Penang-born scientist receives RM1.09mil for work on white blood cells

Hard at work: Dr Muzlifah has been recognised for her outstanding work in the immune system. — Image courtesy of Jooney Woodward, Wellcome Trust / CC-BY

PETALING JAYA: As a child, UK-based Professor Dr Muzlifah Haniffa was fascinated by the immensity of space and dreamed of becoming an astronomer.

Little did she know that she would not end up studying the stars but instead would be the proud recipient of the prestigious Lister Institute Research Prize Fellowship in May for her research on the immune system.

“I decided to pursue a more practical, earthbound career and trained as a doctor specialising in dermato­logy,” Prof Muzlifah told The Star on Wednesday, adding that she finally settled on a career as a clinician scientist.

As part of the fellowship, the Penang-born scientist received £200,000 (RM1.09mil), which she planned to use in her research into a family of white blood cells, with the aim of improving existing vaccination strategies and new treatments for cancer.

The fellowships, provided by the UK medical research charity The Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine, are one-off awards for rising stars in biomedical research, with five prizes given each year.

Prof Muzlifah, who is a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow in Clinical Science at Newcastle University, said that she was over the moon about receiving the award.

She said that previous recipients were internationally renowned scientists and that she was lucky to benefit from their wisdom, support and encouragement.

Her research, she explained, looked into tracking the movement and functional changes of white blood cells across human body tissue, which current technology only took snapshots of without knowing when inflammations or disease triggers occur.

“My work aims to construct a live video recording in multiple dimensions of each immune cell during inflammation,” she said.

She hoped that her research would pave the way to develop new forms of therapy that would exploit the powers of the immune system, much like the recent developments in cancer treatments.

Despite her successful 15-year career in the United Kingdom, which was also the focus of an art exhibition, Prof Muzlifah still has strong roots in her home country, where most of her family still resides.