Malaysian researcher Dr Chan Yoke-Fun has certainly done Malaysia proud after qualifying as one of the 10 finalists for the 2020 ASEAN-US Science Prize for Women.
The award, which recognizes promising ASEAN-based, mid-career female scientists for their academic and professional contribution is given by the United States Government through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in partnership with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Underwriters Laboratories (UL).
Sharing her achievement listing as part of the 10 finalists on Facebook, the U.S. Embassy Kuala Lumpur writes, “Passionate about training the next generation, Dr Chan is educating her community about the spread of infectious diseases.”
Currently an Associate Professor and Head of Department for the Department of Microbiology at Universiti Malaya, Dr Chan will be going up against nine other representatives for the grand prize of USD20,000.
To give you an idea of who the nine other finalists are, here is the full list as shared on the official website.
If she wins the award, it will definitely not be a first for Dr Chan, who is known for her work developing vaccines, leading a virology laboratory plus her 20-year experience in the field.
Some of the accolades she has won includes L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Malaysia Fellowship (2014), L’Oréal-UNESCO International Rising Talent (2015), Young Women Leaders award Category Science and Technology, National Council of Women’s Organizations Malaysia 2015 and the Asian Women Entrepreneurs leadership Award – Science and Environment (2019).
Let’s hope that by winning the ASEAN-US Science Prize for Women 2020, Dr Chan will inspire more Malaysians to follow her footsteps in the field of science.
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