PETALING JAYA: Malaysian researcher Prof Dr Moi Meng Leng has become the first foreign researcher to be granted the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (Amed) Award for her contribution in the regional control of infectious diseases.
Dr Moi, who is currently working with the Nagasaki University’s Institute of Tropical Medicine, was accorded the award from the Japan Prime Minister’s office in Tokyo yesterday.
The award was for her contribution in the development of an antibody test to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of vaccines related to mosquito-borne diseases such as zika and dengue, and this is expected to contribute to the development of vaccines against dengue.
“Dr Moi has contributed to the regional control of infectious diseases by determining the epidemic dynamics of zika fever, dengue and mosquito-borne diseases in South-East Asia through phylogenetic analysis and developing countermeasures.
“Phylogenetic analysis looks at the evolutionary development of a species, or a group of organisms, or a particular characteristic of an organism.
“She has also contributed to a better understanding on mechanisms of immune responses and severe disease in dengue patients, and has successfully established biological models for the development of vaccines and therapeutics against these diseases, ” noted the Japanese Embassy in Malaysia.
A bachelor’s degree graduate from Universiti Putra Malaysia, Dr Moi was granted sponsorship to further her masters and PhD in Tsukuba University, Japan.
In an online press conference hosted by the Japanese Embassy in Malaysia, Dr Moi highlighted the opportunity to strengthen the relationship between Malaysia and Japan to address mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue and zika, both caused by viruses.
“We have developed a new antibody test which is useful for the development of the dengue vaccine and also other flavivirus vaccines such as for zika and other mosquite-borne viruses, ” she added.
Dr Moi said the antibody test had been brought to Vietnam and that she was also in collaboration with Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia for research on dengue.
“We hope to bring the advancement of the technology between Japan and other parts of South-East Asia for the development of better therapeutics and vaccines, ” she said, adding that the antibody test was developed to test the vaccine’s safety and efficacy.
Dr Moi also expressed hope that the technology used for the development of Covid-19 vaccines could also be utilised for the development of dengue and zika vaccines, adding that the antibody test she co-developed could also be applied for the study of coronavirus vaccines.
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