Medical physicist first Malaysian to get global scientist nod

For the greater good: Dr Yeong says her research has given her an opportunity to give back to society.

ASSOC Prof Dr Yeong Chai Hong of Taylor’s University School of Medicine was recently recognised with the Young Scientist Award in Medical Physics 2021, making her South-East Asia’s first recipient of the prestigeous International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) honour.

“My interest, passion and determination to improve cancer treatment coupled with various research contributions and leadership roles in medical physics, have led me to where I am today, and allowed to give back to society,” the medical physicist, who is also a licensed radiation protection officer, said in a press release on Oct 20.

The award was established and funded by the IUPAP, and awarded by the International Organisation for Medical Physics (IOMP) as the IUPAP-affiliated International Commission for Medical Physics.

The IOMP represents over 27,000 medical physicists worldwide and 87 adhering national member organisations, along with two affiliate organisations.

The award included a cash prize of 1,000 Euro (RM4,833), an IUPAP medal and an IOMP certificate. In addition, a short biography of Dr Yeong will be published in the e-Medical Physics World newsletter issue.

As an expert in nuclear medicine and interventional radiology, Dr Yeong, along with her research team, developed an award-winning laser-driven hot needle system for a safer and cost-effective percutaneous tissue biopsy procedure.

Her innovation improves safety and minimises bleeding complications during a needle biopsy procedure.

“To shape the future of cancer care by providing an alternative for patients, the team is working on upgrading the prototype so that it can be simultaneously used for tissue ablation – a minimally invasive cancer treatment,” she added.

According to Dr Yeong, minimally invasive therapies such as hyperthermia therapy are recommended for unresectable tumours or for patients who are not fit for surgery.

Current hyperthermia therapy uses either radiofrequency, microwave, laser or extreme cold (cryoablation) energy to induce cells death at the targeted tissues, while minimising damage to the surrounding healthy tissues.

“Today, patients do not require open surgery with this innovative development and the success rate is promising.

“The development makes cancer treatment more affordable, less invasive and safer, hence improving the overall cancer survival rate and quality of life of cancer patients in Malaysia,” she said.

Another significant research by Dr Yeong was the development of a cost-effective and low radiation oral formulation for a whole gastrointestinal tract transit study.

Clinical studies are carried out on adults and children as research has shown that the radiation dose is about 100 times lower than computed tomography (CT) scan.

In 2012, her project won the Certificate of Merit awarded by the European Society of Radiology, the second largest radiology society in the world.

To date, Dr Yeong is the first and the only Malaysian who has received this prestigious award.

“Over the last 10 years, cancer research has advanced significantly. As my research findings are ready to be applied in the industry, a series of safety procedures and clinical trial phases are being evaluated in Malaysia before they can be implemented,” she added.

Dr Yeong completed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Clinical Training of Medical Physicists specialising in diagnostic radiology in 2014 and was awarded the President’s Award in Research and Innovation by Taylor’s University in 2019.

Dr Yeong, who sits as the chair of the Professional Relations Committee of the Asia-Oceania Federation of Organisations for Medical Physics, is also the vice president of the South-East Asia Federation of Organisations for Medical Physics and vice president of the Malaysian Association of Medical Physics.

She aims to create an impact and continuity in the research industry, especially under medical physics and cancer research.

She was recently appointed as an expert for the IAEA in the field of radiation protection.

Locally, she sits in the Steering Committee of the National Diagnostic Reference Levels Task Group Malaysia, and the Expert of the Radiation Protection Officer in Medicine Task Group.

She is also the medical physics representative in the Malaysian Qualifications Agency Technical Committee for Allied Health Professionals and the Malaysian Counterpart for the IAEA RAS6088 project (Internal Dosimetry Software for Radionuclide Therapy).

Dr Yeong is a published author of academic books, book chapters, peer-reviewed journal papers, proceedings, and magazine, newspaper and newsletter articles.

She teaches the radiology module at Taylor’s University, and is an invited lecturer for the Master of Medical Physics programmes at Universiti Malaya, and a visiting associate professor for the Master of Radiology programme at KPJ Healthcare University College. To date, she has supervised 54 students who graduated with PhDs and Masters in Medical Physics or Radiology.