Scientific Malaysian (founded in July 2011) is an initiative to connect Malaysian scientific researchers across the world to discuss research issues in Malaysia, to promote collaboration and to establish network. Researchers in the applied sciences (engineers, biomedical scientists) and pure sciences (biologists, chemists, physicists) are all welcome to join our community. Researchers and administrators from the industry are also encouraged to join and contribute ideas and viewpoints from the industrial perspective.
Scientific Malaysian is currently run only by volunteers. If you would like to be part of this project, please do not hesitate to contact us!
Missions of Scientific Malaysian:
- To provide a platform for the Malaysian scientific community across the world to discuss general scientific and research issues;
- To represent the voice of the Malaysian scientific community across the world;
- To provide valuable collective ideas in hopes to improve scientific research and development in Malaysia;
- To promote research collaborations or knowledge-sharing within the scientific community (both local and overseas Malaysian researchers) and/or with the industry; and
- To inspire and provide guidance for early stage Malaysian researchers
Our Strategies:
Website
- Forum/Groups features as platform for various discussions and knowledge sharing.
- Members Profile and Friends Connection for networking purposes.
- Scientific Malaysian Magazine with opinion articles, life as a scientist, popular science, interview with scientists and creative writing section.
- Project Collab directory, a directory of Malaysian scientists as part of our effort to promote research collaborations
- News coverage on the latest research and development updates from Malaysian researchers worldwide.
Events
- We are planning to organise a scientific conference to engage with the government and facilitate interactions with scientists abroad and locally – all as an effort to promote advancement of science in Malaysia (coming soon!).
Members Statistics*
Members Location
Members Educational Background
*as of March 16th, 2014
Our Team Members
Dr Andrew Chan (Founder of Scientific Malaysian, Editor-in-Chief of Scientific Malaysian Magazine)
Andrew Chan holds a BSc (Hons) in Biochemistry from the University of Bristol, UK and a DPhil in Chemical Biology from the University of Oxford. He is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Physiology, University of Oxford. His current research interest is on the molecular mechanism of cellular oxygen sensing. Previously, he has worked at the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine (University of Oxford, UK) and did summer internships at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (Cambridge, UK) and Celltech Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (now known as UCB-Celltech) in Slough, UK. He feels that establishing a career in science (and related fields) is often filled with obstacles and challenges, hence establishing a network that connects all Malaysian scientists/engineers could develop mutual co-operations. He also believes that despite being abroad, many Malaysians are still keen in contributing back to the Malaysian community and hopes that the Scientific Malaysian project serves as a bridge for this purpose.
Magazine & Editorial Team
Beatrice Chin Hui Tze (Editor)
Beatrice Chin Hui Tze did her BSc in Biotechnology in Monash University Malaysia. She has also worked in the teaching lab for Monash University. After deciding to pursue a career in writing, Beatrice now works in medical publishing, where she spends her 9 to 5 churning out articles aimed at Malaysia’s medical community. She thinks that the Scientific Malaysian project is an interesting way to reach out to the Malaysian scientific community. It also provides a good opportunity to network and learn new things. She believes that Scientific Malaysian has the potential to grow into something great with the support of its members.
Yi Ling Hwong (Editor)
Yi Ling Hwong obtained a Master in Engineering from the Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, Germany. She worked for three years as an engineer in the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) under the European Union funded Marie Curie fellowship program. Working in the Detector Control System group for the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment (one of the four Large Hadron Collider experiments), she was the developer of FiSMAT – the Finite State Machine Analysis Toolkit. She is currently working as a science communicator in the Knowledge Transfer group of CERN. A passionate writer with an interest and knowledge in various scientific domains, Yi Ling is the co-founder of the Creative Voices newsletter at CERN and currently a writer for the United Nations Volunteer RESPECT e-zine. A proud tree hugger, a hopeful realist, a silent rebel and an aspiring writer-editor, she believes in the power of words and the instrumental role of collaborative intelligence – the fundamental cornerstone of the Scientific Malaysian project.
Dr Valerie Soo (Editor)
Val is an evolutionary biochemist. After four years of studying various promiscuous proteins (i.e., multifunctional proteins) and their roles in the evolution of new phenotypes, she has finally completed her PhD at Massey University, Auckland. She holds a BSc (Hons) from Monash University Malaysia, where she researched on bacteriophages, and the water-borne pathogen, Legionella pneumophila. She also had a brief stint as a research assistant at the Malaysian University of Science and Technology. Val strongly believes in scientific networking—building meaningful and long-lasting relationships. Therefore, she feels that Scientific Malaysian is a good place to establish connections and gather information from a variety of sources.
Dr Lee Hooi Ling (Interview Correspondent)
Dr Lee Hooi Ling is a senior lecturer in the School of Chemical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) since 2012. Her current research interest in USM includes synthesis and characterisations of nanomaterials via chemical and green techniques. She obtained her PhD (Surface Science) from Dublin City University, Ireland, in which her PhD degree was fully sponsored by the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) grant. During the course of her PhD study, her research was dedicated on the deposition of porphyrins on different metal surfaces to form covalent bonded nano-networks under ultra-high vacuum (UHV) conditions, where she had opportunities to utilise instruments such as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM). Prior to her PhD, she was a researcher in the School of Chemical Sciences, USM and carried out work on synthesis of cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanoparticles and also CdS in thermotropic liquid crystal nanocomposites. She pursued her MSc. (Pharmaceutical Technology) in the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, USM. Her MSc. research project was to develop a novel formulation of a rapid emulsifying dispersion system for docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). She also received her first degree in Bachelor of Applied Science (Industrial Chemistry) (Hons) from Universiti Sains Malaysia. Hooi Ling believes that the existence of Scientific Malaysian is very appropriate and it is an excellent portal to bring scientists around the world with various backgrounds together.
Jasmine Leong (News Editor)
Jasmine Leong holds a MSc. (Oxon) in Pharmacology from University of Oxford, UK and BSc. (1st Hons) in Chemistry from Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia. Her research experience and interest are in medicinal chemistry and stem cell research with focus on cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. With aspiration to translate drug discoveries from bench to bedside, she has internship experiences with AstraZeneca Sdn. Bhd. and GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Sdn. Bhd. in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. Currently, she is a Product Specialist with Eli Lilly (Malaysia) in Kuala Lumpur. She believes that many Malaysians are driven and passionate professionals who chose to dedicate their career to what they believe in. To be able to share these motivations among peers, mentors and apprentices creates the beginning of a greater story and Scientific Malaysian provides the platform to facilitate this ambition.
Azilleo Kristo Mozihim (News Editor)
Azilleo Kristo Mozihim is currently studying at University College London (UCL), pursuing a degree in Biochemistry. He has a natural affinity for Biology particular matters regarding the molecular basis of life. His interests mainly lie in unravelling as well as comprehending the intricacy of intercellular communication and intracellular cell signalling pathway. He has the intention of conducting further research in the fields of cancer biology and bioenergetics after acquiring his undergraduate degree. He strongly believes that Scientific Malaysian is an excellent avenue through which Malaysian scientists abroad as well as locally are able to effectively communicate with each other and discuss their research across different disciplines. He hopes that Scientific Malaysian can be used as a platform for scientists to brainstorm and to provide solutions to global problems afflicting mankind.
Leow Mei Yi (News Editor)
Leow Mei Yi is a Chemistry/Psychology graduate from the University of Tasmania, Australia. She is currently taking a gap year prior to commencing a Ph.D. in Chemistry in 2014. After a couple of brief stints in mining and water treatment, Mei Yi is now working in the FMCG industry at Lam Soon Edible Oils in Klang. Witnessing real-world contributions from the field of chemistry has been a thrilling experience for her, and she looks forward to making contributions of her own someday. She has high hopes for the future of scientific research in Malaysia in which the Scientific Malaysian will play an active role by facilitating aspiring Malaysian scientists with access to professional networks, and promoting our country’s global presence within the scientific community.
Charis Loke (Magazine Illustrator/Designer)
Charis Loke is a junior at Brown University, United States concentrating in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. She’s interested in interdisciplinary connections between fields like art, science, and technology, having dabbled in everything from medieval history to programming to comparative literature, as well as studying at the neighbouring Rhode Island School of Design. She illustrates regularly for the College Hill Independent newspaper, and worked on game art and design for Virion, a web game about immunology in which you play as a virus evading the body’s defence mechanisms. Charis believes in the need for science communication, journalism, and storytelling, and is excited by the possibilities that the Scientific Malaysian platform brings in those areas.
Kong Yink Heay (Magazine Illustrator/Designer)
Kong Yink Heay is a passionate scientist and artist. She is currently a research assistant at the Cancer Research Initiatives Foundation (CARIF) working on epithelial-messenchymal transition (EMT) in oral cancers while pursuing a Masters in Dental Sciences at University of Malaya. She holds a B.Sc. in Biotechnology at Monash University Malaysia. Yink Heay has prior work experience at Vivantis Technologies, Malaysia University of Science and Technology (MUST) and Monash University Malaysia. Having passion and experience in both science and art, Yink Heay has always wanted to bridge science and art towards the general public. She feels that science can be better understood when presented in images. She wishes to play a role in science communication using interesting images to aid the understanding of scientific findings. She hopes that Scientific Malaysian will narrow the gap between Malaysian general public and scientists, as well as promoting networking/research collaborations among Malaysian scientists.
Outreach & Publicity Team
Dr Tan Boon Chin (Outreach/Publicity)
Dr Tan Boon Chin did his BSc in Biotechnology in Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). He obtained his PhD in Plant Biotechnology at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus. His current research is in the areas of plant tissue culture and proteomics. He has also worked in Advanced Agriecological Research Sdn. Bhd. (AAR) as an assistant research officer, focusing on palm oil research/production. He believes that the Scientific Malaysian project can serve as a good platform to connect all Malaysian scientists across the world, enabling them to share and discuss their research and opinion as well as opening up opportunities for research collaborations. He hopes that the members of Scientific Malaysian will benefit from this initiative and continue to give their support to drive this project forward.
Scholarships/Grants/Funding Team
Tommy Chai (SciMy Ambassador/Project Manager)
Tommy Chai Tong Yuen obtained his BEng (Hons) and MSc in Mechatronics Engineering from Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Malaysia. He has worked as an R&D engineer/researcher in Intel Malaysia and Extol MSC Berhad before joining Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman as a lecturer in the Faculty of Engineering and Science. He is passionate about biometrics security. His current focus of research lies in the field of multimodal biometrics and biometric encryption. He believes that communication and sharing of knowledge are essential in research. Hence, he strongly supports the establishment of Scientific Malaysian in creating a better platform to link Malaysian scientists all over the world and to bring scientific research in Malaysia to greater heights.