Cure for HIV lies in society’s acceptance

PRIOR to working in HIV, I was once a bright-eyed science student who had lofty dreams of developing a cancer cure. I have worked on many cancer-related projects, from modifying genes to enhancing immune response to “forcing” genetically modified mice to have sex – all in the name of science, of course.

Upon my return to Malaysia, I attempted to work on the subject of my PhD, the Human Papillomavirus (HPV). As fate would have it, in 2014, Professor Datuk Dr Adeeba Kamarul­zaman provided me with the opportunity to step out of my comfort zone of virus culture and pipettes, and I began to work with the hardest science subject of all – humans.