Dr Mai Chun Wai, one of IMU’s School of Pharmacy’s lecturer, is one of the recipients of Sultan Mizan Antarctic Research Foundation (YPASM) Research Fellowship 2015. With this grant, Dr Mai Chun Wai together with Prof Peter Convey and Dr Kevin Newsham from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) are currently investigating the antimicrobial effects of bacteria isolated from the Antarctic soils in BAS, Cambridge. BAS is a research driven organization under the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), United Kingdom (UK). BAS provides the world-leading research infrastructure that promotes research and development in polar science.
“It is a great pleasure to work with renowned polar science researchers like Prof Peter Convey and Dr Kevin Newsham – both of them have been sharing their knowledge with me willingly and freely. From our research, we have made lots of exciting findings and achieved a great milestone. Together, we have jointly submitted a research proposal to expand the research activities.”
The YPASM Fellowships are intended to allow researchers to undertake short-term visits to major international laboratories, field facilities, and/or institutes operated by Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) member countries other than Malaysia, to become acquainted with recent advances in research and to develop long-term scientific links and partnerships. Every term, YPASM awards only three to four fellowships to outstanding Malaysian researchers. The grant is awarded after careful review and stringent selection processes by YPASM. “The Fellowship opens up new collaborations with renowned researchers in BAS (Cambridge, UK), University of Cambridge (Cambridge, UK), Royal Botanic Gardens Kew (London, UK), University of Liverpool (Liverpool, UK), University of Manchester (Manchester, UK), Nottingham University (Nottingham, UK), University of Strathclyde (Glasgow, UK), and National Research Council (Naples, Italy). It is exciting to embark on this path with such wonderful team members.” 
During the 6-month visit to Cambridge, Dr Mai was also the only Malaysian who was sponsored by Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), UK to participate in the Researcher Mobility in Drug Discovery Workshop in United Kingdom. RSC had also awarded Dr Mai the 2016 Research Mobility Grant. This grant sponsored his research attachment at the Institute of Protein Biochemistry (IBP), National Research Council, Naples, Italy. Full story on Italian research attachment: IMU Alumnus and Lecturer Receives 2016 Research Mobility Grant for Research Attachment in Italy About Dr Mai Chun Wai Dr Mai Chun Wai graduated with First Class Honours and Dean’s List from the IMU Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPharm) in 2009. He was the recipient of Sanofi-Aventis Award and Kotra Pharma Award for excellence in research and pharmaceutical technology, respectively, in the graduating class. He was also awarded the IMU Young Alumnus Award 2012. Chun Wai graduated with PhD in Medical and Health Sciences (By Research) from IMU in 2014 and currently appointed as Lecturer in School of Pharmacy, IMU. In view of his outstanding performance in research, Chun Wai is also the best posters or oral presenters in several national and international conferences. He is actively participating in several national research grants. His research findings are also available in international scientific papers.
