & CEO of Penang Medical College (PMC)

“I always had a desire for discovering new knowledge. My undergraduate degree included 2 years of research work and that led me to undertake my PhD in Oxford in computational chemistry and Computer-Aided Drug Design.”

When Professor Stephen Doughty moved to Malaysia with his wife and five boys all between the age of 1 and 10 about 12 years ago, it was the beginning of an exciting journey dedicated to the pursuit of helping establish a new learning institution and sharing of knowledge. Apart from taking up a new role as the Dean of Faculty of Science, then progressing up the ranks to being Vice-Provost (Teaching and Learning) at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus in Kuala Lumpur, it was also the start of a new life away from home – the UK, friends, and family. As with any move to a new country, this family of seven has set themselves up with a cross-border challenge – embracing the whole Malaysian experience from getting accustomed to the relentless tropical weather, learning its culture and language to tasting the variety of delectable cuisines Malaysia has to offer.

12 years later, Professor Doughty joined Penang Medical College (PMC) as its fourth president in September 2016. Stephen joined the School of Pharmacy at the University of Nottingham in 2001 having previously worked at the University of Bradford, UK. His research interests are focused on molecular modelling and computer-aided drug design with a particular interest in modelling proteins for rational drug design.

“I always had a desire for discovering new knowledge. My undergraduate degree included 2 years of research work (which isn’t normal!) and that led me to undertake my PhD in Oxford in computational chemistry and Computer-Aided Drug Design,” said Professor Doughty.

A strong believer in pushing back the boundaries of knowledge and undertaking new research to answer questions that have yet to be explored, Professor Doughty continues to actively research and publish new findings. “ this is what has kept me in academia and drives my desire to want to see PMC flourish as a university, where the whole community is engaged in the pursuit of acquiring and developing knowledge.”

“We want to establish ourselves as the place to come to for Penang’s human capital needs in supporting services like medical tourism.”

Professor Doughty has high expectations and sees great potential for PMC. Celebrating its 20th year as a medical institution in 2016, it is the beginning of a new chapter – not only is it affecting people who are connected to PMC but also its communities surrounding the institution. He believes that academic institutions must be contributing to society both globally in terms of expanding knowledge and also locally in terms of enhancing the lives of those communities in close proximity to PMC.

“I see it [PMC] growing in the next 10 years as we continue to develop new courses. We want to establish ourselves as the place to come to for Penang’s human capital needs in supporting services like medical tourism. The areas that we could move into are not only in providing doctors but also support and healthcare staff as well as area such as computer scientists for healthcare and research purposes.

Wholly owned by RCSI and UCD, PMC has been internationally recognised since 1996 and was rated by House Officer Performance in Malaysia 2009 – 2011, the Institute for Health Systems Research Malaysia, as among the top medical schools in preparing graduate doctors for their early careers. With plans to upgrade the college status to a university as the next step, it wishes to enhance students’ learning experience with plans to develop new courses as well as expand the physical infrastructure that now houses 500 students. Apart from keeping abreast with developments of lecturers and students, they are also placing importance in attracting the best quality staff and maintaining a good relationship with their partners.

“我们想建设自身作为槟城人力资本需求的定点，用于支持类似医疗旅游服务。”

约12年前，Stephen Doughty 教授与妻子、还有5名1岁到10岁的儿子们移居到马来西亚。这是激奋人心旅程开始，他致力于搭建新的学习机构和知识分享。除了扮演理科院院长的角色之外，还在马来西亚诺丁汉大学吉隆坡校区担任副校长（教学与学习）。另外，这也是他们远离家乡英国，朋友和家人，开展新生活。不过，与任何国家的新移民一样，这个七口之家已征服跨界挑战 – 体验马来西亚的整体生活，首先习惯热带天气，学习其文化和语言，品尝各种多元食物。

Doughty教授在12年间也持续前进，直至2016年9月他加入槟城医学院（PMC）担任第四任院长。另外，他于2001年加入诺丁汉大学药剂学院，此前曾在英国布拉德福德（Bradford）大学工作。他的研究兴趣集中在分子建模和电脑辅助药物设计，特别关注用于合理药物设计的蛋白质建模。

“我一直渴望发掘新的知识。本科学位包括两年的研究工作（这非正常状态！），导向我在牛津获取计算化学和电脑辅助药物设计博士学位。”

Doughty教授强烈支持推进知识界限，持续积极钻研和发表新的成果，不断进行研究以回答这个有待探索的问题。“这正是我留在学术界的理由，​​我希望看到槟城医学院进阶成为大学的驱动力，而整个社会都在追求获取和发展知识。”

他对于槟城医学院抱持很高的期望和预见它的巨大潜能。2016年，槟城医学院作为医疗机构庆祝成立迈向20周年，这是新一章的开端——不仅影响到与医学院相关的人，也带动该机构周围的社区。他认为，学术机构在扩大知识的同时，也必须在全球范围内对社会做出贡献，包括提升与医学院密切相关的社区生活水平。

“随着我们持续开发新的课程，未来10年槟城医学院将会不断增长。我们想建设自身作为槟城人力资本需求的定点，用于支持类似医疗旅游服务。我们涉足的领域不仅仅是提供医生，包含技术支持和医务保健人员，甚至还有电脑科学家等聚焦卫生保健和研究用途的领域。”

自1996年起，由爱尔兰国立大学皇家外科学院（RCSI）和爱尔兰皇家内科医学院（UCD）全资拥有的槟城医学院早就获得了国际认可，也被马来西亚卫生系统研究所依据2009-2011年度马来西亚住院（实习）医生表现，评价作为早期职业准备的最顶尖医学院。随着计划将医学院的地位提升到大学阶级，院方将加强学生的学习经验，策划开发新的课程，扩展目前500名学生的物质基础设施。而除了讲师和学生的发展要跟上，同时也重视吸引优秀的员工，并与合作伙伴保持良好的关系。

by Monica Tong