KUALA LUMPUR, 6 October 2016 – Two Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) scientists, Dr. Fatehah Mohd Omar and Dr. Nethia Mohana Kumaran were the proud recipients of the prestigious 2016 L’Oreal-UNESCO for Women in Science Awards in a ceremony held here today.

Fatehah received the award in recognition of her contribution in her research on wastewater treatment for palm oil industries while Nethia was honoured for her research on a customised treatment for nasopharyngeal cancer.

 

According to USM Vice-Chancellor, Professor Datuk Dr. Asma Ismail, USM education has brought them to where they are now and the environment for research in USM has allowed them to come this far.

"The question now is how USM can help them to move to the next level, to become purpose-driven researchers and global players in their respective research niche areas," she said.

Besides Fatehah and Nethia, Asma also congratulated the other award recipient from Universiti Malaya (UM), Dr. Reena Rajasuriar, who happens to be a USM alumnus graduated from the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, for her research work on unlocking the code of immunological aging process.

Meanwhile Nethia, who was elated to have received the award, said that she needs more training and exposure to the related technology that is rapidly changing nowadays, and she needs to keep abreast of the latest scientific and technological advances.

“I hope to learn as much as possible the new technological advances in cancer research in other developed countries by going to these countries and acquire first-hand knowledge that can be applied here in USM,” she said.

As for Fatehah, she hopes do her postdoctoral in other higher institutes where she can learn and bring back to USM new knowledge in her research field and contribute to the university and the country.

"I also believe that our students need more training and exposure on how to write quality papers in good English for publication in ISI journals, and this is an important aspect that needs to be emphasised," she said.

She added that, many of us are lacking certain crucial skills such as how to search for good journals, and which journal should we target to publish our papers, thus we need training to drive and motivate us and to be well-equipped to move forward in research.

The award was presented by the Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), YB Datuk Dr. Abu Bakar Mohamad Diah.

Prior to the award ceremony, a forum entitled "Paving the Way for Girls in Science" was being held and moderated by Dato' Yasmin Yusoff with 4 panelists comprised of the Academy of Science Programme Director, Professor Emeritus Datuk Dr. Mazlan Othman; USM Vice-Chancellor Professor Datuk Dr. Asma Ismail; MOSTI Deputy Secretary-General (Science Division), Professor Madya Dr. Ramzah Dambul and Senior Lecturer at UPM, Dr. Normi Mohd Yahaya.

Text: Hafiz Meah Ghouse Meah / Photo: Mohd Fairus Md Isa