PENANG, 29 April 2017 - Two budding young lecturers from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Associate Professor Dr. Asrul Akmal Shafie (School of Pharmaceutical Sciences) and Dr. Oon Chern Ein (Institute for Research in Molecular Medicine/INFORMM) have put the name of the university in the limelight once again, when they were selected for the MAKNA Cancer Research Award 2016, held recently at the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM), MATRADE Tower, Kuala Lumpur.

Asrul when receiving the RM29,800 award said that he felt proud for being chosen as one of the three recipients of the prestigious Cancer Research Award from the National Cancer Council for his research entitled 'Prioritising Optimal Access to Cancer Treatment in Malaysia: a Multicriteria Decision Analysis Approach'.

"The event was made more meaningful when we received the award from one of the founding fathers of the USM Social and Administrative Pharmacy discipline, Tan Sri Dato' Professor Dzulkifli Abdul Razak, who is also a MAKNA Trustee Board Member," he said. He hoped that his work could contribute to improving access to cancer treatment in Malaysia.

Alongside Asrul was Oon, who also received the RM30,000 award for her research work in seeking an alternative treatment for cancer.

She was also one of the recipients of the L'oreal-UNESCO for Women in Science National Fellowship Award in 2015, receiving a research grant worth RM30,000 from L'oreal.

Oon completed her degree in Biotechnology with First Class Honours at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) in 2006 before pursuing her DPhil in Medical Oncology at the University of Oxford under the ASTS Fellowship scheme.

The Cancer Research Award plays an important role in providing an avenue for local researchers to conduct researches meant for the alleviation of pain and suffering of cancer patients locally and globally.

The other recipient of the award was a Research Fellow from the Institute of Healthcare, Sunway University, Dr. Ronald Teow Sin Yeang.

Also present at the ceremony was ASM Fellow and USM Pro-Chancellor Tan Sri Dr. M. Jegathesan, and MAKNA General Manager Farahida Mohd Farid.

Text: Hafiz Meah Ghouse Meah