Malaysian Scientist With New TB Findings Keen To Work With Health Ministry

SEPANG (Selangor, Malaysia) June 14 (Bernama) – Malaysian scientist Dr Siti Kayriyyah Mohd Hanafiah is prepared to work with the Health Ministry on the use of antibody-antigens to diagnose tuberculosis (TB) in the country. The lecturer from Universiti Sains Malaysia (Malaysian public university) who was crowned world champion in the Famelab International 2018 competition in Cheltenham, the United Kingdom recently, is convinced that if the study is successful, the disease can be detected and prevented early. I hope my research ‘To Find a Hidden Killer’ which identifies TB bacteria more accurately, quickly and effectively, would be made possible with the help of biomarkers. “We have financial constraints and provisions, that's my challenge, so I hope to work with various parties including the Health Ministry if there is an opportunity,” she said. Dr Siti Kayriyyah said this to reporters after she returned from the competition at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) here Wednesday. The mother of two said she had been conducting her research for over six years. Her preparation for the competition took about two weeks. Dr Siti Kayriyyah, 33, added that it was difficult to detect tuberculosis even though there was an adequate vaccine. She captured the panel and stunned hundreds of spectators at The Arena in Cheltenham through her presentation on the use of antibody-antigens to diagnose TB. She competed with 11 finalists, some of whom were from Australia, Italy, Ireland, Qatar, Korea and Portugal, before emerging as champion and taking home a trophy and Go Pro camera. With Dr Siti Kayriyyah’s recent success, Malaysia has won the competition twice in three consecutive years. FameLab Malaysia 2018, is a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) competition jointly organised by the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT) and British Council Malaysia. -- BERNAMA