Chasing the Nobel dream
AN opportunity to attend the 68th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in Lindau, Germany, last month was a dream came true for many young scientists in Malaysia. It was a global forum for young scientists to engage Nobel laureates.
For Dr Mohd Ghows Mohd Azzam, a senior lecturer at School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, the forum was a “nerd heaven” for scientists as there was no other meeting except for the Nobel Prize Award ceremony in Stockholm, where so many Nobel Laureates gathered in one place for almost a week.
“We mingled with the laureates through their lectures and talks, even during breakfast, lunch and dinner.
“It was a life-changing experience and I hope more young Malaysian scientists will have this opportunity in the future.”
Ghows, 33, said at the six-day meeting, what was most interesting was that most Nobel laureates attributed luck or chance as having played some part in their discoveries.
“No one can ever plan to get a Nobel Prize, but what’s required is the support, knowledge and passion to do what you love while pushing yourself to the limit.
“For example, Michael Levitt modelled his recipe for attaining Nobel-worthy research on the Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, which had produced 15 Nobel laureates since it was founded in 1947.
“This is something Malaysia should think about if we are ever to produce our own laureates.”
He said the emphasis on basic or fundamental research was another recurrent theme in the meeting.
“Most Nobel discoveries came from research in fundamental science.
“Although translational research is important, especially in bringing the findings from the lab to the public and to generate income, it is not easy to estimate the value of fundamental research in a short period of time.
“Another example, even now, we could not estimate the return of investment on the discovery of the DNA structure by James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953.
“The discovery of the double helix structure has advanced the field of genetics beyond mere dollars and cents.”
The Lindau meetings began in 1951 after World War 2 when four researchers came up with the idea of gathering the best minds with young researchers to create a sustainable platform and discuss solutions to mankind’s greatest challenges.
With the help of Count Lennart Bernadotte af Wisborg, they gathered seven Nobel laureates in Lindau for the inaugural meeting and the rest is history.
With a theme focusing on physiology and medicine, the latest meeting gathered 39 Nobel laureates with 600 young scientists from 84 countries.
The other five young scientists who attended the meeting were Dr Yap Beow Keat, Dr Tan Suat Cheng, Chan Siok Yee, Nur Aizati Athirah Daud and Shahidee Zainal Abidin.
Ghows said many countries, including Malaysia, Singapore and the United States, focus on translational research. With many Nobel laureates championing the importance of fundamental research, he is urging politicians and policymakers to see beyond short-term goals.
He added that the meeting also discussed on science communication, in which Peter Doherty, a Nobel laureate in Physiology/Medicine in 1996, spoke about how scientists needed to communicate more with the public, especially in this era of social media and fake news.
Another Nobel laureate in Physics (1997) winner Steven Chu said it was a shame that successful scientists considered themselves too busy to engage the public.
Ghows said, in Malaysia, the importance of science communication has been acknowledged and the nation has the Young Scientist NetworkAcademy of Sciences Malaysia (YSN-ASM), which does advocacy work with the public.
“Two Malaysian scientists — Professor Dr Abhimanyu Veerakumarasivam (2016) and Dr Siti Khayriyyah Mohd Hanafiah (2018) — did the nation proud when they emerged world champions of the Famelab International science communication competition.” Ample research support No visible bureaucracy, hence the scientist can focus on their work
Small groups with an average of three people Collaboration with peers Intense peer pressure No hierarchy, students are treated the same as Nobel laureates.
Ghows, who is YSN-ASM secretary-general, said a Nobel laureate in science and technology would be the ultimate goal for Malaysia.
“We are closer than we think as we have a Nobel winner. Nasarudin Mohd Yusof won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2013 as part of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
“Malaysia is not lacking success. Our success story includes the development of the palm oil sector through research and development.”
He said looking at the recipe by Levitt, focusing on long-term goals instead of short-term rewards was key.
“Malaysia should spend more on research and development while reducing the bureaucracy to boost our scientific power to become a knowledge-driven country.
“We must allow scientists to explore the world of science and not dictate what they should do.
“If these changes happen, we can see a Malaysian Nobel laureate in our life time.”