Research Officer · MARDI, Malaysia
Genome editing for more nutritious Malaysian crops — and for inputs the country can produce itself.
I am a plant biotechnology researcher at the Biotechnology & Nanotechnology Research Centre, MARDI, where I have worked since 2013. Right now our team is editing SGR1 and CYC‑B in lowland tomato to raise its lycopene content, working out how to deliver CRISPR into Malaysian rice cleanly enough to leave no transgene behind, and expressing phytase in E. coli as a feed additive Malaysia could make for itself.
I trained at Michigan State and took my M.Eng. at the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology on a MEXT scholarship, with the research done at AIST Tsukuba. I am biosafety-trained (MABOT 3) and have sat on MARDI's Institutional Biosafety Committee since 2015 — because an edit that cannot clear regulatory review is a result, not a crop.
What I work on
Lycopene-rich edited tomato
Editing SGR1 and CYC‑B in MT‑3 lowland tomato to push carotenoid flux toward lycopene — more nutrition from a variety already suited to Malaysian conditions.
02Phytase for animal feed
Recombinant phytase in E. coli as a locally producible feed additive — unlocking phosphorus that is currently wasted, and cutting import dependence.
03Rice protoplasts & CRISPR
Optimising protoplast isolation and PEG‑mediated transfection in Malaysian rice cultivars, to test guide constructs before committing to whole plants.
04DNA‑free RNP delivery
Microneedle array‑assisted delivery of Cas9 ribonucleoprotein into rice, with mutation detection optimised alongside it. My M.Eng. work at AIST Tsukuba.
05Genomics & transcriptomics
RNA‑seq and NGS pipelines, RT‑qPCR expression profiling, and de novo assembly — from stingless bee genomes to Terengganu cherry fruit.
06Biosafety & regulation
Biosafety-trained (MABOT 3) and a MARDI IBC member since 2015, working on notifications, confined trials, and the Biosafety Act 2007.
Teaching tools
Three genome‑engineering tools that run entirely in your browser — no install, no upload, nothing leaves your machine. They demonstrate the methods behind our work, and are free for anyone to use.
- DNA Sequence Lab — composition and Tm, SpCas9 target scanning, Type IIS site checks, local alignment.
- Protein Lab — translation and ORFs, MW/pI/GRAVY, hydropathy plots, motif scanning, codon optimisation.
- Illustration of CRISPR‑Cas9 editing — pick a gene and an edit type, then watch the cut and repair happen base by base.