ASIA RESEARCH NEWS - Key Persons

Aisha brings her experience in psychology, languages, data analysis to Asia Research News. She is forever curious about all things related to science and education. She loves animals, good books and her lovely island hometown of Penang. You will often find her in the garden having a conversation with her myriad of plants, or arguing with her cats and rabbits.

Job Titles:

• Journalist & Japan Liaison 日本担当

Aya oversees distribution of content bringing her insight and experience as a member of Asia Research News since 2012. With the knowledge gained over five years as a journalist in Scotland, she delivers research to the right media outlets and reporters. Originally from Japan, she is happy to correspond with researchers and institutions in Japanese. Her curiosity takes her around the world while mastering local cuisine and languages: her third tongue is Italian, the main language spoken where she now lives.

Job Titles:

• Research Institute

Job Titles:

• Director
• Director of Asia

Dan is a director of Asia Research News, leveraging his deep experience as an active research scientist, software developer, data processor and business developer. He is a geophysicist, who for the last 20 years actively investigated and deployed microseismic monitoring technology. He has a truly global perspective, having worked with teams worldwide and been involved with projects on all seven continents. Dan is a NESTA and Monbusho Scholar. He enjoys making a good coffee in the morning, and recently, baking cinnamon rolls to go with it.

Job Titles:

• CEO
• Founder

Maggie oversees all aspects of this innovative startup. Before life as an entrepreneur, she investigated the impacts of garbage, groundwater and climate change. Her interest in journalism grew from reporting stories in Malaysia to contributing features to international science magazines. Being able to combine research and news is a dream job for her. Maggie is also a Salzburg Global Fellow, Japan Airlines, Chevening and NESTA Scholar. She loves trying out new restaurants and going to the beach. Read how Maggie pioneered Asia's science communication in Asia Research News - How it all began.

Job Titles:

• Scientist
• Associate Professor at Forman Christian College University
• GC Women University Sialkot As Assistant Professor

Dr. Hira Khalid is serving as Associate Professor at Forman Christian College University, Lahore, Pakistan. She is also a US Fulbright Fellow and a member of several prestigious scientific organizations, including the American Chemical Society (ACS), the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD), and the Chemical Society of Pakistan (CSP). Dr. Hira Khalid is a highly accomplished scientist, educator, and researcher who has made significant contributions to the field of chemistry. She currently serves as an Associate Professor at Forman Christian College University, Lahore, Pakistan. She is also a US Fulbright Fellow and a member of several prestigious scientific organizations, including the American Chemical Society (ACS), the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD), and the Chemical Society of Pakistan (CSP). Dr. Khalid completed her BSc (Hons) in Chemistry from the University of Punjab, PAK. She then went on to pursue an MS in Analytical Chemistry from the same institution. Dr. Khalid later obtained her Ph.D. in Synthetic/Medicinal Chemistry Government College University, Lahore, Pakistan in 2014. Her doctoral research focused on the Synthesis, Characterization, and Biological Activities of Sulfonamide Derivatives Bearing Piperidine Nucleus. She was awarded HEC Indigenous Scholarship for her Ph.D. program. Dr. Hira was awarded the best Ph.D. Scholar award from the Department of Chemistry, GC University. She was awarded the International Research award (IRSIP) from HEC for pursuing doctoral research at the University of Washington Seattle, USA as visiting scholar. After completing her Ph.D., Dr. Khalid joined GC Women University Sialkot as Assistant Professor in 2015. She then joined Forman Christian College University in 2017 as an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry. She has been teaching undergraduate and postgraduate courses in chemistry for over 15 years. Her research interests include the synthesis and characterization of organic compounds, catalysis, and Medicinal chemistry. Dr. Khalid has published numerous research articles in top-tier international scientific journals. Her research has been cited extensively, and she has presented her work at various national and international conferences. She has also served as a reviewer for several scientific journals and funding agencies. In addition to her teaching and research activities, Dr. Khalid is actively involved in promoting science education and research in Pakistan. She has been involved in various outreach programs, including workshops, seminars, and conferences. She has also mentored numerous undergraduate and graduate students in their research projects. Dr. Khalid's contributions to the field of chemistry have been widely recognized. She has received several awards and honors, including the OWSD Early Career Fellowship, the Fulbright Scholarship, and the HEC Outstanding Research Award. She has also been invited to deliver talks at various national and international conferences and universities. Overall, Dr. Hira Khalid is a highly accomplished and respected scientist who has made significant contributions to the field of chemistry. Her dedication to teaching, research, and promoting science education and research in Pakistan is truly inspiring Naeem Akhtar Virk, Fatiqa Zafar, Mehr un Nisa, Shahid Rasool, Sabahat Zahra Siddiqui, Hira Khalid, Aziz-ur-Rehman, Javed Iqbal, Muhammad Athar Abbasi "Biological assessment of 1,3,4-oxadiazole sandwiched by azinane and acetamides supported by molecular docking and BSA binding studies" RSC Advances, 2022, In press.

Job Titles:

• Professor

Dr. Saima Shabbir is a Professor (Tenured) at Institute of Space Technology, Pakistan. Previously, she was a Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellow at the Pennsylvania State University. A Gold Medalist during Baccalaureates, she secured First position in MSc and MPhil Chemistry and was awarded Ph.D. Fellowship by Higher Education Commission (HEC). She is a twice winner of Research Productivity Award from Pakistan Council for Science & Technology (PCST), winning three competitive research grants from HEC and one from Pakistan Science Foundation. PCST honored her as one of the dynamic women scientists of Pakistan. Dr. Shabbir cares deeply about the social implications of her research and demonstrated this conviction by working on several community-based projects for solar cells, food safety, nano-drug delivery systems, water treatment and CO2 conversion to nanomaterials. A recipient of Early Career Scientist Award (Royal Society, UK), Excellence in Research Award (New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS), USA) and an alumna of Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings (Germany), she was honored as Affiliate Fellow of IUPAC. She was approved as Full Member of OWSD under The World Academy of Sciences (Italy). An alumna of Commonwealth Science Conference (Singapore), she was selected as TechWomen Emerging Leader and completed her mentorship project at Draper University in Silicon Valley. Dr. Shabbir is a Publons verified reviewer for many international journals and has been awarded an element in the historical periodic table celebrating the centenary of IUPAC. She supervises research projects at BS, MS and PhD levels and has volunteered for outreach activities with AuthorAID, Commonwealth, NYAS and British Council. Dr. Shabbir along with her team of five women from Pakistan won a seed grant in Silicon Valley to pilot "STEM for Change", an impact and outreach community, that endeavors to address Pakistan's severe gender inequality in STEM careers and leadership.

Job Titles:

• Scientist

Dr. Deng is a biomedical scientist with a special interest in bacterial virulence, including gene regulation, signaling pathways, and RNA epigenetics. He has worked on virulence regulation in pathogens to discover new therapies against bacterial infections. Dr. Deng is a biomedical scientist with a special interest in bacterial virulence, including gene regulation, signalling pathways, and RNA epigenetics. He, along with his team at Deng Lab, has worked on virulence regulation in pathogens to discover new therapies against bacterial infections and has published papers on antibiotic resistance. His research with Dr. Jian Yan (CityU) can potentially facilitate the development of new drugs against the bacterium Pseudomonas syringae, a common plant pathogen that affects a wide variety of crops.

Laura uses her strong background in science journalism to transform jargon into clear and engaging research stories. A California native with a passion for nature, she loves to explore forests, mountains and coral reefs around the world. She has lived in Japan and Europe and is now in Texas, communicating science.

Job Titles:

• Pharmacist
• Pharmacist Who Saved Babies' Lives

Job Titles:

• Awady, Editor and Senior Science Writer
• Science Journalist

Nadia is a science journalist with 23 years of experience. After studying medicine, she went on to earn a master's degree in journalism. She is a past president of the World Federation of Science Journalists and the Arab Science Journalists Association. She has spent most of her career writing about science developments in the Middle East, and more recently about research from institutions all over Asia. She is also now involved in covering medical news for healthcare professionals in Europe. When she is not writing at lightning-fast speeds, she is hiking, diving and triathloning. She is the proud mother of four grown children. Read "A career worth doing, a life worth living" - Nadia's journey to become a top-notch science writer.

Job Titles:

• Lead

Prof. Ann Marie Chacko lead the translational efforts for a portfolio of in vivo PET, SPECT, CT and optical imaging agents that span key therapeutic areas including oncology, immunology, infectious disease and neurobiology. She currently lead a national initiative, the Cancer ImmunoTherapy Imaging (CITI) Programme, which received a S$22M Singapore Health and Biomedical Sciences (HBMS) Industry Alignment Fund Pre-Positioning (IAF-PP) grant in late 2018. This initiative aims to address the urgent call for biomarker-driven approaches to monitor tumour immune responses, leveraging on the expertise of its strong multidisciplinary team across 12 research organisations in Singapore and four research themes: Immunology, Chemistry, Imaging, and Clinical Trials. Education Ph.D, Pharmacology, Nuclear Medicine, University of Pennsylvania (2008) M.Sc, Chemistry, Western University (2003) B.Sc, Biochemistry, Bishop's University (2001)

Prof. Kenneth Leung Mei Yee has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles which are principally related to marine ecology, pollution, ecotoxicology, environmental risk assessment and ecological restoration using eco-engineering. In August 2020, he joined City University of Hong Kong where he serves as a Chair Professor of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry and the Director of State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution (SKLMP).He is a founding Editor-in-Chief of the SCI journal Regional Studies in Marine Science, and serves on the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Hazardous Materials Letters, Marine Pollution Bulletin, Canadian Journal of Zoology and Ocean Science Journal. Education Certificate in Management and Leadership in Education, Institute of Management and Leadership in Education (MLE), Harvard Graduate School of Education, Harvard University (2017) Ph.D. in Marine Ecotoxicology, University of Glasgow (2000) M.Phil. in Environmental Science, City University of Hong Kong (1996) B.Sc. (1st Class Hon.) in Applied Environmental Sciences, University of Portsmouth (1993)

Associate Prof. Yusuke Ishigaki is a chemist at Hokkaido University, Japan. He works on the creation of fundamental chemistry based on original molecular design.

Ruth leads our guidance and training services, offering her expertise based on 20 years in communications for academia and publishing, including Springer Nature, BioMed Central, Cancer Research UK and King's College London. Don't miss her monthly columns in Beyond the Journal. Have a comms question you are dying ask? Be sure to send it in to Ruth. She loves travel and exploring new places, often below the waves as a keen diver.

Sophie has a background in Natural Sciences and a master's in Science Communication. Her previous experience includes working as a science writer and speech writer at an international science university in Okinawa, working at a science PR agency in London and interning at The Observer. In her spare time, you will find her dancing, running or exploring London's museums and theatres.

Job Titles:

• Journalist

Stephen is a journalist and author of five books of non-fiction. He's served as Canadian correspondent for InterPress Service, an international news agency, and made radio documentaries for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. As both a journalist and writer for public interest agencies, much of his focus has been on global challenges and solutions. Away from the keyboard, he's a big fan of dogs, trees, and hammocks.

Job Titles:

• Researcher at Japan 's Earth

Tony Z. Jia is a researcher at Japan's Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI), based at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. His research focuses on astrobiology, prebiotic chemistry, and origins of life. Education: Harvard University 2016, Ph.D. in Chemistry Harvard University 2012, A.M. in Chemistry