Environmental & Genomic Biodiversity in Tropical Ecosystems
Malaysia and the ASEAN region are vibrant natural and one of the oldest tropical habitats that hosts the most biodiverse ecosystems across the globe. Malaysia is one of the few remaining countries with around 20% of primary forests. These natural habitats in the region are critical for the livelihood of 650 million populations. Monash Malaysia has commenced the Malaysian BioGenome Project with the aim of capturing indigenous species’ biodiversity through generation of high quality reference genomes to aid conservation efforts, rejuvenating and preserving the tropical natural habitat in the region. Our researchers are also studying forests in the region as carbon sinks; and their preservation has major implications for mitigating the effects of climate change. The research work on physicochemical analysis of soil and water along with a metagenomics analysis of environmental DNA in tropical forests are also being undertaken to identify the impact of environmental and anthropogenic factors on these forests. Another research focus is on the genetic biodiversity of the host immune system and microbiome (oral and gut) of individuals with antimicrobial resistance. The research aims to catalog antimicrobial resistance in the environment and community.
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Associate Professor Qasim Ayub
Assoc. Prof. Qasim's research focuses on population and evolutionary genomics. Over the past decade he has analyzed DNA variation in worldwide ethnic and linguistic groups in order to understand their origins, relatedness, disease susceptibility and adaptation. Several of the novel male specific markers that were identified during his studies of the Pakistani populations are now routinely used in forensic DNA identification. For this work he was awarded the President of Pakistan’s Medal of Excellence for contributions to science in 2006. Before relocating to Malaysia he spent a decade at the Wellcome Sanger Institute where he published several high profile papers. He is currently the Deputy Head of School (Research) and Director of the Monash University Malaysia Genomics Facility under the School of Science. He is leading the ambitious Malaysian BioGenome Project that aims to capture the genomic biodiversity of complex life forms in the region and address species conservation through genomics.
Prof. Maude Phipps undertakes research in human population genetics and health with special focus on indigenous communities in Malaysia and international collaborative projects on native populations in Asia and Oceania. She is currently working on 2 genome research projects: Oceanian Genome Variation Project and South East Asia and Pygmy Genome Project.
Associate Professor Adeline Ting Su Yien
Assoc. Prof. Adeline Ting's interests are in Applied Microbiology. Her primary interest is in bioprospecting and harnessing the vast diversity of microbial species in the tropics, for various beneficial applications. She discovers these microbes and their beneficial properties for development as biocontrol agents (plant disease control), as bioremediation agents (toxic metal and dye removal), as biofactories for valuable sources of novel, active compounds (enzymes, metabolites), and for biosynthesis of valuable metal-nanoparticles. She blends the omics technologies and instrumentation techniques, with microbiological research. She has been awarded 12 external grants, published more than 50 refereed journal articles, 13 invited book chapters, and a book. Adeline is the recipient of the prestigious National Outstanding Researcher Award (Biological Science) (2018), Gold Medal for the International Invention, Innovation and Technology Exhibition (ITEX) (2018), the ProVice Chancellor Award (Research Excellence) for Postgraduate Research Supervision (2019), and the ProVice Chancellor Award (Research Excellence) for Early Career Researcher (2013).
Prof. Sadequr Rahman's interest is in the applications of molecular biology, genetics and genomics for food security and environmental health and span a range of organisms - from bacteria to plants and animals. His research work has generated 10 intellectual properties on various aspects of altering starch and lipids in cereal grains.
Associate Professor Lee Learn Han
Assoc. Prof. Lee Learn-Han is the Leader of the Microbiome and Bioresource Research Strength (MBRS) in the Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences. He is a molecular microbiologist focusing on microbiome effects on human health. In recognition of Dr Lee’s significant contribution in improving the Biomedical research development in Thailand. Dr Lee was awarded the “Excellent Contribution Award” (Year 2020) by Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, on behalf of His Majesty King Vajiralongkorn (King of Thailand). This award strongly recognized Dr Lee and MBRS research reputation and research excellence. With a strong team in MBRS consisting of clinicians, medical microbiologists, and clinical nutritionists, Dr Lee’s team is currently running 2 clinical microbiome projects, namely “Gut bacterial microbiome abnormality causes mortality and morbidity in preterm neonates” and “Randomized controlled trial of probiotic intervention in patients with clinically diagnosed depression”. To date, Dr Lee has registered 2 patents, published 4 academic books, 8 book chapters, and published 167 articles with cumulative citations of 5000, H-index of 41 and i10-index of 93.