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The Health | March , 2021
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Dr Rebecca among world ’ s top scientists
Dr Rebecca Wong Shin Yee , Associate Professor of Physiology and Head of Preclinical Sciences at SEGi University ’ s Faculty of Medicine has been listed among the world ’ s top scientists by the prestigious Stanford University .
Published in Oct 2020 , the list represents the top two per cent of the world ’ s most-cited scientists in various disciplines .
In congratulating Dr Wong , SEG International Berhad Group Executive Director and Group Chief Executive Officer Ms Hew Moi Lan said : “ SEGi is honoured to have one of our esteemed academics listed among the World ’ s Top 2 per cent Scientists by Stanford University .
“ Dr Rebecca ’ s achievements have set a high standard for our faculties to follow . Our heartiest congratulations ,” she said .
Dr Wong is a trained and registered medical practitioner and her interests in leukaemia , stem cell and medical education research have yielded more than 30 publications in high-impact international journals and her works have been cited more than 2000 times by researchers worldwide .
“ Being listed as one of the World ’ s Top 2 per cent Scientists by Stanford University is a great honour . I view this as a motivational force to continue pursuing my research and do my best at being at the forefront of the advancing healthcare ,” said Dr Wong , who has also published five academic books in the field of physiology .
Additionally Dr Wong is frequently invited to be a peer reviewer by many high-impact international journals such as PLoS ONE , Cell Biochemistry and Function , Journal of International Nanomedicine , Journal of Cell Science and Therapy , Journal of Stem Cell Research and Therapy , Cell Proliferation , Journal of Diabetes Research , Journal of Stem Cell Research and Therapy , Biomed
Research International , Food and Function , Archives of Medical Research , Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy , Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine , as well as Journal of International Medical Research .
Recently , Dr Wong was also invited to be one of the judges for the 11th Malaysian e-Symposium of Biomedical Science and a peer reviewer for the International Conference on Digital Learning and Technology 2021 .
She was also awarded the ‘ Malaysia Most Impactful Young Educator ’ Award in 2019 . Other recognitions include Ten Outstanding Young Malaysians Awards 2018 by Junior Chamber International ; Outstanding Young Scientist / Student Award 2011 at the Asian Congress of Biotechnology 2011 , Shanghai , China ; First prize for the Young Investigator Award at the Diabetes Asia 2010 Conference by National Diabetes Institute . Malaysia ; and the Elsevier Journal Best Paper Award ( Biotechnology Advances ) in 2011 . — The Health
Malaysia grabs regional recognition
Malaysia continues to make waves as the World ’ s Healthcare Marvel , most recently at the Global Health Asia Pacific Awards 2020 .
Securing 26 awards , Malaysia was commended for its excellent management of the Covid-19 pandemic and leadership in the healthcare sector , while private healthcare institutions were acknowledged for continued medical and service excellence .
Sherene Azli , then CEO of the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council ( MHTC ), who was recognised for ‘ Outstanding Leadership in Healthcare Travel ’ said , “ Amidst the ongoing pandemic , Malaysia ’ s healthcare still strives to exemplify the best practices in medical and service excellence , a testament to our global position as the World ’ s Healthcare Marvel .”
Malaysia ’ s healthcare travel industry has been recognised as a key driver for economic revitalisation , having earned RM1.7 billion in hospital receipts and contributed RM7 billion to the economy in 2019 .
“ Malaysian healthcare is seeing a positive economic rebound thanks to the Government ’ s support and the unwavering commitment of the private healthcare sector , as well as all our dedicated industry players along the value chain ,” she added .
Shedding light on Malaysia Healthcare ’ s plans moving forward , Sherene explained , “ Anchoring on collaborative efforts , Malaysia was among the first countries in the world to establish a medical travel bubble .
“ This is our way of ensuring continuity of care , especially for those in need of continued treatment .
In addition to this , Malaysia healthcare will forge forward into the new future by exploring digitalisation in healthcare while pursuing aggressive branding and marketing efforts to keep Malaysia as the top-of-mind destination for healthcare when the borders eventually reopen .”
Malaysia ’ s world-class quality , easily accessible , and affordable healthcare continues to be commended by international bodies amidst the global pandemic . It was one of the countries that demonstrated the best Covid-19 response recognised by the World Health Organization ( WHO ).
Malaysia also reclaimed the coveted ‘ Destination of the Year ’ and ‘ Cluster of the Year ’ titles , each for the fourth time at the International Medical Travel Journal ( IMTJ ) Medical Travel Awards 2020 in London .
Sherene ended her term as CEO effective Jan 15 , 2021 .
During her six-year tenure as CEO , Sherene has catapulted Malaysia Healthcare ’ s standing in the healthcare travel industry , transforming the country from a Hidden Jewel of Asia to the World ’ s Healthcare Marvel .
Her driving force in fostering public-private partnerships behind a sustainable healthcare travel industry resulted in some of the country ’ s top industry commendations including the quadruple wins as the ‘ Health and Medical Tourism : Destination of the Year ’. — The Health
Malaysian doctor in molecular fingerprint milestone
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A Malaysian , Dr Peng Weng Kung , is leading an international research group in developing a new technique to map out “ molecular fingerprints ” of a single drop of blood , which is akin to generating a medical “ QR-code ” for an individual .
This technique utilises a home-developed Nuclear Magnetic Resonance ( NMR ) -based micro scanner . “ This is probably one of the most important milestones in the history of magnetic resonance since magnetic resonance imaging ( MRI ),” said Peng , who is with the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory ( INL ) in Braga , Portugal .
“ An NMR or MRI machine is known to cost millions and is physically large . My team and I have come up with a low cost , benchtop-sized simplified version .”
Instead of whole-body imaging , the team ’ s focus is on micro-volume
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imaging with a single drop of blood .
“ A single drop can hide a ‘ sea ’ of information about a person ’ s health . This is a sci-fi like moment when you realise that a range of diseases may be identified based on a droplet of that molecular fingerprint ,” he told theSun .
Due to the complexity of the barcode , the team had to employ machine-learning techniques to decipher hidden codes . He added that this “ barcode of blood ” does not just identify if a person is healthy or not , but also the subtle differences in the blood of a person .
The patient-specific and time-unique nature of the barcode is the central dogma of personalised
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medicine , which would pave the way for the next generation of molecular medicine .
“ We believe this is the next big ( and disruptive ) thing to the medical world as it can help us understand new things in a way that was not possible before . We are the first few pioneers in the world embarking on this game-changing medical research ,” Peng said .
Before joining INL in 2017 , he was a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( MIT ), but was physically based in Singapore under the Singapore-MIT joint programme . This is the first MIT research laboratory to be located outside Boston in the United States .
Peng started his career research in
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Quantum Physics .
“ I started to ‘ build ’ benchtop-sized NMR from the experience I gained in PhD study in Japan ,” he said .
“ Back then , we were supposed to generate a quantum bit from solid-state NMR . I soon realised that my physics background was very much transferable in many other fields , such as the medical field , which is what I am focusing on at the moment .”
He added that there is one achievement that he was most proud of . In 2014 , he was listed as one of the Top 100 Global Thinkers under the category “ Healers ”.
“ Top 100 Global Thinkers is an annual list that recognises the world ’ s pre-eminent thought leaders and intellectuals .
“ Some of the recipients of the award were Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Ma , so to be on the list with these people is exhilarating ,” he said . — The Health
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