Academician Emeritus Prof Datuk Dr Awg Bulgiba Awg Mahmud

MBBS MPH MAppStat PhD FFPH FPHMM FAMM FASc FISC

PGBK DPMP JBK JMW

The first Malaysian doctor to gain a PhD in Health Informatics (in addition to MBBS, MPH, MAppStat), Academician Emeritus Prof Dr Awg Bulgiba Awg Mahmud is an epidemiologist and health informatician. He is the first public health physician in Malaysia to accumulate these 5 fellowships (FFPH, FPHMM, FAMM, FASc, FISC) and the first public health physician to be made Senior Fellow at the Academy of Sciences Malaysia.

Dr Awg Bulgiba was Secretary-General for the Academy of Sciences Malaysia and Council Member for the Academy of Medicine Malaysia from 2019 to 2023 and President of APACPH-KL (the Malaysian chapter for the Asia-Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health) from 2014 to 2021. He was Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Academic and International from 2015 to 2018 and for Research and Innovation from 2012 to 2015 in the University of Malaya (UM). As Project Director, he led the formulation of Malaysia’s National Policy for Science, Technology and Innovation (NPSTI) 2021-2030, which was launched in 2020. Dr Awg Bulgiba has published extensively and is the lead author for “Strengthening Academic Career Pathways and Leadership Development”, a book used for the University Transformation Programme in Malaysia and sole author for “Viewpoints During A Pandemic”. He has been a consultant several times including as Digital Health consultant for the Sarawak Public Health Master Plan 2050.

Dr Awg Bulgiba was awarded the Ma’al Hijrah Award for Outstanding Achievements in Research and Development in 2013 and the Johan Bintang Kenyalang in 2014, both by the Sarawak State Government. He was awarded the Johan Mahkota Wilayah by the Federal Territory Government in 2015, Panglima Gemilang Bintang Kenyalang (which carries the title Datuk) by the Sarawak State Government in 2017 and Dato’ Paduka Mahkota Perak (which carries the title Dato’) by the Perak State Government in 2017.

In 2010, in recognition of his contributions to public health, Dr Awg Bulgiba was made a Fellow (FFPH by distinction) of the Faculty of Public Health, Royal College of Physicians, UK. He was made a Fellow of Public Health Medicine Malaysia (FPHMM) by the Malaysian Public Health Physicians Association in 2012. In 2013, Dr Awg Bulgiba was made Fellow of the Academy of Medicine Malaysia (FAMM) and Fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (FASc). In 2018, in recognition of his leadership contributions, he was awarded the APACPH Excellence in Leadership Medallion (past awardees include US Senator Edward Kennedy, US Lt Governor Benjamin Cayetano and Thailand House of Representatives Speaker Marut Bunang) and the UM Eminent Scholar Award.

In 2023, in recognition of his contributions to science, he was made a Fellow of the International Science Council (FISC), becoming the first public health physician in Malaysia to accumulate these five fellowships (FFPH, FPHMM, FAMM, FASc, FISC). He was honoured with an Emeritus Professorship in Epidemiology and Health Informatics in 2025, the first such emeritus professorship in the University of Malaya. He was made Senior Fellow by the Academy of Sciences Malaysia in 2026, the first public health physician to be so honoured.