Yong Ya Fen

I come from a small town located at the central region of Sarawak, a place gifted with many natural resources. I am grateful for the opportunity given to complete my undergraduate study at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak and to pursue master’s study at Universiti Sains Malaysia. The research focus of my postgraduate study was related to herb-drug interaction, in which the modulatory effect of Strobilanthes crispus (SCS), a herbal plant on cytochrome P450s (CYP450s) mediated metabolisms was evaluated. During my master’s study, I have learnt the preparation of plant extract and have been trained to perform mammalian cell culture for cytotoxicity test. Moreover, I have used LC MS/MS to a great extent throughout my study for measuring metabolites of interest in order to study enzyme kinetics and to attain data for assessing potential herb-drug interaction. A great chance was given to present my work at an international conference organized by MSMBB. My research findings were published in the Journal of Chromatography B. While doing my postgraduate study, I had worked as a part-time assistant analyst at Usains Biomics Laboratory Testing Services Sdn Bhd. I had also participated the short-term research attachment program at RIKEN, Japan.