Materia Medica Malaysiana

Microbiologist honoured by university

Microbiologist Datuk Dr Lam Sai Kit, 66, who headed a medical team that discovered the Nipah virus, has been appointed Professor Emeritus of Universiti Malaya.

Dr Lam was named Professor Emeritus at the university's Convocation by its Vice-Chancellor Datuk Prof Dr Hashim Yaacob.

He was among 12 academics conferred the title.

In a citation read out by the UM Medical Microbiology Head of Department, Assoc Prof Dr Hamimah Hassan, Dr Lam, who had served for 37 years with the university, was described as a man who possessed admirable vision, dedication and commitment.

“Like a beacon on a hill, he provided the path for those he trained and guided them to achieve excellence,” Dr Hamimah said.

“The motto commitment to the path to excellence has served well for those who worked with him,” said Dr Hamimah.

Dr Lam's involvement in emerging infectious diseases led to the discovery of the new virus like the Nipah Virus through the research team that he headed.

The finding automatically placed Universiti Malaya as the main university for viral research particularly after the research's team's efforts in controlling and identifying the cause of several outbreaks like the Enterovirus 71 encephalitis in 1997, the Nipah virus encephalitis in 1998 and the Chickugunya polyarthritis in 1999.

Ipoh-born Dr Lam join UM's Department of Medical Microbiology as a lecturer after earning his PhD in science from the Australian National University in 1966.

Although retired, he is still actively involved in scientific research and currently is the president of the Asia Pacific Society for Medical Virology, which has more than 400 members in 37 countries. – Bernama