Skills Building: Aiman's Intensive Training with the TEE Lab

From 28 Oct to 7 Nov 2025, the Tropical Ecology and Entomology Lab warmly welcomed PhD student Arief Aiman Lukhman from Hiroshima University, who joined us for 2 weeks to learn more about morphological sorting and identification of dung beetles and molecular sequencing techniques. This training was led by our lab members, PhD student Zann Teo Jiexin and postdoc Dr Ong Xin Rui, and also joined by our first year PhD students, Nethmi Wickramarathna and Jasmine Ong, who are both also working on dung beetles in their PhDs.

Let us hear from Aiman about his experience in the TEE Lab!

The TEE Lab gave a warm welcome to Aiman with a group lunch.

Greetings! I am Arief Aiman Lukhman, a first-year PhD student at the Graduate School of Science & Engineering, from Hiroshima University. As part of my PhD, I will be studying arthropod diversity in agricultural patches, such as in cattle-grazed fields, at the Universiti Putra Malaysia. I am grateful for this opportunity to visit the Tropical Ecology and Entomology (TEE) Lab to learn from the lab’s members.

From October 28 to November 7, 2025, I participated in an intensive and invaluable training program at the TEE Lab in Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. As a PhD candidate specializing in arthropods, this journey was a crucial step for one of the subtopics in my research. My training began on Day 1 with my arrival in Singapore via Johor, Malaysia, after which I immediately went to the TEE Lab to deliver and store my dung beetle specimens to better preserve them, as they would later be used for molecular work. The following day began with a comprehensive lab induction, and I also had the opportunity to give a presentation on my current research progress to the TEE Lab during their lab meeting.

Aiman presented on his current research at Hiroshima University and Universiti Putra Malaysia.

The next phase involved intensive hands-on processing. Days 3 and 4 were dedicated entirely to the tedious yet crucial tasks of sorting, classification, and data tabulation of the dung beetles. All specimens were assigned a specific identification number which would be used as a reference in later stages of the training program. The training then progressed to advanced techniques during the second week at NTU.

Aiman, Nethmi, and Jasmine spent two full days sorting through bags of specimens collected from Aiman’s recent field collections. A sorting party!

Learning from each other is one of the best ways to learn!

Days 7 and 8 saw a shift in focus to the cutting-edge aspects of my field: the start of molecular work. This involved applying techniques essential for genetic analysis, which is vital in modern entomology. Terms such as “decontamination,” “QuickExtract,” “leg pulling,” “PCR,” “primer preparation,” “COI LCO/HCO”, and “gel electrophoresis” started to make much more sense than before the training, as I realized that learning by practice is far more effective than just learning by reading.

With guidance from Dr Ong Xin Rui (not pictured) and Zann Teo Jiexin, Aiman and Nethmi have their first go at molecular techniques, with a focus on learning about best practices. Image from Xin Rui.

TEE Lab PhD student, Nethmi, familiarizing herself with good pipette handling as she prepares the plate for PCR. Image from Zann

Following this, Days 9 and 10 were spent perfecting my entomological skills, including insect pinning, point mounting, and labelling. During this phase, I found that attaching dismembered dung beetle specimens was not an easy task. All this work is an art form necessary for creating a high-quality reference collection.

Curation of a reference collection of dung beetle specimens. Image from Xin Rui.

It is a pinning party! Image from Xin Rui.

This intensive training concluded on Day 11, synthesizing the knowledge and skills I had gained over the past ten days. It was a wonderful experience to present what I had learned in front of representatives from both the NTU TEE Lab and our own Tropical Ecology and Ecosystem Management (TEEM) Lab in Hiroshima University, Japan.

Aiman presented a summary of his learning experiences here at the TEE Lab.

In conclusion, this training program was transformative, providing new inputs that significantly elevated my proficiency in entomology. My biggest thanks go to the members of the TEE lab, especially Zann and Xin Rui, for guiding me throughout the program, as well as our amazing professors, Prof. Eleanor Slade and Prof. Tetsuro Hosaka, for this memorable experience. Lastly, special thanks to the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), for making this opportunity a reality through their funding support.

Certainly a fruitful two weeks of learning!

This post was jointly written by Zann Teo of the TEE Lab and Aiman Arief Luhkman from Hiroshima University.