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.