M’sian honoured for work on vaccine
Her compassionate nature and fondness for children spurred Universiti Malaya’s (UM) Dr Chan Yoke Fun (pic ) to develop a vaccine that could combat viruses causing the highly contagious hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD), as well as brain infections in children.
The head of the Medical Microbiology Department from UM’s Faculty of Medicine was awarded the coveted Asean-US Science Prize for Women 2020 for her research which proved that a “multivalent vaccine” (a vaccine which can combat more than one specific virus) could be made to fight HFMD and brain diseases among children.
“Vaccine for HFMD is available commercially in China. However, China does not market the vaccine, while other countries are coming up with their own vaccines which specifically combat one virus.
“My research is proof of concept that a multivalent vaccine can be created and used against viruses such as the Enterovirus A71, but also other enteroviruses such as Coxsackievirus A16 and Coxsackievirus A6, which causes
HFMD, a preventable disease that is still the second most common infectious disease in Malaysia,” Dr Chan said, adding that the award was timely in demonstrating women’s active role in preventive healthcare.
“This award has empowered all Asean women scientists. Passion, perseverance and positive thinking can help us achieve greater heights. It is also a recognition for work well done and signifies the opportunity for my team to do more,” she said.
The Asean-US Science Prize for Women is organised by Asean through Costi, the US government through the United States Agency for International Development (Usaid) and non-profit organisation Underwriters Laboratories, to recognise promising, early to mid-career female scientists for their academic and professional achievements.
Besides putting focus on her research, Dr Chan, who received an award of RM83,000 has also worked with local experts to raise awareness about the dangers and prevention of the virus in the community and beyond.
“The ultimate goal, if funding permits, is to develop a multivalent HFMD vaccine against many types of viruses that can cause HFMD, as well as a multivalent enterovirus vaccine to prevent brain infection,” said Dr Chan, who presented her research to a panel of judges – consisting of Costi members, representatives from the Asean Secretariat, Usaid and Underwriters Laboratories – in a virtual judging session on Aug 13.
Dr Chan was selected from a pool of 10 national finalists, who each represented the brightest women scientists working in the field of “Preventive Healthcare”, which is this year’s theme.
Meanwhile, National University of Singapore’s Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies Assistant Professor Dr Shefaly Shorey received an honourable mention and RM20,740 for her research on preventing depression in pregnancy and motherhood.
Congratulating both recipients for their extraordinary scientific achievements and contributions to the advancement of preventive healthcare in Asean and beyond, Asean Costi chairperson Prof Andy Hor said since its inception in 2014, the Asean-US Science Prize for Women has continued to showcase the many talented scientists in the region.
“We offer our best wishes to all the national finalists and trust that they would inspire the next generation of women scientists to scale new heights in their scientific journey,” said Hor.
Underwriters Laboratories vice-president and senior technical advisor Dr Marilyn Black said: “We live in a time of rapidly expanding healthcare knowledge, but we are challenged with its application to large global societies as we confront a wide range of medical issues including new infectious diseases to maternal mortality.”
US Mission to Asean Chargé d’Affaires Melissa A. Brown said both women scientists’ have made outstanding achievements to address the pressing needs of preventive healthcare in their communities.
“The work of the prize recipients is nothing short of remarkable. The United States is proud to join the citizens of Asean to promote innovative scientific achievements in global health,” she said.