He has been awarded France’s Knight of the National Order of Merit in 2005; the Prince Mahidol Award for Public Health from the King of Thailand in 2001; the Japan Nikkei Asia Prize for Technological Innovation in 2002, and one of the most prestigious awards in Malaysia, the Merdeka Award, which Lam won twice, once with his Nipah team in 2008 and individually for Outstanding Scholastic Achievement in 2013.