We’re so proud of her!
One of our very own Malaysian nutritionist who works at Indiana’s Ball State University in the US has recently received the Outstanding Immigrant Health Professional Award for 2018 for her teaching and research accomplishments.
This award is handed out annually by Health For All Inc, a nonprofit organization founded in 2001 aimed to promote health and wellness.
“This award recognises the contributions of a foreign-born individual who has worked in the field of health and served people of the United States of America through her service, teaching or research in a given year,” said the chairman of the award committee in his letter to Prof Jayanthi Kandiah, as reported by The Star.
Source: Ball State University
Prof Dr Jayanthi Kandiah, from Selangor, obtained her first and postgraduate degrees from the Univesity of Nebraskan-Lincoln, where she then completed her PhD in human nutrition.
She started out as an assistant professor in 1991 and has been in the US for three decades now. Currently, she is the associate dean for academic affairs at Ball State University while being the interim head of the Department of Nutrition and Health Science.
Some of her research areas include paediatrics, medical nutrition therapy, behavioural research, complementary and alternative medicine, wellness and public health of target populations, and global nutrition.
Source: Ball State University
Nominated by her peers, Prof Jayanthi was acknowledged for supervising 27 full-time faculty members, three offices staff members and nine student research assistants while she was the associate dean for academic affairs for College of Health at Ball State University. On top of it, she also published six research papers and supervised five students’ thesis. How does she do it?!
She even organizes a regular three-week study trip for 20 undergraduates to Asia, including Malaysia, intending to expose her students to life outside of the United States of America.
For now, Prof Jayanthi is conducting nutrition research on autistic children while being part of a global team on research on sickle cells in Kenya.
For illustration purposes | Source: Science Daily
“I was made to understand that I was competing with immigrant physicians, nurses, pharmacists, scientists and all health professionals. There are thousands of these professionals in the US. I thought I was dreaming when I received word about this accolade,” she told The Star.
“I am totally humbled and honoured and I express my utmost gratitude to God, my husband and daughter who have been my pillars of strength,” Prof Jayanthi added.
How inspiring! We wish her all the best for her future endeavours and to continue making us proud!
Also read: 19yo M’sian Scores 100% in A-Levels Math Paper, Gets ‘Top in the World’ Award by Cambridge
