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By Asia Samachar | Malaysia | Professor Balbir Singh, an expert in field of malaria research, has been appointed as Emeritus Professor by Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas). When asked to pin point one contribution that makes him proud, he told Asia Samachar: “Our discovery that a monkey malaria parasite is being transmitted to humans makes me proudest, not only because all the work was done by Malaysians in Sarawak, but that it put Sarawak and Malaysia on the world map for malaria research.” Eight years ago, Balbir was one of the six recipients of the Merdeka Award 2017, a prestigious Malaysian national-level award that honours outstanding effort and role in living the “Merdeka” spirit. The 70-year-old scientist was born on 30 March 1955 in Segamat, Johor. His father Mohan Singh Khaira was a school headmaster and his mother Harjit Kaur Sandhu a home maker. “My parents, who always emphasised on the importance of education, would have been so proud of me if they were still alive. Am honoured that UNIMAS has recognised my contributions by conferring this award,” he added. The university also appointed Emerisu Professors were Dr Mary Jane Cardosa and Dr Khairuddin Ab Hamid. They each received the honor from Sarawak head of state Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar who is the university’s chancellor. Speaking to reporters, Balbir said: “When we began our work in Kapit, we never expected our discovery to gain international recognition. At the time, it was widely believed that malaria could only be transmitted from human to human. SEE ALSO: Prof Balbir receives Merdeka Award 2017 SEE ALSO: Malaysia’s pioneer Sikh scientist made Emeritus Professor “But we discovered a monkey malaria parasite that could be transmitted to humans through mosquitoes. This finding proved that malaria is a zoonotic disease, which makes control efforts much more challenging.” Dr Balbir said he felt fortunate to have spent his career pursuing work that he truly loved. “Do something you genuinely love, not something your parents tell you to do….To the younger generation, you must have passion for what you do. Choose something you enjoy, and you’ll never feel pressured because you’ll find joy in it. I’m lucky to be paid for doing something I love,” he was quoted in Borneo Post. Dr Balbir obtained his BSc, MSc and PhD degrees from the University of Liverpool. He started working on malaria at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine in 1984, initially as a Postdoctoral Research Assistant and then as a Beit Medical Fellow, with short working stints in Malawi and Thailand. He joined Universiti Sains Malaysia in 1992 and moved to Unimas in 1999. He was made the founding director of Unimas’ Malaria Research Centre in 2006. Dr Balbir’s research team have made several key discoveries highlighting knowlesi malaria as a potentially fatal zoonotic disease that is prevalent in Southeast Asia. His research has been funded by international funding agencies, including the Wellcome Trust, and he has published in leading journals including The Lancet, Clinical Infectious Diseases and Emerging Infectious Diseases. His work has been highly cited, with 7,080 citations and an h-index of 43, according to Web of Science. Based on citations in Scopus, he was ranked by Stanford University as among the World’s Top 2% Scientists in 2020 and 2024. He was elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia, received the Top Research Scientists Malaysia 2012 award and the Merdeka Award for his pioneering work on knowlesi malaria. He served as local secretary for Malaysia for the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene for 13 years, as a commissioner for The Lancet Commission on Malaria Eradication and twice as an advisor to the WHO on zoonotic malaria. RELATED STORY: Malaysia’s pioneer Sikh scientist made Emeritus Professor (Asia Samachar, 30 Sept 2019) ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond. You can leave your comments at our website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We will delete comments we deem offensive or potentially libelous. You can reach us via WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 or email: asia.samachar@gmail.com. For obituary announcements, click here
