In support of the 2022 International Women’s Day global collective against discrimination and gender bias, The Star, as chair of the World Editors Forum (Asia Chapter), and in collaboration with its regional media partners, will embark on a year-long initiative to highlight stories that celebrate and promote equality. Go to thestar.com.my for more #breakthebias stories.EVERYTHING should be equal when it comes to gender, including opportunities in the different fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
Stereotypically, boys are pushed towards engineering and physics-related fields while girls are inclined to take up the life sciences.
However, Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM) senior fellow, academician Datuk Dr Aini Ideris is of the firm belief that both boys and girls should be encouraged to explore the different facets of science and research.
“There is no reason why a woman can’t go up to the moon. We have seen this happen. I can’t think of anything that a man can do that a woman cannot do in science and vice versa.
“Gender is not the issue. It depends on the individual. You will do well if you are passionate about your work and believe in it,” said the International Medical University (IMU) pro-chancellor.
Lifelong passion: As a renowned scientist in avian medicine, Dr Aini has lived her life devoted to science.
Determined to do her part in stemming the tide, Dr Aini has taken it upon herself to be involved in programmes that create awareness of STEM fields in schools.
“And not just urban schools where they already have access to a lot of information. We must also go into schools where students have less exposure because they have no access to things such as the Internet,” she stressed.
She said recently there has been a noticeable rise in interest for STEM among the students but it is hard to grow this enthusiasm.
“This is because schools in the rural areas lack good science facilities.
“Even their laboratories are very basic,” she said after having seen some of these rural schools.
On top of that, some of the students, she said, feel “they are not good enough for science”.
She also said that without passionate teachers, students would not be exposed to everything that the field has to offer.“Students are told by some parents, friends, etc, that if you work in a certain field, you’ll get more money and it is easier to study that (non-STEM) programme.”
Second chances
Looking at her list of accomplishments in biology, it is hard to imagine that as a student in secondary school, Dr Aini almost did not make it into the science stream even though she had always set her sights on it.
“When I was in Form Three, the school that I went to, Sekolah Tun Fatimah in Johor Baru, then, selected the students to be placed in the arts or science stream based on one written examination.
“I misunderstood the biology question and because of that, I didn’t do well in the paper and was placed in the arts stream,” she recalled.
“I cried and cried. I was so disappointed as I wanted to be a doctor and not getting into the science stream shattered all my dreams,” she added.
Having been accepted into the arts stream, she took the setback in her stride and did well in her arts subjects.
But when her English language teacher assigned the class to write an essay about their aspirations, the then 15-year-old took the opportunity to pour her heart out.
“I wrote about my interest in science subjects and disappointment in not getting into the science stream, and how that had shattered my childhood dreams of becoming a doctor,” she shared.
That essay became a turning point for her as her English teacher shared it with her class teacher, who then arranged for a reassessment.
Having been given a second chance, Dr Aini gave her all in the exam.
“I made sure I read all the questions carefully, and answered them very well,” she said, and the rest is history.
“When you have the passion, you will not find it difficult. The challenges you face, you will be able to handle.”
Of animals and academia
Dr Aini eventually chose to be a doctor of creatures, instead of becoming a “doctor of people”.
“After obtaining my Higher School Certificate (HSC), I could not get into a medical programme.
“I found out that there was another programme that was closely related to medical science, and that was veterinary science.
“I read up on it and got very interested because you get to learn close to everything that you would in a medical programme – anatomy, physiology, pathology, medicine, surgery, post-mortems, various treatments and so on. They were very similar disciplines when I looked at it in that way.
“On top of that, veterinary science would be interesting because you are not dealing with just one species but with many different species, big and small – from a hummingbird to an elephant!” she said.
Her love for animals also drew her to the programme.
“I could learn everything about the medical field and also help animals,” she said.
Once in, Dr Aini said she found that she “loved the programme and research”.
Having obtained a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in 1979 from Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (UPM), now known as Universiti Putra Malaysia, she went on to receive her Master of Veterinary Science from the University of Liverpool in the United Kingdom in 1981, and her Doctor of Philosophy in Avian Medicine from UPM in 1989.
It was in 1979 that Dr Aini started her illustrious career in academia, beginning as a tutor at UPM and rising through the ranks to finally become its eighth vice-chancellor from 2016 to 2020.
“I’m happy where I am now. I have taken the right path in terms of progression of my work, research and profession,” she said, adding that her second chance all those years ago has made her more mindful of giving her students support.
“If they don’t do well in exams, I talk to them, and find out what their problems are and how we can assist them, because I know some students have different issues and problems, so we cannot just dismiss them. We give them the opportunity to tell us what they are facing and try to help them,” she said.
Accomplished researcher
As a renowned scientist in avian medicine, Dr Aini has lived her life devoted to science.
She has garnered numerous accolades for her research and innovation, and has produced over 260 publications in journals and over 400 publications in proceedings and book chapters.
Her interest in avian species had led her to be actively involved in research related to the control of poultry diseases and development of poultry vaccines.
She achieved a breakthrough in her research when she successfully cloned a new heat-resistant Newcastle disease virus, V4-UPM.
This vaccine not only could be administered through conventional methods, but could also be incorporated in animal feed.
The commercialisation of the Newcastle disease vaccine, and the Fowl Pox vaccine, in 1995 and 1996, respectively, was instrumental in the setting up of the first and the only local animal vaccine company in Malaysia, currently known as Malaysian Vaccines and Pharmaceuticals Sdn Bhd.
The two vaccines are now registered and sold not only locally, but also in close to 20 other countries.
Dr Aini was also the co-researcher of two other important poultry vaccines, the live and inactivated infectious bursal disease, led by Prof Datuk Dr Mohd Hair Bejo, which were commercialised in 2005 and 2015, respectively.
“I wanted to help the farmers and to do that, I had to look into the issues affecting them.”
She said the big players could afford to buy imported vaccines for their birds but the smaller farmers could not.With her innovation, more farmers could afford to vaccinate all their birds and protect them from the Newcastle disease which could wipe out their entire flock, if they are not vaccinated.
She is currently part of the team led by Prof Mohd Hair, who is conducting research on an inactivated Covid-19 vaccine.
“Because of our experience and expertise in developing poultry vaccines, we were given a research grant to develop a Covid-19 vaccine, together with researchers from the Institute of Medical Research (IMR) and the Veterinary Research Institute (VRI).
“Covid-19 is caused by a coronavirus and in poultry, we also have a disease caused by a different strain of coronavirus, known as infectious bronchitis, with very similar symptoms. Trials are ongoing and so far, the results seem good,” she said.
