It is safe to say that with news on days like these, we are proud to call ourselves a Malaysian.
Dr Serena-Nik Zainal who is a United Kingdom-based Malaysian scientist, recently won the Dr. Josef Steiner Cancer Research Prize 2019 under exceptional research in accelerating the holistic interpretation of the cancer genome.
According to Malaymail, the award was also known as the “Nobel Prize for Cancer Research”. Both Dr Serena and her collaborators, Dr Paul Calleja and Dr Ignacio Medina from Cambridge University will be awarded.
The well-deserving scientist successfully researched that cancer tumors are able to be easily analyzed with the use of bioinformatic methods which will aid in new approaches to targeted therapies.
Dr Serena is indeed a woman of inspiration.
But it goes without saying that such an achievement requires long hours of dedication and hard work. Dr Serena was on a scholarship with Petronas whereby she graduated with a degree in medicine back in year 2000.
Before moving to the University of Cambridge, she was awarded a CRUK Advanced Clinician Scientist Fellowship in 2017. She was also the principal investigator at the university’s Department of Medical Genetic where she was quoted saying “The rate-limiting step in cancer genomics today is not the ability to perform sequencing”.
Thank you, Dr. Serena, for your contribution not only to Malaysia but also to the world.
Yet another exciting news about how Malaysian women have elevated their status by bringing positive influence to the workforce and the world. It is indeed a great time to be alive!
Header Image Source: The Rakyat Post
