Presentation options available at the 3rd ICMBB:
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
PROF. EMERITA DATUK DR ASMA ISMAIL, FASc PJN, DPMP, DSDK, PSK, SMP, BCN
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President
Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM)
Ibn Sina Chair for Medicine
International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM)
Malaysia
Prof. Emerita Datuk Dr. Asma Ismail is a woman of many firsts. Besides being the first female Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), she is also the country’s first female Director-General of Higher Education, first female President of Academy of Sciences Malaysia and the first female to be Chairperson of the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA). Her current position is as the Ibn Sina Chair for Medicine at the International Islamic University Malaysia.
She has a BSc (Biology) from the University of Nevada, Reno, USA, M.A. (Microbiology) from Indiana University, USA and a Ph.D (Cellular and Molecular Biology) from University of Nevada, Reno, USA. She also received her Honorary Doctor of Science from the University of Glasgow, Honorary Degree Doctor of the University, Keele University and Honorary Doctorate in Literature from Kyoto University of Foreign Studies (KUFS). She was conferred Professor Emerita status by Universiti Sains Malaysia in Dec. 2021 and awarded Tokoh Akademik Negara (National Academic Laureate), the most prestigious national award to an academic in March, 2022.
Her research impact includes attaining 16 patents and commercialized worldwide, the rapid diagnostic test for typhoid called TYPHIDOT which was advocated by WHO. She had won numerous awards and recognitions for her achievements at National and International levels and to date has shared her knowledge via more than 540 invited talks and more than 80 keynotes at national and global levels. She was elected to the Academy of Sciences Malaysia in 2003, The Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS) in 2010, The Islamic World Academy of Sciences in 2016 and was elected as Honorary Member of the Iranian Academy of Medical Sciences in 2017.
Her passion for higher education and science development ecosystem gained international recognition and was elected to be a member of several international boards including the Board of Governors for Commonwealth of Learning (COL) based in Vancouver, Canada, member of the Directing Board and Executive Committee for Islamic Citation Center based in Shiraz, Iran for the OIC, Member of the College of Fellows, Keele University and as a Governing Advisory Board Member for Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Japan. At the national level she serves as a board member for CREST (Collaborative Research in Engineering, Science and Technology) Center to move STI based companies in the country since 2017, member of the National Science Council chaired by the Prime Minister and the High-Tech Nation Council chaired by the Minister of MOSTI (Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation) and member of the National Action Council on Shared Prosperity Vision under the Distinguished Educator category.
Based on her experience and expertise, she served on the selection panel for the international awards and recognitions such as TWAS membership (Medical and Health Sciences) and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Prize for Women’s contribution to development. At the national level she served as a jury panel for the Merdeka Award, Rhodes Scholarship to select Malaysians to Oxford University, the Loreal Women in Science Award, the Anugerah Akademik Negara (National Academic Award), MOHE Entrepreneurial Award (MEA) and Best Managed Companies, Asia by Deloitte. Her landmark contributions to Malaysia’s higher education system include the establishment of the prestigious National Academic Award (Anugerah Akademik Negara), the establishment of Research Universities in Malaysia and in co-helming the development and implementation of The Malaysian Education Blueprint (Higher Education) 2013-2025.
DATUK PROF. DR. LOOI LAI MENG, MBBS, MD, FRCPath, FRCPA, FASc
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Distinguished Professor
Department of Pathology
Faculty of Medicine
Universiti Malaya
50603 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Academician Datuk Professor Ulung Dr Lai-Meng Looi is Malaysia’s inaugural National Distinguished Professor, positioned at the University of Malaya (UM) from where she also serves as senior consultant histopathologist on the UM Medical Centre (UMMC). She studied medicine at the University of Singapore, trained in Surgical Pathology at UM, Royal Postgraduate Medical School (UK) and Brigham and Woman’s Hospital, (USA) and defended her research doctorate at UM. During her long academic career at UM, she has served as Deputy-Dean (postgraduate), representative to the Malaysian Medical Council and chaired UMMC’s Medical Advisory Committee. She currently chairs the UMMC-Medical Research Ethics Committee/ Institutional Review Board. Her practice and research interests are in amyloidosis, nephropathology, oncopathology and global pathology.
Professor Looi is a Founding Fellow and Senior Fellow (Academician) of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM). She co-chaired the InterAcademy Medical Panel (now the InterAcademy Partnership for Health) for two elected terms (2010-2016) during which this global network of National Sciences and Medical Academies extended initiatives into global health, the social determinants of health, urban health, and young physician leadership capacity-building. She chaired the ASM Newton-Ungku Omar Fund Committee for Bilateral Research Programmes with the MRC, UK (2015-2018) and the 2019 MRC-Malaysia Joint Panel on Non-Communicable Diseases. Currently, she serves on the MRC Applied Global Health Research Board, the Lancet Commission on Diagnostics and as Regional Advisor for the Western Pacific to the Royal College of Pathologists (UK). She is the Founding President of the Malaysian College of Pathologists, and was instrumental in establishing pathology laboratory accreditation in Malaysia and the Pathology Act. Her leadership as President of the World Association of Societies of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (WASPaLM) and initiatives in capacity-building in countries-in-need earned her the WASPaLM Gold-Headed Cane. Other accolades for her contributions to medical science include the ASEAN Outstanding Scientist Award, the Merdeka Award 2016 (Health, Science and Technology category) and Honorary Professor of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences-Peking Union Medical College.
PLENARY SPEAKERS
PROF. DR. WICKNESWARI RATNAM FASc
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Honorary Professor
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)
Malaysia
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Managing Director
Nomatech Sdn. Bhd
Wickneswari Ratnam is an Honorary Professor at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), with 35 years of experience in plant genetics and biotechnology. She served as Deputy Dean of University, Industry and Community Partnerships at the Faculty of Science and Technology, UKM as well as Chair of Institutional Biosafety Committee at UKM. She is a fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia since 2012. She is the Managing Director of Nomatech Sdn. Bhd., a start-up company on agricultural innovations since 2016.
Her research interests are on genetic diversity and inheritance of traits and genes. She has led nationally funded projects on plant genetic diversity, molecular biology of flowering in rattans and functional genomics of wood formation in Acacia hybrid. She has also led national and international research projects on QTL mapping in rice and the genetic improvement of biotic and abiotic stress in rice. She served on national panels, including the Panel for Evaluation and Monitoring of Projects for the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation and the Ministry of Agriculture since 2008. She was also among the Consultation on Agriculture Biotechnology for Promoting Food Security in Developing Countries delegates.
Prof Wickneswari is the Chief Editor of Malaysia Applied Biology and an Associate Editor of Tree Genetics and Genomes. She is a life member of the Malaysian Society for Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (MSMBB), the Genetics Society of Malaysia, and the Malaysian Society for Applied Biology.
PROF. DR. LEONG CHEE ONN
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Chief Executive Officer,
AGTC Genomics Sdn Bhd,
Malaysia
AP DR. ADELINE TING SU YIEN
Head of Discipline, Biological Sciences,
School of Sciences,
Monash University, Malaysia
ASSOC. PROF. TS. DR. MOHD NASIR MOHD DESA
Director
Halal Products Research Institute
Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM)
Malaysia
Dr Leong has conducted multi-year research focused on drug target discovery, novel molecules development through preclinical and clinical trials, and biomarkers development for diagnosis of refractory breast cancers. He has received numerous national and international awards including the FMD Fellowship (USA), the Institute of Biomedical Science President’s Award (UK) and the Top Research Scientist Malaysia (TRSM). He was a Senior Research Fellow at the Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, USA. He is currently the Fellow of the Institute of Biomedical Science (FIBMS, UK), Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology (FRSB, UK), and Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC, UK). He is presently a professor in cell and molecular biology and the Deputy Director of Research at the International Medical University, Malaysia.
Dr. Adeline holds a PhD in Plant Pathology from Universiti Putra Malaysia. She is currently with the School of Science, Monash University Malaysia, and is the Head of Discipline for Biological Science. Adeline’s interest is in agricultural and environmental microbiology. She is passionate in researching microbes, particularly lesser-known groups such as endophytes. She expounds the potential of microbes for metabolite production, biofungicide application, bioremediation treatment, and for biosynthesis of metal-nanoparticles. She leads her Applied Microbiology Research Group (the ATSY group) and they integrate the omics technologies and instrumentation techniques into their research. Adeline has been awarded numerous external grants and publishes vigorously. Her research excellence has been awarded with several prestigious awards, including the National Outstanding Researcher Award (Biological Science) (2018), the Gold Medal for the International Invention, Innovation and Technology Exhibition (ITEX) (2018), the ProVice Chancellor Award (Research Excellence) for Postgraduate Research Supervision (2019), and the ProVice Chancellor Award (Research Excellence) for Early Career Researcher (2013). Adeline enjoys working with students, and is a firm believer that inspiration works both ways!
Ts. Dr. Mohd Nasir Mohd Desa obtained his first degree in Microbiology from the University of Arizona, USA. He completed his postgraduate studies at Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya awarded with Master of Medical Science and Doctor of Philosophy in Medical Microbiology. He currently serves as an Associate Professor at the Department of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), teaching mainly undergraduate courses in medical microbiology and laboratory management. His earlier postgraduate research focused on the molecular epidemiology and functional genomics of clinical isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae. He is currently expanding research interest in various aspects of biomedical science, particularly in the area of microbial evolution, antimicrobials, antimicrobial resistance, and halal science. He has accumulated research grants amounting more than RM1 million as the project head. He has supervised 25 graduate students, published about 90 research articles, 87 paperwork at local and international conferences, seven book chapters and filed two patents in meat spp. authentication.
Since last five years, he has embarked on halal research specializing in DNA based-meat spp. speciation and halal food analysis. He had served as the head for Laboratory of Halal Science Research, Halal Products Research Institute (HPRI), UPM from 2015 till 2018, and involved in a JAKIM project for the Development of halal authentication methods in 2017. Currently he is the director for HPRI/UPM since 2020, and a registered Professional Technologist (Ts.) in Biotechnology at Malaysia Board of Technologists (MBOT). He is also the Chair for Konsortium Institut Halal IPT Malaysia (KIHIM); Vice Chair for Malaysian Collaborative Network for Innovation (i-Connect)-Halal Supply Chain, under Halal Development Corporation Berhad; and Committee Member for Food Analysis (Halal Product) chaired by Food Safety and Quality Division, Ministry of Health Malaysia. He has been actively involved as speaker in halal awareness, management and traceability for academia, industry and community locally and internationally.
PROF. DR. KEVIN GASTON
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Co-Director
Center of Cancer Sciences
University of Nottingham
United Kingdom
The focus of my research is on transcription factors and their importance in tumourigenesis. I study transcription factors and their mechanisms of action using a variety of molecular and biochemical techniques and I relate this to their importance in tumourigenesis using cell biology and tumour biology experiments. I graduated from Leicester University with a B.Sc. in Biological Sciences in 1986. I then completed a Ph.D. in gene regulation at the University of Birmingham graduating in 1989. After post-doctoral work at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, and the Cancer Research UK London Institute, I was appointed as a lecturer at Bristol University in 1994. There I was promoted to senior lecturer and then Reader and I established an MSc programme in Biomedical Sciences. I moved to the University of Nottingham in 2018 and I am currently Professor of Cancer Sciences and Co-Director of the Centre for Cancer Sciences. I am also the Director of a novel Cancer Sciences BSc degree programme that I established in 2019. My current work examines the regulation of gene expression in several pathological conditions including prostate cancer, breast cancer, and cholangiocarcinoma. This work has been supported by recent grants from the Medical Research Council and the British Heart Foundation. I have also been actively involved in the translation of my research from basic science to practical applications that aim to enhance human health. This has resulted in financial support from Industry and several patent applications.
AP DR. PAUL LICCIARDI
Immunology Team Leader and Senior Research Fellow
Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI)
Melbourne, Victoria
Australia
Dr. Licciardi obtained his PhD at the University of Melbourne in 2008. He is currently a Senior Research Fellow and Immunology Team Leader in the New Vaccines Group at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) and is a recipient of an NHMRC Career Development Fellowship (Level 2). He is an immunologist with significant expertise in the evaluation of PCV immunogenicity as part of clinical trial research. His research focuses on understanding the immunological protection following infection and vaccination for a range of infectious diseases including pneumococcus, HPV, RSV and SARS-CoV-2. He has established a range of cutting-edge methods at MCRI and leads immunological studies as part of large randomised controlled trials of vaccines both nationally and internationally. He has also led capacity building efforts in Fiji, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Thailand to transfer novel assay technology. He has published > 100 manuscripts and his research has led to several significant publications in the field of vaccine immunology.
INVITED SPEAKERS
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ina Salwany Md Yassin
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Aquatic Animal Health and Therapeutics Laboratory (AquaHealth)
Institute of Bioscience
Universiti Putra Malaysia
Malaysia
Associate Professor Dr. Ina Salwany Md Yasin started her academic career in the Department of Aquaculture, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia in 2009, and is currently the Head of the Laboratory of Aquatic Animal Health and Therapeutics (AquaHealth), Institute of Bioscience, UPM. She has keen interest in molecular aquaculture, biotechnology in fish health management and fish diseases. Currently, her research focuses on molecular diagnostics and vaccine development for important bacterial diseases in aquaculture such as vibriosis, streptococcosis and motile aeromonad septicemia (MAS) in aquaculture. These include whole cells-killed vaccines, recombinant proteins, DNA and live attenuated vaccines. She has successfully published and co-authored more than 85 journal articles and several book chapters. She has participated in more than 50 international and national conferences, seminars and workshops. Currently, she and her research team have successfully patented a feed-based vaccine against vibriosis (Patent No: PI2021000105). The development of effective fish vaccines and diagnostics will enable the aquaculture industry to use vaccination routinely in the future.
Dr. Tye Gee Jun
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Deputy Director (Research and Innovation)
Institute for Research in Molecular Medicine
Universiti Sains Malaysia
Malaysia
Dr. Tye graduated with a PhD in Immunology from King’s College London, UK from the School of Medicine. During his time as a student, he has worked on the development of an adjuvant for peptide vaccinations. Peptide vaccines are key immunotherapeutic that could lead to safer and more targeted stimulation of the immune system. However, due to its size, immunogenicity is likely to be poorer compared to subunit vaccine or full protein vaccine. A key area that is required to enable efficient stimulation of the immune system when peptides are use as targets is adjuvants. Aside from development of vaccines, Dr. Tye also works on development of other key immunotherapeutic. One of them is the generation of TCR-like antibodies from Phage Display Library. TCR-like antibodies are sandwiched between the cellular and humoral immunity, enabling the possibility of antibodies to obtain immune surveillance. This leads to a new format of antibody which would enable better targeting and responses.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Azzmer Azzar bin Abdul Hamid
Deputy Coordinator
Research Unit for Bioinformatics & Computational Biology (RUBIC)
Kuliyyah of Science
International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) Kuantan Campus
Malaysia
Dr. Azzmer Azzar bin Abdul Hamid has obtained Ph.D from International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) in Biotechnology, and currently, become an Associate Professor at the Department of Biotechnology, Kuliyyah of Science, IIUM Kuantan Campus. His research interest is on Molecular Modelling and Structural Dynamics of environmental and disease proteins. He has published a number of research articles related to protein modeling, rational design, molecular biology and enzyme kinetics at several reputable journals. Dr. Azzmer is also an exco for the Malaysian Society of Bioinformatics & Computational Biology (MasBIC) and assistant coordinator for the Research Unit for Bioinformatics & Computational Biology (RUBIC), IIUM. He has been appointed as an instructor for several academic workshops including a Workshop on Bioinformatics & Computational biology (WBCB) with Malaysia Genome Institute (MGI) and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). Dr. Azzmer also serves as a research consultant for the medical device company to develop a nano rapid test kit (nanoRTK) for COVID-19 detection. His team has won a community award for the nanoRTK in the MIT Solve Challenge and the project is still ongoing. Apart from academics, he is also deputy chairman for the STEM flagship program (SciON) and promotes Bioinformatics outreach to increase school students' interest in Science & Mathematics.
Dr. Yanty Noorzianna binti Abdul Manaf
Faculty of Food Science and Nutrition
Universiti Malaysia Sabah
Malaysia
Dr. Yanty Noorzianna binti Abdul Manaf obtained her first degree in Biotechnology from the Universiti Putra Malaysia. She also completed her postgraduate studies at Universiti Putra Malaysia awarded with Master of Science (Food Biotechnology) and Doctor of Philosophy in Halal Products Development. She currently serves as a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Food Technology and Bioprocess, Faculty of Food Science and Nutrition, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), teaching mainly undergraduate courses in Food Science and Technology and laboratory management. Her earlier postgraduate research focused on the interesterification of fats and oils for food products and formulation of fat substitute using plant-based fats simulating the properties of lard. She is currently expanding research interest in various aspects of food science and technology, particularly in the area of modification of fats and oils, halal science and products development. She has published about 50 research articles, one book and 4 book chapters.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pung Yuh-Fen (PhD NUS S’pore; PGCHE Notts; FIBMS; FHEA)
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School of Pharmacy
Division of Biomedical Science
University of Nottingham
Malaysia
Dr Pung completed her first degree (BSc 1st class Hons) in Biotechnology with Management at the National University of Malaysia, after which she completed her PhD in Biological Sciences at the National University of Singapore under the supervision of Prof Manjunatha Kini. She also obtained her Post-graduate Certificate in Higher Education from the University of Nottingham in 2018. In 2004, Dr Pung joined Genome Institute of Singapore as Post-doctoral Fellow. From 2006 to 2012, she worked as Post-doctoral Scholar and Senior Research Fellow at the University of California at Los Angeles and Northeast Ohio Medical University, respectively. Under the mentorship of Prof William Chilian, she and her colleagues successfully established and perfected the surgical procedure to induce coronary collateral growth in rodents that help to address the mechanisms underlying ischemic heart attack. In 2009, she received the American Heart Association Fellowship as the starting point to prepare for her independent research career. After a short stint as Senior Research Fellow at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore in 2012, she left for Cambridge University, where she established and simplified another delicate surgical procedure coupled with echocardiography to obtain pulse wave velocity measurement in mouse. This technique is widely used in the laboratory to gain insights on potential genes involved in arterial stiffness in various knockout and over-expression mouse models. Over the years, Dr Pung has been using cell culture, animal model and clinical samples to address research questions related to obesity/diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. She is well-trained in molecular biology and biochemistry techniques. She has also an expert in performing delicate surgical procedures in rodents. Dr Pung was appointed as Assistant Professor and later as Associate Professor at the University of Nottingham Malaysia in 2014 and 2017, respectively. She has published over 40 papers in internationally recognized journals (H-index = 16) and over 50 conference proceedings. She also serves various academic services, e.g. associate editor for journals, external examiner, reviewer for grants, among many other.
Dr. Navindra Kumari A/P Palanisamy
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Department of Medical Microbiology & Parasitology
Faculty of Medicine
Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM)
Malaysia
Dr. Navindra Kumari obtained her PhD in 2008. She is currently a senior lecturer and a microbiologist at the Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM). She heads the Research Interest group for infectious diseases and the niche area for antimicrobial resistance. Her research focuses on antimicrobial resistance in pathogens, namely, pneumococci, Acinetobacter spp, and carbapenem resistance Enterobacteriaceae. She works mainly on molecular characterization of genes in Streptococcus pneumoniae, antibiotic resistance, and host pathogen interaction. She has published numerous publications and presented at many local and international conferences.