In celebration of Malaysian astrophysics PhD student Nur Adlyka Ainul Annuar’s discovery of black holes earlier this month, we’ve hunted down some of the best scientific and academic achievements by Malaysians.
1. Searching for space monsters: Nur Adlyka Ainul Annuar
Nur Adlyka Ainul Annuar was among a group of astronomers who discovered evidence of black holes relatively close to the Milky Way, as announced at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Texas.
Adlyka is studying at the Centre of Extragalactic Astronomy, Durham University in the UK. She was among researchers who analysed NASA’s X-ray telescope called NuSTAR (Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array).
Presenting on the topic “Black Holes, Green Galaxies, Old Stars & NuSTARs”, Adlyka said, “These black holes are there, but they have remained hidden from us until now. They’re like monsters hiding under your bed. Their recent discoveries certainly call out the question of how many other supermassive black holes we are still missing.”
2. Doing the impossible against malaria: Dr. Betty Sim Kim Lee
This Malaysian has helped to develop the PfSPZ vaccine that protects people from malaria. Sanaria, an American biotech company, has developed the first 100% effective malaria vaccine – as proven by clinical trials – and is now hoping to crowdfund the production of a robot capable of efficiently manufacturing it.
The method is time-consuming and requires highly trained staff to extract malaria parasites dosed with radiation from the saliva glands of mosquitoes. But it could help to win the fight against the disease which affects over 200 million people worldwide, resulting in 600,000 deaths annually.
“This was a concept that most people thought was impossible,” said Dr Kim Lee Sim, executive vice president of process development and manufacturing at Sanaria. “People said: ‘This is a crazy idea.'”
3. A knight in shining laboratories: Professor Sir Peng Khaw
Professor Sir Peng Khaw has pioneered ophthalmology techniques and treatment of the refractory glaucomas which are the standard practices today. He won the first international ARVO Pfizer Translational Medicine Prize.
He has has a special interest in paediatric glaucoma and has raised grants of over £100 million, including funding for the world’s largest Children’s Eye Hospital. Prof Peng Khaw’s team researches techniques to reduce scarring and encourage regeneration of tissues after ocular surgery and disease, including the Moorfields Safer Surgery System.
4. Joining the fight against infection: Indran Mathavan
This incredible man survived a car crash at five years old – leaving him with a speech impediment called disarthria which makes him stutter – to get a scholarship at one of the world’s leading membrane protein laboratories.
After receiving the opportunity from the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry, he joined a team including Nobel Laureate Dr Venkatraman Ramakrishnan at Diamond Light Source to study the structure of oil palm proteins.
Here, the team from the UK and France used structural data collected on the crystallography beamlines, combined with modelling and biochemical experiments, to discover how certain germs function, paving the way for more effective drugs to combat them.
5. Preventing HIV transmission: Dr. Adeeba Kamarulzaman
Dr. Adeeba introduced programmes to prevent HIV transmission among people who use drugs. In 2007 established the Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA) at the University of Malaya and is a former President of the Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC).
Her passion began at Monash where she studied Medicine, and then went on to train in Infectious Diseases in Melbourne. Upon returning to Malaysia, she established one of the first Infectious Diseases Units in the country which has become a leading tertiary referral centre for infectious diseases and HIV/AIDS.
In 2012, she was recognised for her significant achievements with an Advance Global Alumni Award, which celebrates the achievements of a non-Australian alumnus of an Australian university.
6. Reducing the effects of dementia: Associate Professor Lim Lee Wei
The Malaysia-born researcher, and a fellow at Maastricht and Oxford University, discovered that deep brain stimulation can help reduce the symptoms of dementia.
For memory enhancement, bilateral electrodes were implanted in the prefrontal cortex, a key brain structure for regulation of emotion, cognition, and decision making. After chronic stimulation, the research team found a significant improvement on both the short- and long-term memory functions in animals, using well-validated behavioural memory tasks.
“This is a major step forward on the journey towards combating dementia in humans,” said the vice-chancellor of Sunway University, Professor Graeme Wilkinson.
7. Exploring the great beyond: Dato’ Dr. Mazlan Othman
Dato’ Mazlan is the first Malaysian astrophysicist and the leader of Malaysian National Space Agency. She’s the former Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs and established the National Planetarium in 1986.
“When I was young, I wasn’t thinking of going into science. I was thinking of going into English literature and the arts, but my teachers thought that I was doing too well in science to do those things, and they put me in a pure science stream. When I discovered science, I fell in love with it, especially Physics.
“I was so fascinated by E = mc², the idea that small numbers multiplied by a huge number can become meaningful. When I found physics, I of course found astrophysics, and the beauty of the universe brought me back to my interest in the arts. So, I sort of went around to what I really like in the end, but it was a different path from what I had anticipated.”
Special mention: Spacemen racing to the moon
Though not purely academic, we felt that this particular Malaysian scientist was worth mentioning. Mohd Izmir Yamin and his team are in the running to win Google’s US$20 million (MYR83 million) Lunar X Prize. Offering the highest prize of its type ever in history, Google has spurred an impressive race to space – specifically, the moon – and Yamin’s team are the only South East Asian team left in the race. The Malaysian rocket scientist and his moon men are attempting to send rover to the surface of the moon, and if successful, it will be the cheapest unmanned mission to the moon, since the team are building everything from scratch and sourcing materials close to home.
Read more about Izmir Yamin and the race to the moon:
"ExpatGo welcomes and encourages comments, input, and divergent opinions. However, we kindly request that you use suitable language in your comments, and refrain from any sort of personal attack, hate speech, or disparaging rhetoric. Comments not in line with this are subject to removal from the site. "
