Speakers

Mahaletchumy Arujanan

Place of Birth : Malaysia
Position : Global Coordinator of the BioTrust-ISAAA and Executive Director of Malaysian Biotechnology Information Centre
Field of study : Science Communication, Biosafety, Biotechnology, Science Policies

Dr. Mahaletchumy Arujanan is the Global Coordinator of the BioTrust-ISAAA and the Executive Director of Malaysian Biotechnology Information Centre (MABIC). She has a PhD in science communication and Master of Biotechnology from University of Malaya, and a degree in Microbiology from Universiti Putra Malaysia. She is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Petri Dish ¬– the first science newspaper in Malaysia and also co-founded Science Media Centre Malaysia. She started the Asian Short Course on Agribiotechnology, Biosafety Regulations and Communications (ASCA) and developed the 1^st science communication training programme for scientists in Malaysia. Maha also initiated the Science Communication Advisory Board under COMSTECH (Pakistan) to promote science communication in the OIC Member States. She is an Adjunct Lecturer at Monash University Malaysia and AIMST University, sits on Industry Advisory Panel for seven universities and served as a Biosafety Outreach specialist for UN FAO, Sri Lanka. Maha is listed as the world’s 100 most influential people in biotechnology by Scientific American Worldview 2015. She is also listed in the honorific list of Women in Biotechnology Law and Regulation, Biotechnology Law Report (USA) 2015. Maha won the 2010 Third World Academy of Science Regional Prize for Public Understanding of Science for East, Southeast Asia and Pacific Region. She is a board member of the Malaysia Board of Technologists (MBOT) and is also on the advisory board for Mustafa Science and Technology Foundation (Iran), Alliance for Science (USA); Farming Future Bangladesh; and Genetic Literacy Project (USA). Maha is also on the editorial board of the European Federation of Bioeconomy Journal. She is also on the Selangor Bio Advisory Council to provide advice on bioeconomy development in the state. She has published chapters, papers, and articles on science/biotech communication, bioeconomy and biotechnology development.