My fascination with infectious diseases began during my undergraduate studies at Universiti Putra Malaysia. I was intrigued by how opportunistic fungal pathogens, particularly Candida species, interact with the human immune system — their remarkable ability to evade, persist, and adapt within the host environment. These organisms may appear simple, yet their behaviour in vivo is strikingly complex. This intersection of microbial physiology and host response became my intellectual home. Fungal infections remain under-researched in our region despite their significant clinical burden — a reminder of how much we still have to learn about opportunistic pathogens and their role in human disease.

One of the most significant breakthroughs has been understanding how fungal pathogens such as Candida and Cryptococcus evade immune clearance through cell-wall remodelling and immune modulation. We also uncovered how oxidative stress and nutrient limitation drive fungal adaptation within the host — revealing potential therapeutic vulnerabilities. Equally meaningful has been translating these mechanistic insights into biomarker discovery to improve prognosis and guide clinical interventions.

We are entering a new era where precision medicine converges with digital health and the expanding care economy to enhance quality of life. Molecular diagnostics, genomics, and AI-driven analytics will reshape how we detect, monitor, and treat diseases — not only in tertiary hospitals but also in community and home-based settings. This aligns closely with the Selangor Care Economy Policy 2024–2030, which emphasises integrated, inclusive, and people-centred healthcare. The challenge for Malaysia and the region lies in building capacity, ensuring accessibility, and fostering cross-sector collaboration. Universities such as the University of Cyberjaya can play a catalytic role in bridging science, clinical practice, and digital innovation to build a more resilient healthcare ecosystem.

One of the most memorable was the Erasmus+ ACoRD Project (Advancing Co-Creation of RLOs to Digitise Healthcare Curricula), which brought together leading universities and partners across Europe and Asia to transform healthcare education. The collaboration involved the University of Nottingham (UK), the University of Stavanger (Norway), Karolinska Institutet (Sweden), and several Malaysian universities including the University of Malaya, Universiti Putra Malaysia, and Taylor’s University. Together, we developed innovative digital learning resources and capacity-building strategies to modernise healthcare curricula and strengthen workforce readiness.

Focus on quality over quantity. Find a niche area that truly inspires you and start with achievable projects that help you build confidence and credibility. Work with robust data, collaborate with people who can sharpen your ideas, and don’t be afraid to learn from setbacks. Publish when you are ready — every experience, including rejection, builds resilience and refines your craft as a researcher.

My vision is to build a vibrant, collaborative, and impact-driven research ecosystem. This means enabling both fundamental and translational research, encouraging multidisciplinary teamwork, and investing in people — from postgraduate students to senior researchers. Ultimately, it’s about moving from individual excellence to collective impact, nurturing changemakers who contribute meaningfully to society.

Health research increasingly spans multiple disciplines — from AI and health data to engineering, psychology, dietetics, and physiotherapy. The most exciting innovations often occur at these intersections. We are developing shared research platforms focused on lifestyle medicine as a strategic entry point to bring different expertise together. This allows the Faculty of Health to co-create with others, fostering a culture of collaboration that prioritises preventive health rather than purely curative approaches. By aligning strengths across disciplines, we aim to create holistic solutions that promote well-being and long-term health resilience.

Our priorities are strategically aligned with Malaysia’s health agenda, particularly in ageing, non-communicable diseases, and digital health — areas highlighted in the Malaysian Health White Paper. We aim to contribute to national capacity-building and health system transformation through:

• Industry and healthcare partnershipsthat ensure our research translates into real-world solutions.
• Collaborations with digital innovators and community networksto drive scalable, sustainable impact.
• International partnershipsacross ASEAN, the UK, and beyond, ensuring our work remains locally relevant yet globally competitive.

Through these avenues, we aspire to make UoC a hub for translational health research with tangible benefits for communities.

Tomorrow’s health professional must be clinically competent, digitally literate, and system-minded. They must work effectively across professions, leverage technology to enhance care, and critically evaluate evidence. Equally vital are soft skills such as empathy, adaptability, and leadership — qualities that humanise healthcare. I often call this rehumanising education: balancing technical excellence with compassion and humanity.

It is a constant balancing act, and for me the key is integration and finding contentment in what I do. There is no clear separation between my roles. I embed my research into teaching, mentor through projects, and approach administration with a strategic and multifaceted mindset. It is not about doing three different jobs, but about leading one coherent and purposeful academic mission.

We must embrace active and immersive learning — from simulation-based teaching and digital laboratories to problem-based learning. I also see enormous potential in AI-driven learning analytics to personalise education and provide timely student support. Our goal is to make learning not just informative, but transformative and equitable for every learner.

Café-hopping, cooking, and travelling are my ways of recharging while seeing the world through fresh eyes. Cooking teaches me precision and patience qualities essential in research while travelling offers perspective, reminding me that science and education must remain human-centred. Our perspective is shaped by experience, exposure and education, so it’s vital to continuously expand one’s horizons.

I’m driven by curiosity, purpose and the impact we can create together. I believe in starting small to generate a ripple effect even though beginnings are challenging, every journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. Science is about asking better questions, and education is about empowering others to do the same. Truly, seeing students and colleagues evolve into confident, impactful professionals is what gives me the deepest reward

From my time at the University of Queensland, to Taylor’s University, and now at the University of Cyberjaya, the most rewarding achievement has been creating lasting structures whether through research, academic programmes or strategic partnerships that will continue beyond my tenure. My legacy is not measured by papers or titles, but by the people whose lives I’ve touched and developed, who in turn carry forward the mission of service and scholarship. That is the power of “multiplier impact"