The MAKNA Cancer Research Award (MCRA) commemorated its 21st year of encouraging young Malaysian scientists in pursuing cancer research. This year, the MCRA ceremony is back physically to award three recipients with research grants to fund their cancer studies and to support cancer research to push towards discovering potential cures for the disease.
This year, three young Malaysian researchers have been awarded research grants for their innovative projects related to cancer treatment. The first recipient is Associate Professor Dr Ooi Ean Hin from Monash University Malaysia, who will be conducting ex vivo investigations on the safety and effectiveness of gold nanorods photothermal therapy for liver cancer treatment.
The second recipient is Dr Lee Sau Har from Taylor’s University, who is working on the nano-formulation of doxorubicin co-loaded with miR-145 mimics in PEGylated liposome and conjugated with A6 peptide for tumour-targeted anticancer effects.
Lastly, Dr Phan Chia Wei from Universiti Malaya will be conducting a study on oral microbiota diversity and metabolome analysis in oral cancer and periodontitis patients. These research projects aim to contribute to the development of better and more targeted cancer treatment options.
Watch the ceremony here.