GENEVA, May 2016 - Lyna Irawati, a PhD student from the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), was the only Malaysian delegate selected from young researchers around the world to present her research at the Geneva Health Forum held from 19-21 April 2016 at the International Conference Centre of Geneva, Switzerland.

However she beat the odds when she won the best oral poster award for her presentation entitled ‘Exploring Knowledge and Attitudes of Community Residents towards Antibiotics: Penang State, Malaysia’ at the forum.

Lyna Irawati is pursuing her PhD under the supervision of Professor Dr. Mohamed Azmi Ahmad Hassali and Dr. Fahad Saleem from the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, USM, as well as Dr. Alian Aaly Alrasheedy from Unaizah College of Pharmacy, Qassim University, Saudi Arabia and her PhD project was supported by a research university grant from USM.

The Geneva Health Forum was established to link policies and practices and to address global health issues through an integrated approach, and it is the largest event of its type in Europe and is organised by the University of Geneva and the Geneva University Hospital.

The theme for this year’s forum was ‘Sustainable and Affordable Innovations in Healthcare', with thousands of distinguished guests from all over the world, comprising of academic and industry leaders, policy makers, practitioners, researchers, healthcare providers, diplomats and representatives of donor agencies forming the audience of the forum.

The keynote lectures and plenary sessions were presented by renowned international health leaders and a series of workshops and scientific presentations were held to foster, nurture and stimulate discussions about major global health issues.

Text: Hafiz Meah Ghouse Meah